WO2004002116A2 - Method and apparatus for communicating with one of plural devices associated with a single telephone number during a disaster and disaster recovery - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for (and a method of) selectively establishing communication with one of plural devices associated with a single telephone number during a disaster or disaster recovery period. In a preferred embodiment, the system includes two wireless connection units, each connected between a respective private branch exchange (PBX) network and a public switched telephone network. Each wireless connection unit preferably serves as a gateway between its respective PBX network and one or more remote communication devices. The wireless connection units replicate each others databases. In the event of a disaster that destroys or renders one of the wireless connect/PBX networks inoperable, telephone calls destined for the inoperable network are seamlessly routed to the operable wireless connect/PBX network. Since the operable wireless connection unit contains information for both networks, inbound, outbound and extension to extension calls for each network can be handled despite the disaster.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH ONE OF

PLURAL DEVICES ASSOCIATED WITH A SINGLE TELEPHONE NUMBER

DURING A DISASTER AND DISASTER RECOVERY

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part (C-I-P) of application Serial

No. 09/593,543 filed on June 14, 2000, which claims priority from provisional

appUcation Ser. Nos. 60/139,498, filed June 14, 1999, and 60/185,070 filed February

25, 2000, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

[0002] It has become relatively common for individuals to possess a number

of different devices through which they communicate. For example, a person may have

a home telephone, a wireless telephone, a pager and an office telephone. As the

population becomes increasingly mobile, making contact with a person through one of

these communication devices has become more difficult.

[0003] Call forwarding is one method of addressing this problem. Certain

telephone systems allow users to enter another number to which a call is forwarded if

not answered by a specified number of rings. This should allow an individual with

multiple telephone devices to forward the call to such devices until the telephone at

which the individual is located finally rings. However, if several telephones are

involved, this approach becomes complicated. Moreover, it requires the calling party to

remain on the line for a significant period of time if the call is to be forwarded multiple

times. Furthermore, it is necessary that call forwarding capabilities exist on each of the

individual's telephones. In addition, this approach requires that all telephones involved

be reprogrammed each time an individual desires to initiate call forwarding. A significant drawback to this forwarding strategy is that, in each leg of the forwarded call,

the calling party is terrninated on the last device or network in the chain. It follows that

the final number in the forwarding scheme is responsible for all available enhanced

services or voice mail available to the caller. Accordingly, although a call may have been

initially placed to an office telephone equipped with voice mail and/or operator assist,

all such enhanced services of the corporate network are lost once the call is forwarded

off the corporate PBX (e.g., to the user's wireless telephone).

[0004] Travel can also exacerbate the difficulty of establishing communication

with an individual having access to multiple telephone devices. Upon checking into a

hotel, the telephone in a traveler's hotel room becomes available as yet another

potential means of contact. Unfortunately, this forces a calling party to decide whether

to attempt to contact the traveler through his or her room telephone or other

telephone device (e.g., wireless telephone or pager). If the traveler does not answer the

called telephone, the calling party then must decide whether to leave a message

(unaware of when, or if, the message will be retrieved) or instead attempt to reach the

traveler via his or her other telephone. Likewise, if the traveler is expecting an

important call but is unsure whether it will be placed to his room telephone or wireless

telephone, the traveler may feel compelled to remain within his room until the call has

been received. In addition, if the traveler's wireless telephone does not support certain

types of long distance calls (e.g., to various foreign countries), the traveler may be able

to place certain types of calls only from his or her hotel room. [0005] The office telephone is the primary point of contact of most business

people. Typically, corporations invest significantly in their office telephone

infrastructure, which often includes voice mail, paging and unified messaging systems.

In addition, most corporations have negotiated contracts with their telephone carriers

(e.g., local and long distance carriers) to ensure they obtain the lowest possible rates for

calls placed via their corporate network. However, because the corporate workforce is

becoming increasingly mobile, more business people are using wireless telephones to

conduct their business when they are out of the office. This has resulted in

corporations spending a larger portion of their telecommunications budget on wireless

communications, with far less favorable negotiated rates than the rates of their

corporate network. In addition, wireless communication systems often lack the

enhanced conveniences (e.g., interoffice voice mail, direct extension dialing, etc.) that

corporate users have come to expect in the office environment.

[0006] A solution to the aforementioned problems would be to allow wireless

telephony devices (e.g., wireless telephones or pagers) to access an office telephone

system as though they were desktop telephones connected to the company's PBX. It is

desirable to incorporate wireless devices into the PBX network so that users may place

and receive telephone calls using the office PBX telephone system even though they are

at a remote location (e.g., out of the office). This would allow the enhanced

conveniences of today's PBX networks (e.g., interoffice voice mail, direct extension

dialing, etc.) to be available on wireless devices - something which is desperately needed

in today's society. [0007] There have been recent attempts to incorporate wireless telephones

into PBX networks. One system provided by Ericsson, requires the creation of a mini-

cellular network within the confines of the enteφrise. A cellular switching unit, unique

wireless telephones and an auxiliary server are required to route inbound telephone calls

to a wireless handset serving as a remote office telephone.

[0008] An m-bufiding wireless system has been proposed by Nortel

Networks. This system requires the wiring of pico-cells throughout the enteφrise's

building. The system routes inbound telephone calls to specialized wireless telephones

serving as additional office PBX telephones. The wireless telephones cannot be used as

conventional standard wireless telephones until they leave the premises.

[0009] These systems allow inbound calls to be routed to an office telephone

and a wireless telephone, but they are not without their shortcomings. For example,

each system requires specialized cellular equipment and wireless handsets. Moreover,

the systems only use the wireless telephones for inbound telephone calls. In addition,

these systems cannot use the wireless telephone as a conventional wireless telephone

(i.e., not part of the enteφrise's PBX network) within the building.

[0010] A major disaster causing an enteφrise's office telephone infrastructure

or PBX network to become destroyed or inoperable may permanently damage the

manner in which the enteφrise communicates internally and with the outside world

during the disaster and may also damage the manner in which the enteφrise conducts

its business after the disaster. For example, an enteφrise, its employees and telephone

infrastructure may be located in one or several large office buildings. The infrastructure has previously established direct inward dial (DID) telephone numbers in which the

outside world may communicate with the employees, as well as internal extensions by

which the employees may communicate with each other. All of the DID telephone

numbers, extensions, and voice mail boxes, etc. likely will be wiped out if the PBX

network gets destroyed (e.g., if the building housing the PBX network is destroyed due

to terrorists, natural disaster or other occurrence).

[0011] Currently, in the wake of such a disaster, there is no way for the

telephone company to reroute all of the enteφrise's DID telephone numbers to

another telephone infrastructure or PBX network. This means that during the disaster

there will be no way for the outside world to communicate with the enteφrise,

hampering disaster recovery efforts. Presuming that the enteφrise can continue to

operate after such a disaster (e.g., relocate to another location, such as another branch

of the enteφrise), future business still will be hampered because the outside world can

no longer reach the enteφrise via the thousands of previously established DID

numbers. At best, the DID numbers can be terminated at voice mail boxes, but the

employees will never be able to receive calls at the numbers again. Moreover, the

destruction of the PBX network results in the destruction of the enteφrise's internal

extensions, which impedes the employees' ability to contact each other and perform

daily operations. These problems will occur whether the enteφrise's PBX network

incoφorates wireless telephones or not. Thus, there is a desire and need for a

telecommunications system that can allow communications to continue through the

enteφrise's DID numbers and internal extensions during a disaster and during disaster

recovery. SUMMARY

[0012] A system for (and a method of) selectively establishing

communication with one of plural devices associated with a single telephone number

during a disaster or disaster recovery period. In a preferred embodiment, the system

includes two wireless connection units, each connected between a respective private

branch exchange (PBX) network and a public switched telephone network. Each

wireless connection unit preferably serves as a gateway between its respective PBX

network and one or more remote communication devices. The wireless connection

units replicate each others databases. In the event of a disaster that destroys or renders

one of the wireless connect/PBX networks inoperable, telephone calls destined for the

inoperable network are seamlessly routed to the operable wireless connect/PBX

network. Since the operable wireless connection unit contains information for both

networks, inbound, outbound and extension to extension calls for each network can be

handled despite the disaster.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary telecommunication system constructed

in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0014] FIG 2. illustrates a wireless connection unit in accordance with an

embodiment of the invention. [0015] FIG. 3 illustrates in flowchart form exemplary inbound station-to-

station call processing performed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates in flowchart form exemplary inbound direct inward

dialing (DID) call processing performed in accordance with an embodiment of the

invention.

[0017] FIG. 5 illustrates in flowchart form exemplary remote outbound call

processing performed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0018] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary telecommunication system constructed

in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.

[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates in flowchart form exemplary disaster recovery

processing performed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0020] FIG. 8 illustrates in flowchart form exemplary database replication

processing performed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0021] FIG. 9 illustrates in flowchart form exemplary remote outbound call

processing performed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] Preferred embodiments and applications of the invention will now be

described. Other embodiments may be realized and structural or logical changes may

be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the .invention. Although the preferred embodiments disclosed herein have been

particularly described as applied to a business or office environment, it should be readily

apparent that the invention may be embodied- for any use or application having the

same or similar problems.

[0023] The invention is more fully understood with reference to the preferred

embodiments depicted in FIGS. 1-5. A first exemplary embodiment of the invention is

discussed and illustrated with reference to its implementation witiiin an office building

or other enteφrise establishment. In an office, for example, personnel are assigned to

offices (or cubicles) with each office having an associated telephone. The office

telephones are typically connected to a PBX, exchange, or other call processing

infrastructure. The PBX allows each office telephone to have its own telephone

extension and a direct inward dial (DID) telephone number. As known in the art, a

telephone extension is typically a three or four digit telephone number where station-

to-station (i.e., office-to-office) calls can be placed by dialing the three or four digit

extension. This is commonly referred to as direct extension dialing. As also known in

the art, a DID telephone number allows external calls (i.e., calls initiated outside of the

office PBX) to be placed directly to the office telephone.

[0024] The invention is not to be limited to any particular environment. The

invention may be implemented, for example, in a hotel, boarding house, dormitory,

apartment, or other commercial or residential establishment, where individuals are

assigned to a unique extension or DID telephone number. The term "office" as used

herein encompasses a singular room or space within a business or other enteφrise, or a hotel room or similar facility. The term "user" as used herein encompasses office

personnel, hotel guests or other individuals associated with a telephone extension and

DID telephone number.

[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary telecommunication system 10

constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As will be discussed

below, the system 10 provides for a full integration of remote telephony devices, such as

a wireless telephone 70, into an office or hotel PBX or other communications network.

In doing so, the system 10 can selectively establish communications with one of a

plurality of telephony devices associated with a particular telephone extension or DID

telephone number. Moreover, the system 10 will allow remote devices such as the

wireless telephone 70 to perform as a fully functional standard office telephone 12a,

12b for both inbound and outbound communications. That is, a remote device will be

able to use features of the office network (e.g., direct extension dialing, coφorate

dialing plan, etc.) even though the device is not within the confines of the office or not

directly connected to the office PBX. The system also allows the wireless telephone 70

to operate as an independent wireless telephone if so desired. That is, the wireless

telephone 70 may receive calls placed to its (non-office) DID telephone number even

though the system 10 routes PBX calls to the telephone 70.

[0026] The system 10 as particularly illustrated herein includes a conventional

office PBX network 11. The PBX network 11 may include a plurality of standard

telephones 12a, 12b respectively connected to a conventional PBX 14 via

communication lines 18a, 18b. The PBX 14, which may be any commercially available one_' such as a Meridian 1 PBX produced by Nortel Networks, is connected to a calling

network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 16 by a primary rate

interface (PRI) connection 20 or other suitable communication line or medium. The

standard telephones 12a, 12b can be any digital or analog telephone or other

communication device known in the art. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the first telephone

12a is a digital telephone while the second telephone 12b is an analog telephone. For

clarity puφoses only, two telephones 12a, 12b are illustrated in FIG. 1, but it should be

appreciated that any number or combination of telephones or other communication

devices can be supported by the system 10. Moreover, although it is desirable to use

digital telephones, the invention is not to be limited to the particular type of telephone

used in the system 10.

[0027] The PBX 14 is coupled to a wireless connection unit (WC) 30. The

WC 30 is connected to the PBX 14 in this embodiment by a PRI connection 22 or

other suitable communication medium. The WC 30 is also connected to a PSTN 54 by

a PRI connection or other suitable digital communication medium. The illustrated PRI

connection between the WC 30 and the PSTN 54 includes a first PRI connection 32, a

channel service unit (CSU) 34, and a second PRI connection 36. As known in the art,

a CSU is a mechanism for connecting a computer (or other device) to a digital medium

that allows a customer to utilize their own equipment to retime and regenerate

incoming signals. It should be appreciated that the illustrated connection between the

WC 30 and the PSTN 54 is one of many suitable connections. Accordingly, the

invention should not be limited to the illustrated connection. The WC 30 is one of the mechanisms that allows the integration of remote devices (e.g., wireless telephone 70)

into the PBX network 11 and its operation will be described below in more detail.

[0028] The WC 30 is preferably connected to a local area network (LAN) 40

by an appropriate communication medium 38. Although a LAN 40 is illustrated, it

should be appreciated that any other network could be used. A plurality of computers

(e.g., 42a, 42b) may be respectively connected to the LAN 40 by any appropriate

communication lines 44a, 44b. The computers 42a, 42b can be used by network

acLministrators or others to maintain WC 30 and other portions of the system 10. The

LAN 40 may also be connected to the Internet 50 by a suitable communication

medium 48. A firewall 46 may be used for security puφoses. In a preferred

embodiment, Internet 50 can be used to allow a remote administration device 52 (e.g.,

a personal computer) to perform remote administration of WC 30 by office personnel

or other authorized users of the system 10. Remote administration will allow office

personnel to set user preferences for particular telephone extensions. Thus, each office

telephone extension and associated remote device is individually configurable.

[0029] PSTN 54 is connected in this embodiment to a commercial wireless

carrier (or other carrier not co-located with the system 10) by a wireless switch 58 or

other wireless carrier equipment by an appropriate communication medium 56. The

wireless switch 58 is connected to at least one antenna 60 (by an appropriate

communication medium 62) for transmitting signals 64 to a wireless device, such as the

wireless telephone 70. The wireless device could also be a pager, personal digital

assistant (PDA), landline telephone, facsimile machine or other wired/wireless communication device. It may desirable for the wireless device to be capable of

handling both (or either) digital and analog communication signals. It should be noted

that any type of wireless communication protocol (or a combination of different

protocols), such as TDMA, CDMA, GSM, AMPS, MSR, iDEN, WAP, etc., could be

used.

[0030] It should be appreciated that the WC 30 is connected to a wireless

carrier through a PSTN 54 and not by unique hardware or an in-office cellular network.

As a result, WC 30 only has to interface with conventional components, such as the

PBX 14 and PSTN 54. Thus, the system is substantially technology independent.

Moreover, special wireless devices are not required, which allows the remote device to

function in its conventional manner (e.g., as a separate wireless telephone) and as part

of the PBX network 11 (if so desired).

[0031] The WC 30 and the PBX 14 may also be connected to an

accounting/billing system 80. The billing system 80 may also be connected to the

LAN 40 so that system administrators may access the contents of the billing system 80.

By incoφorating a billing system 80 into the system 10, it is possible to obtain

immediate billing information for calls placed to/from the wireless telephone 70 or

other remote device. This immediate billing feature is not present in other PBX or

enteφrise networks and is particularly useful for coφorate environments such as law

firms and government agencies, and hotel environments, where up to date billing

information is essential. [0032] As noted above, the WC 30 allows for the full integration of remote

devices into the PBX network 11. In a preferred embodiment, WC 30 is a processor-

based stand-alone unit capable of handling communications directed to the PBX

network 11. In a preferred embodiment, WC 30 is composed of one or more processors

genetically represented by processor module 310 executing one or more computer

programs stored in one or more memory units genetically represented by memory

module 320, which is coupled to processor module 310 via bus 330, as shown in FIG.

2. Memory module 320 also contains one or more databases and other processing

memory used during the overall operation of system 10, as will be described below.

Receiving and transmitting modules 340, 350, respectively, which are coupled to

processor module 310 and memory module 320 via bus 330, are employed to receive

and transmit information to the PBX and PSTN during call processing, as well as

receiving and transmitting other information such as administrative information.

[0033] The modules (310, 320, 330, 340, 350) making up WC 30 may be

implemented using any known hardware or software devices. For example, in one

embodiment, workload performed by receiving and transmitting modules 340, 350, as

well as some of the processing functions of processor module 310 of WC 30 are

implemented using one or more conventional processor-based programmable telephony

interface circuit cards used to interface WC 30 with PBX 14 and the PSTN. They are

programmed to perform the conventional telephony services required to place and

receive calls, as well as programmed to perform the unique call processing functions

described below. The WC 30 preferably contain a database of office extension numbers

(also referred to herein as PBX extensions) and DID telephone numbers associated with each existing PBX extension. The database will be stored on a computer readable

storage medium, which may be part of (e.g., in memory module 320) or connected to

the WC 30. The database may also contain a wireless connect/PBX extension

(hereinafter referred to as a "WC-PBX extension") and one or more remote device

telephone numbers associated with each PBX extension. In this embodiment, software

running on the telephony cards interfaces with the database to perform the various call

processing functions discussed below.

[0034] In this embodiment, the PBX 14 contains a coordinated dialing plan

(CDP) steering table. The CDP steering table will be stored and retrieved from a

computer readable storage medium, which may be part of or connected to the PBX 14.

The CDP steering table directs the routing of some or all PBX extensions to the WC 30

over the PRI 22 between the WC 30 and the PBX 14. In addition, the CDP steering

table of the PBX 14 directs the routing of all WC-PBX extensions received from the

WC 30 to the appropriate office telephone.

[0035] In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention,

processor module 310 executes one or more programs stored in memory module 320

to process calls received through PBX 14 or PSTN. FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 illustrate some of

the basic call processing events which WC 30 may be programmed to handle in

accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention. As illustrated in FIG. 3,

when an incoming station-to-station call (i.e., a direct extension call from one internal

telephone device to another internal device) is received by the PBX 14 for an existing

PBX extension (step 102), the PBX 14 looks up the PBX extension in the CDP steering table (step 104) to determine where the call should be routed. Based on the CDP

steering table the call to the PBX extension is routed to the WC 30 instead of directly

to an office telephone 12a (step 106).

[0036] As is known in the art, the mcoming call will have automatic number

identification (ANI) and dialed number identification service (DNIS) information. The

ANI identifies the telephone number of the calling party and is traditionally used for

"caller ID." DNIS identifies the telephone number of the called party. The WC 30

reads the ANI/DNIS information from the mcoming call to obtain the DNIS

information (step 108). As noted above, the WC 30 has assigned a new WC-PBX

extension to each existing PBX extension. The WC-PBX extension, routing

information, and user preferences are obtained by using the DNIS information

(identifying the PBX extension) as an index into the WC 30 database (step 110).

Routing information will include any additional remote telephone numbers or voice

mail box numbers, or other identification numbers of communication devices associated

with the PBX extension.

[0037] At step 112, the WC 30 out pulses the PBX 14 through the PRI

connection 22 between the WC 30 and PBX 14 with the WC-PBX extension obtained

in step 110. This causes the PBX 14 to ring the associated office telephone (e.g.,

telephone 12a). At the same time (if desired), the WC 30 attempts to contact one or

more alternative communication devices (e.g., by out dialing a remote telephone

number via the PRI connection between the WC 30 and the PSTN 54). In such

embodiment, the station-to-station call is thus routed to both the office telephone and also to at least one remote device 70 simultaneously or substantially simultaneously (or

as deteπriined by the user preferences). It should be noted that the illustrated

processing 100 is one example of how an incoming station-to-station call may be

handled. Individual user preferences may alter the way the call is processed. It should

be noted that in a preferred embodiment, the WC 30 is dialing the remote device

telephone number and out pulsing the PBX 14 with the WC-PBX extension. This gives

the WC 30 control over the connections to the office telephone 12a and the remote

device 70. It should also be noted that the WC 30 can out dial several remote

numbers, if so desired, and that the invention should not be limited to the dialing of

one remote number.

[0038] At step 114, it is determined if the current ring count (i.e., number of

rings) exceeds the maximum ring count defined by the user. Since the WC 30 is

controlling the call at this time it can track the number of rings. If the ring count

exceeds the maximum ring count, then the WC 30 (if desired) forwards the call to the

enteφrise's voice mail (step 120). If the ring count does not exceed the maximum ring

count, the WC 30 determines if the call is answered at the PBX extension (step 116).

The PBX 14 will issue an off-hook message to the WC 30 if the appropriate office

telephone is answered. If it is determined that the call is answered at the PBX

extension, the WC 30 drops the call's path to the remote device via the PSTN 54 and

maintains the path to the PBX 14 (step 122).

[0039] In a preferred embodiment, it may be desired that the call to the

remote device is actually answered by the user and not by a service of the wireless carrier. In known systems, wireless carriers often answer a call if there is a bad

connection, the wireless channels are overloaded or for other reasons (such as initiating

a wireless carrier's answering service). When the wireless carrier answers the call in these

situations, the call would appear to WC 30 as an "answered call" even if the remote user

did not answer the call itself.

[0040] One way to distinguish a user answered call from a wireless service

answered call is to prompt the user to transmit an acknowledgement signal such as a

dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) tone to the WC 30 via the keypad of the remote

device. Upon detecting the answered call, WC 30 can send a voice message instructing

the user to "press 1 to complete the call or press 2 to send caller to voice mail." If the

DTMF tone is not received, then the WC 30 presumes that the call was answered by

the wireless carrier, or that the user does not want to answer the call which the WC 30

treats as an unanswered call. If at step 118, it is determined that the remote device was

answered by the user, the WC 30 drops the WC-PBX extension path to the PBX and

initiates the connection between the calling party and the remote device (step 124). If

the call is not answered at the remote device in step 118, process flow returns to step

114 to check whether the ring count has exceeded the maximum ring count. It should

be noted that, if desired, the WC 30 can forward an unanswered call to voice mail or

play an interactive menu to the calling party, which allows the calling party to page the

called party, leave a voice mail message or to transfer to an operator.

[0041] In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the

database of WC 30 may also contain numerous system-defined user access rights and user modifiable preferences, which can alter the call processing of the invention. An

office aclministrator may use the network computers 42a, 42b or a remote

administration device 52 to set user access rights and priorities (example discussed

below with respect to outbound call processing 300 illustrated in FIG. 5). The user

may use the remote administration device 52 to set numerous user preferences. It is

desirable that a Web-based or graphical user interface be used so that the user can easily

access and set user preferences. The network computers 42a, 42b (or remote device

52) may also be used by the user if so desired.

[0042] User preferences may include how the user associated with a particular

PBX extension wants incoming calls to be routed. For example, the user can request

that mcoming calls be routed to the office telephone and one or more remote devices

simultaneously. The user instead can request that an incoming call be routed to the

office telephone first, then after a user-defined number of rings, the remote device and

eventually sent to the PBX voice mail. Alternatively, the user can request that an

mcoming call be routed to the remote device first, then the office telephone, and

subsequently to the PBX voice mail. The user can request that all incoming calls be

routed directly to the PBX voice mail. The user can request that a menu of options be

played to the caller so that the caller can decide how to complete the call. The user can

set separate ring counts for the office telephone and remote device. The user can set

dial tone options, which allows the user to control how long a dial tone is played before

a dial tone time-out occurs. The user can adjust the time between dials. These are just

a few of the user preferences that can be stored and used by the WC 30, which can alter mcoming and out going call processing. If the user does not change the user

preferences, or only changes a few preferences, system defaults are used.

[0043] When receiving an inbound DID call, call processing flow 200 (as

illustrated in FIG. 4) is performed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

At step 202, a DID telephone call is dialed by an external telephone device and received

by system 10 through the PSTN. In a preferred embodiment, PSTN has been

programmed in advance to route all DID telephone numbers used by the system 10 to

the WC 30. In addition, the PSTN has also been programmed to route calls mcoming

to the DID telephone number directly to the PBX 14 if the path to the WC 30 has

failed. That is, the embodiment incoφorates a failure path into the system 10 to ensure

that a failure of the WC 30 or the PRI connection between the WC 30 and the PSTN

does not interrupt the operation of the office PBX network 11. This is possible since

the steering table of the office PBX 14 contains the DID telephone numbers. The PBX

14 has the capability to resolve these DID numbers. Thus, the PBX 14 can be used if

needed to handle DID telephone calls. For puφoses of this discussion, it is presumed

that the WC 30 and the connection between the WC 30 and the PSTN 54 are fully

operational. Thus, at step 204, the PSTN routes the DID call to the WC 30.

[0044] The WC 30 reads the ANI/DNIS information from the incoming

DID call to obtain the DNIS information (step 206). The WC 30 resolves the call by

determining what WC-PBX extension is associated with the telephone number

identified by the DNIS. The WC-PBX extension, routing information and user

preferences are obtained by the WC 30 (step 208). At step 210, the WC 30 out pulses the-PBX 14 through the PRI connection 22 between the WC 30 and PBX 14 with the

obtained WC-PBX extension. This causes the PBX 14 to ring the associated office

telephone (e.g., telephone 12a). At the same time (if desired), the WC 30 out dials one

or more user designated remote telephone numbers via the PRI connections between

the WC 30 and the PSTN 54. Therefore, the inbound DID telephone call is routed to

the office telephone and remote device simultaneously (or as determined by the user

preferences). It should be noted that the illustrated processing 200 is just one example

of how an incoming DID call may be handled.

[0045] At step 212, it is determined whether the current ring count exceeds

the maximum ring count defined by the user. If the ring count exceeds the maximum

ring count, then the WC 30 forwards the call to the enteφrise's voice mail (step 218).

If the ring count does not exceed the maximum ring count, the WC 30 determines

whether the call is answered at the PBX extension (step 214). If it is determined that

the call is answered at the PBX extension, the WC 30 drops the call's path to the

remote device(s) via the PSTN 54 and maintains the path to the PBX 14 (step 220). If

at step 214 it is determined that the call is not answered at the PBX extension, the WC

30 determines if the call is answered at the remote device (step 216). In a preferred

embodiment, it may be desired that the call to the remote device is actually answered by

the user and not by a service of the wireless carrier. Therefore, to distinguish a user

answered call from a wireless service answered call, the WC 30 may prompt the user to

transmit a DTMF tone to the WC 30 via the remote device when the user answers the

call. If the DTMF tone is not received, then the WC 30 preferably presumes that the

call was answered by the wireless carrier, which is inteφreted by the WC 30 as an unanswered call. If at step 216 it is determined that the remote device was answered by

the user, the WC 30 drops the path to the PBX 14 and maintains the connection to the

remote device (step 222). (As an alternative, control and responsibility for the

remainder of the call can be left with the PSTN in order to free up PRI channels

between WC 30 and PSTN 54.) If the call is not answered at the remote device in step

216, process returns to step 212 to check whether the ring count has exceeded the

maximum ring count.

[0046] Initially, the call processing reduces the processing load on the PBX

14, since the WC 30 (and not PBX 14) is resolving the DID telephone numbers. This

allows the PBX 14 to handle call processing for more extensions if desired.

Additionally, since the WC 30 is resolving the DID calls, the WC 30 can out pulse the

PBX 14 and out dial the PSTN 54 simultaneously (if desired) without waiting for the

PBX 14 to process/resolve the call. Moreover, as noted above, redundancy is provided

by allowing the PBX network 11 to function as a standard PBX if the WC 30 or the link

between the WC 30 and the PSTN 54 fails.

[0047] In accordance with a preferred embodiment, WC 30 allows a remote

device such as a wireless telephone 70 to act as an office PBX telephone for outbound

telephone calls following call processing flow 300 illustrated in FIG. 5. That is, a user

will be able to use its wireless telephone (or any remote device) to make station-to-

station calls as if he were using an office telephone directly connected to the office PBX

14. From the remote device, the user will also be able to perform other PBX functions

as well. At step 302, a user places a call to the WC 30 from the remote device. One way for the user to do this would be to define a speed dial key (or sequence of keys) on

the wireless telephone handset. When the user activates the appropriate speed dial

key/keys, the wireless telephone dials into the WC 30. Another way to dial into the

WC 30 would be by fixed dialing. Fixed dialing is a feature provided by the wireless

carrier to always connect the wireless telephone to a particular number or service, and,

in this case, it would connect the user to the WC 30. Any number of other methods

may be used to dial into the WC 30.

[0048 ] At step 304, the WC 30 reads the ANI/DNIS information received

from the remote device to obtain the ANI information. The ANI identifies the

telephone number of the wireless telephone. The WC 30 uses the ANI information to

obtain the wireless user's access rights and user preferences (step 306). As noted above,

a user is provided with the ability to set various user preferences. The enteφrise itself

has the ability to set access rights defining what type of calls the user can place from the

remote device (e.g., local, long distance, international, station-to-station, etc.). For

example, if using PRI connections between the PSTN 54 and the WC 30, the PBX 14

and the WC 30, and the PBX 14 and the PSTN 16, users can be assigned into particular

access groups by assigning each user to a particular channel or group of channels of the

PRI. The user assignments can be stored in a database memory within memory module

320 of WC 30 for access during a validation or authentication process performed by

processor module 310. In the alternative, the responsibility over the user assignments

can be incoφorated into PBX 14 or some other (on-site/remote) equipment. [0049] As is known in the art, in North America and Japan, for example, each

PRI contains 23 "B" channels that can be used for voice communications. Each B

channel can be programmed with different calling capabilities by the PBX 14. That is,

some channels can be programmed for all types of calls (e.g., international, long

distance, local etc.), others for long distance and local calls, while others can be

programmed solely for local or internal station-to-station calls. The channels can also

be restricted to a limited number of authorized telephone numbers as well. The

programming can be determined by the enteφrise. Since the channels can be

programmed with different calling capabilities, the enteφrise can implement different

access groups, with each group defining a user's remote device access.

[0050] This feature significantly limits the enteφrise's remote device (e.g.,

wireless service) costs because user access to services can be substantially restricted. For

example, the enteφrise may want delivery personnel to have a wireless telephone for

internal dialing puφoses, but may be afraid of misuse by the personnel. Implementing

the above embodiment, the enteφrise can group all wireless telephones assigned to its

delivery personnel to a channel(s) restricted solely to internal calls. Any grouping is

possible. Priorities may also be assigned. A user assigned to group 1 (programmed for

all calling capabilities) may be given priority to bump a user assigned to group 2 (having

less calling capabilities) in the event that the channels assigned to group 1 are busy.

Any grouping or priority scheme can be implemented by the enteφrise and is

application specific. [0051 ] At step 308, the WC 30 "spoofs" a dial tone to the wireless

telephone. That is, the WC 30 generates and transmits a dial tone to the wireless

telephone 70 as if the user had picked up an office telephone 12a connected to the PBX

14. In a preferred embodiment, the spoofing of the dial tone is achieved by the WC

internally generating the appropriate tone (e.g., through software or hardware

modules). The dial tone is then played to a wireless telephone as a prompt while

waiting to receive DTMF digits from the wireless user indicating the telephone number

the user wishes to dial. At this point in trie call process flow 300, the user is connected

to the office PBX and may access any of its standard features. For puφoses of this

illustrated embodiment, it is presumed that the user wishes to place an outbound call at

this time. At step 310, the user attempts to place a call and the WC 30 receives the

number dialed by the user. At step 312, the WC 30 determines if the user is authorized

to make the call. For example, the WC 30 checks the user's access rights, and if the

user is authorized to place the call, the call is routed to the correct channel by the WC

30 based on user preferences, access rights and the channel definitions (step 314). If

the user is not authorized to place the call (i.e., the call exceeds the user's access rights),

the WC 30 performs unauthorized call processing (step 316). Unauthorized call

processing may include playing a message to the user stating that the user does not have

authority to place the call, disconnecting the call, or any other action desired by the

enteφrise.

[0052] If the user decides to place a station-to-station call, for example, the

call would appear to be an internally dialed call at the destination office telephone. For

example, if the PBX 14 uses a different ring for internal calls, then the internal ring would be sent to the office telephone even though the call was made by the wireless

telephone. If the PBX 14 normally displays the PBX extension of the calling party on

the called office phone, then the PBX extension of the calling party would be displayed

on the called office telephone even though the call was initiated by the wireless

telephone.

[0053] Many enteφrises have already provided wireless communications

devices to their personnel. These wireless devices already have existing telephone

numbers and are external to the enteφrise PBX. Since the devices are already in use by

personnel and their clients, the enteφrise does not want to change their telephone

numbers. There is a need to integrate these telephone numbers into the enteφrise

PBX. One way to integrate these telephone numbers would be to forward their

unanswered calls to the PBX voice mail. This can be accomplished by the. invention

whether the wireless telephone number is associated with a PBX extension or not.

[0054] For example, the enteφrise can purchase additional DID telephone

numbers from the telephone company (if necessary). These additional DID telephone

numbers are stored in the database of the WC 30 together with special routing

instructions to route all calls directly to a user's PBX voice mail box (or other

destination as desired). The user of a wireless telephone can program the wireless

telephone to forward unanswered calls to his associated DID telephone number.

Alternatively, the user can have the wireless carrier forward unanswered calls to the DID

telephone number as well. This way, any unanswered call to the wireless telephone will

be forwarded to the WC 30, which resolves the DID and forwards the call to the appropriate PBX voice mail box. Using this feature, the likelihood is increased that the

user will retrieve his messages since he can retrieve all of his messages through the PBX

voice mail. This also alleviates the need for the user to have a separate voice mail service

from the wireless carrier, which may reduce the cost of the wireless service.

[0055] The invention can be embodied in any number of different

applications. One embodiment, for example, applies the invention to a hotel having a

large number of rooms with dedicated phones lines for each room to provide a second

or "virtual phone line" without routing additional telephone lines or other wiring to

the room. Each room would have the original hard-wired telephone extension that is

connected to the enteφrise PBX, as well as a wireless telephone associated with the PBX

extension (integrated using the invention) serving as a second or virtual telephone line.

If, for example, a guest of the hotel were using the hard- wired telephone line for his

personal computer, he could still make and receive calls through the PBX with the

wireless telephone. Thus, the invention allows an enteφrise to double its telephone

lines without incurring the expense of additional wiring required to install a second line

for the hotel rooms.

[0056] Another exemplary embodiment involves appUcation of the invention

to facilitate communications in enteφrises that have large offices located in different

parts of the country. Typically, these enteφrises utilize separate PBX networks for each

location. The separate PBX networks are often connected together using tie-lines, so

that one location can make a station-to-station caU to the other location. That means

person A at location A can contact person B at location B using the PBX networks. The call will be a long distance call, but the enteφrise usually negotiates a discount rate with

the telephone carrier for dedicated, low rate long distance service. However, if person

B is not in his office, person A will have to use other means to contact person B. This

typicaUy involves a call to person B's wireless telephone, which would be an expensive

long distance wireless telephone caU. In this embodiment, using a WC unit in location

B, the office and wireless telephones associated with person B would ring

simultaneously. If person B answers the wireless telephone, the enteφrise wiU not incur

an expensive long distance wireless telephone charge. Instead, since the WC unit at

location B is initiating the wireless telephone call, the wireless call will only be a

relatively inexpensive local caU to the pertinent wireless carrier. Moreover, if the

enteφrise can contract with the wireless carrier to get unUmited local wireless telephone

caUs, the charge to the enteφrise would be even less. Where a WC unit is instaUed in

both locations A and B, person A can also place the call from a wireless telephone

(through the WC unit at location A) to person B, who can answer the caU with a

wireless telephone (through the WC unit at location B). That is person A and person B

can communicate through their respective PBX networks even though person A and

person B are away from their offices when the call is placed.

[0057] FIG. 6 iUustrates an exemplary telecommunication system 400

constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. As wiU be

explained below, the system 400 overcomes many shortcomings of existing enteφrise

PBX networks, particularly those shortcomings that arise during and/or in disaster and

disaster recovery situations. The system 400 includes two telecommunication systems

10a, 10b constructed in accordance with the embodiments of the invention described above with reference to FIGS. 1-5. That is, each system 10a, 10b includes a wireless

connection (WC) unit 30a, 30b connected with a respective conventional office PBX

14a, 14b, which are in turn in connection with a PSTN 54. Both systems 10a, 10b may

also be connected to a large area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the

Internet 50 or any other networked communication medium. Although FIG. 6

illustrates that the systems 10a, 10b are connected to one PSTN 54, it should be

appreciated that the systems 10a, 10b may be connected to different and multiple

PSTN's if desired.

[0058] The first system 10a is provided at a location A while the second

system 10b is provided at a location B. Preferably, location A and location B are not in

the same building. In an exemplary embodiment, the first system 10a serves as a

telecommunications infrastructure for an enteφrise's office provided at location A (e.g.,

New York office), while the second system 10b serves as a telecommunications

infrastructure for the enteφrise's office provided at location B (e.g., Los Angeles office).

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1-5, the WC 30a of the first system 10a wiU

contain a database of office extensions (e.g., PBX extensions) as weU as DID telephone

numbers, WC-PBX extensions and one or more remote device telephone numbers

associated with a respective PBX extension. The system 10a wiU also have the abiUty to

store user preferences to control the manner in which telephone calls are routed to the

extensions, remote devices or voicemail (described above). AU of the telephone

numbers, extensions and user preferences stored in the WC 30a of the first system 10a

are associated with extensions at location A. [0059] Similarly, the WC 30b of the second system 10b wiU contain a

database of office extensions (e.g., PBX extensions) as weU as DID telephone numbers,

WC-PBX extensions and one or more remote device telephone numbers associated with

a respective PBX extension. The system 10b wiU also have the abiUty to store user

preferences to control the manner in which telephone caUs are routed to the extensions,

remote devices or voicemaU (described above). AU of the telephone numbers,

extensions and user preferences stored in the WC 30b of the second system 10b are

associated with extensions at location B. For the most part, the systems 10a, 10b

operate as described above with reference to FIGS. 1-5.

[0060] As part of the system's 400 disaster recovery processing, the two WC

units 30a, 30b, repUcate each other's databases. That is, the first WC 30a, servicing the

extensions at location A, receives a copy of the second WC's 30b database so that it wiU

have a copy of location B's PBX extensions, DID telephone numbers, WC-PBX

extensions, remote device telephone numbers and user preferences if needed (i.e., in the

case where the WC 30b becomes destroyed or inoperable). Likewise, the second WC

30b, servicing the extensions at location B, receives a copy of the first WC's 30a

database so that it wiU have a copy of location A's PBX extensions, DID telephone

numbers, WC-PBX extensions, remote device telephone numbers and user preferences

if needed (i.e., in the case where the WC 30a becomes destroyed or inoperable).

[0061] As wiU be discussed below with reference to FIG. 7, if for some reason

the infrastructure of the first system 10a becomes destroyed or inoperable, the

enteφrise can reroute its entire internal office-to-office extensions and external DID telephone numbers through the second system 10b with just a simple telephone caU to

the PSTN handling location A's telephone service. The second system 10b, in

particular the second WC 30b, then functions to route caUs to the extensions at both

locations A and B. No extension or DID numbers need to be changed. This is

accompUshed with relative ease. The PSTN handling location A's telephone service has

been programmed in advance to route the DID telephone numbers of location A to the

first WC 30a. If WC 30a becomes inoperable, the PSTN servicing location A needs

merely to change the telephone number from the number associated with the first WC

30a (part of the inoperable system) to the telephone number associated with the second

WC 30b (part of the operable system).

[0062] Likewise, if for some reason the infrastructure of the second system

10b becomes destroyed or inoperable, the enteφrise can reroute its entire internal

office-to-office extensions and external DID telephone numbers through the first

system 10a with just a simple telephone caU to the PSTN handling location B's

telephone service. The first system 10a, in particular the first WC 30afunctions to route

cans to the extensions of location A and location B. No extension or DID numbers

need to be changed. As noted above, the PSTN has already been programmed in

advance to route the DID telephone numbers of location B to the second WC 30b

(now part of an inoperable system). During the disaster, the PSTN servicing location B

need merely change the telephone number from the number associated with the second

WC 30b (inoperable system) to the telephone number associated with the first WC 30a

(operable system). [0063] It should be appreciated that once the PSTN reroutes the DID

telephone numbers to the operable WC, for example, the first WC 30a, the operable

WC 30a can perform the functions described above with respect to FIGS. 1-5 for both

enteφrise systems 10a, 10b. Thus, users of the inoperable WC 30b, wiU be able to

receive and make telephone caUs on a remote device, such as wireless telephone 70, in

the manner described above. The users of both systems 10a, 10b stiU wiU be able to

modify user preferences through the Internet 50 or other network connection. For

example, the user may wish to prevent the office telephone extension from ringing since

it no longer exists. Similarly, the administrator of the operable WC 30a may choose to

perform a global change to the rerouted user's preferences to prevent the missing office

telephone extensions from ringing, rather than having individual users do it themselves.

[0064] The repUcation of the databases (described below with reference to

FIG. 8) may be performed in any suitable manner. For example, the two WC's 30a,

30b may transfer the database information over the Internet 50. The database

information may also be sent through the PSTN 54 connection or by satelUte

communications via respective satelUte equipment 402a, 402b (FIG. 6).

[0065] By means of an example only, it is presumed that the infrastructure of

location A has been destroyed by an act of terrorism or some other disaster, which

destruction includes the building housing the system 10a and the offices of the

enteφrise. During the disaster and its immediate aftermath it is desirable for the

employees of the enteφrise to maintain communications with the outside world (e.g.,

caU for help, alert loved ones that they are safe, initiate disaster recovery steps, etc.). Since the now destroyed enteφrise infrastructure contained a WC 30a backed up by a

WC 30b at another location, it is possible for the employees to send and receive calls on

their wireless devices once the system 400 initiates its disaster recovery processing.

[0066] FIG. 7 iUustrates in flowchart form exemplary disaster recovery

processing 450 performed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The

first act is to detect whether there has been a disaster or other occurrence at location A

that has rendered the enteφrise's telecommunication system 10a inoperable (step 452).

Once detected, the next step performed is to alert the PSTN 54 to reroute the DID

telephone numbers for location A to the WC 30b of the second system 10b. Once the

PSTN 54 completes the rerouting, which may be a matter of minutes depending upon

the number of DID telephone numbers that need to be rerouted, the location A

external DID telephone numbers as weU as its PBX and WC-PBX extensions, remote

device telephone numbers and user preferences wiU be in existence and handled by the

second WC 30b. None of the location A extensions or DID numbers wiU have been

changed. Thus, the enteφrise experiences minimal down time despite that fact that the

disaster may stiU be ongoing (e.g., burning buUding). To the employees and the

outside world, the rerouting of the services goes unnoticed. In fact, once the disaster is

over, the enteφrise can continue to conduct internal and external communications as

though the enteφrise is still functioning at location A.

[0067] Essential to the aforementioned processing is the repUcation of the

databases on the first and second WC's 30a, 30b. FIG. 8 iUustrates in flowchart form

exemplary database repUcation processing 500 performed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. For this example, it is presumed that the first WC 30a

located at location A is performing the processing 500. It should be appreciated,

however, that both WC 30a and WC 30b perform the processing 500. InitiaUy, the

first WC 30a checks its internal time (step 502). At step 504, the first WC 30a

determines if it is time to update (i.e., repUcate) databases. If it is time to update the

databases, the first WC 30a sends a copy of its location A database (step 506) to the

WC 30b at location B. It should be appreciated that the first WC 30a wiU have its main

database for processing the location A telephone numbers and either a second database

or a separate portion of its main database for storing the location B database

information. Whether the WC 30a uses a single large database or two smaller ones is a

matter of choice for the enteφrise.

[0068] Once the first WC 30a sends a copy of the location A information to

the WC 30b, it receives a copy of the location B database information from the second

WC 30b (step 508). The information can be received in a message transmitted over the

Internet 50 or by sateUite communications, or it can be received by file transfer protocol

(FTP) or any other networked protocol. The system 400 can be designed such that the

information may be copied from a shared memory device or server attached to a

network connection shared by the two WC units 30a, 30b, or by any other method.

Once the information is received, the first WC 30a updates its location B database (step

510). The first WC 30a wiU then calculate the next update time (step 512). The

periodicity of the database updates may be any time satisfactory to the enteφrise. It

should be appreciated that the databases can be copied in any manner and that the

invention is not limited to any particular method or means for the repUcation. [0069] It should be appreciated that the embodiments of the present

invention are suitable for governmental puφoses also. For example, presume that a

governmental agency was under terrorist attack. Most likely, the governmental

employees would be evacuated from their usual location. It may be necessary, however,

to contact these employees or for the employees to have access to the PBX network. If

the governmental agency was using a system 400 (FIG. 6) constructed in accordance

with the embodiments of the invention, the employees would be able to conduct

business as usual even though they have been relocated. Most importantly,

communications with key personnel wiU still be possible, which may be needed to

launch counter measures against the attack.

[0070] It should be noted that the invention has been described as being

used during a disaster or as part of a disaster recovery. Although this is a major

advantage of the invention, it need not be limited to such situations. For example, the

invention can be used during any time there is a need to bring down one of the PBX

networks (e.g., maintenance) or during a mere power faUure.

[0071] The embodiment iUustrated in FIG. 6 can be used as a mechanism by

a large enteφrise with several offices spread throughout the world to coordinate several

PBX networks into a single pseudo-network. In addition, these enteφrises having more

than one telecommunication system 10 wiU have multiple telephone numbers to

activate outbound caU processing from remote devices (described above with reference

to FIG. 5) via the multiple WC's 30. It should also be appreciated that the enteφrise's system 400 can be enhanced by the "intelligent routing" feature provided by most

"800 number" service providers (see below).

[0072] That is, the enteφrise can obtain a single toU free calling number

(e.g., "800 number") so that aU of its employees can dial one number to access their

appropriate WC unit. IntelUgent routing is performed by the service provider such that

the appropriate WC unit is selected based upon the location of the employee when she

is placing the caU to the WC. As long as aU of the WC units of the enteφrise have

repUcated each others databases, then it becomes possible for an employee whose office

is at location A to access the WC located at location B because she happens to be at the

location B office. This aUows the user to get the benefits of the location A wireless

connect/PBX network with a local caU even if she is thousands of mUes away from

location A.

[0073] FIG. 9 illustrates in flowchart form exemplary remote outbound caU

processing 550 performed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.

The processing begins when the user places a caU from a remote device to a WC via the

toU free calling number (step 552). The toU free calling service provider determines

the location of the user's remote device and selects the telephone number of the nearest

WC and connects the user to that WC (step 554). Once connected, the processing 550

performs the processing 300 described above with reference to FIG. 5. Thus, is it is

possible to coordinate multiple WC units and telecommunication systems for use with

intelligent routing. [0074] In a preferred embodiment, WC 30 is co-located with the enteφrises'

PBX 14, but may also be centraUy located in a remote location or distributed among

the many locations, or any combination of these arrangements.

[0075] WhUe preferred embodiments have been specificaUy described and

iUustrated herein, it should be apparent that many modifications to the embodiments

and implementations of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit or

scope of the invention. For example, while the preferred embodiments iUustrated

herein have been limited to the processing of voice (packet or circuit switched) caUs, it

should be read y apparent that any form of caU (e.g., audio, video, data) may be

processed through WC 30 to any communication device (e.g., ceUular phone, pager,

office/residential landUne telephone, computer terminal, personal digital assistant

(PDA), etc.). The individual method steps of the exemplary operational flows

illustrated in FIGS. 2-4 may be interchanged in order, combined, replaced or even

added to without departing from the scope of the invention. Any number of different

operations not iUustrated herein may be performed utilizing the invention.

[0076] In addition, wh e the iUustrated embodiments have demonstrated

implementations of the invention using PBX-based communication systems, it should

be readUy apparent that the WC module may be connected (directly, indirectly, co-

located, or remotely) with any other network switching device or communication

system used to process caUs such as a central switching office, centrex system, or

Internet server for telephone caUs made over the pubUc switched telephone network, private telephone networks, or even Internet Protocol (IP) telephony networks made

over the Internet.

[0077] It should be apparent that, while only PRI lines (e.g., between PBX

14 and WC 30, between PBX 14 and PSTN 16) have been iUustrated in discussing

preferred embodiments of the invention, these communication lines (as weU as any

other communication lines or media discussed herein) may be of any form, format, or

medium (e.g., PRI, Tl, OC3, electrical, optical, wired, wireless, digital, analog, etc.).

Moreover, although PSTN 16, 54 are depicted as separate networks for iUustration

puφoses, it should be readUy apparent that a single PSTN network alone may be used

in reducing the invention to practice. It should be noted that the WC 30 could trunk

back to the PBX 14 instead of being directly connected to the PSTN 54. The use of a

commercial wireless carrier network (represented by wireless switch 58 and antenna 60)

as described herein may be implemented using one or more commercial carriers using

the same or different signaling protocols (e.g., Sprint PCS and Nextel, etc.) depending

on the communication devices registered with the system.

[0078] The modules described herein such as the modules making up WC

30, as weU as WC 30 and PBX 14 themselves, may be one or more hardware, software,

or hybrid components residing in (or distributed among) one or more local or remote

systems. It should be readily apparent that the modules may be combined (e.g., WC 30

and PBX 14) or further separated into a variety of different components, sharing

different resources (including processing units, memory, clock devices, software

routines, etc.) as required for the particular implementation of the embodiments disclosed herein. Indeed, even a single general puφose computer executing a computer

program stored on a recording medium to produce the functionaUty and any other

memory devices referred to herein may be utilized to implement the iUustrated

embodiments. User interface devices utilized by in or in conjunction with WC 30 may

be any device used to input and/or ouφut information. The interface devices may be

implemented as a graphical user interface (GUI) containing a display or the Uke, or may

be a link to other user input/ouφut devices known in the art.

[0079] Furthermore, memory units employed by the system may be any one

or more of the known storage devices (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM), Read

Only Memory (ROM), hard disk drive (HDD), floppy drive, zip drive, compact disk-

ROM, DVD, bubble memory, etc.), and may also be one or more memory devices

embedded within a CPU, or shared with one or more of the other components.

Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but

is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

[0080] What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent

of the United States is:

Claims

1. A method of operating a telecommunication system including first and

second enteφrise telecommunication networks respectively connected to first and

second wireless connection units, said method comprising the steps of:

repUcating databases of the first and second wireless connection units, the

databases comprising a pluraUty of telephone extensions each associated with a first

communication device connected to the enteφrise telecommunication network and a

second communication device;

detecting that one of the first and second enteφrise telecommunication

networks has become inoperable; and

routing a communication destined for an extension of the inoperable enteφrise

telecommunication network to the wireless connection unit associated with and

connected to the other of the first and second enteφrise telecommunication networks.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

identifying a dialed telephone extension from the routed communication;

using the identified extension to retrieve a first communication device number

associated with the first communication device and a second communication device

number associated with the second communication device; and

routing the communication to at least one of said first and second

communication device numbers.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the databases further comprise at least one

user preference associated with each of the pluraUty of telephone extensions.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising the steps of:

identifying a dialed telephone extension from the routed communication;

using the identified extension to retrieve a first communication device number

associated with the first communication device, a second communication device number

associated with the second communication device and at least one user preference; and

routing the communication to at least one of said first and second

communication device numbers based on the user preference.

5. The method of claim 3 further comprising the steps of:

identifying a dialed telephone extension from the routed communication;

using the identified extension to retrieve a first communication device number

associated with the first communication device, a second communication device number

associated with the second communication device and at least one user preference; and

directing the routed communication in accordance with the user preference to at

least one destination communication number, wherein the at least one destination

communication number is selected from a group including the first and second

communication device numbers and a voice maUbox number.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said routing step comprises routing direct

inbound dialed telephone numbers associated with each extension of the inoperable

enteφrise telecommunication network to a telephone number associated with the other

of the first and second enteφrise telecommunication networks.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said repUcating step comprises:

transmitting a copy of the database associated with the first wireless connection

unit to the second wireless connection unit; and

receiving at the first wireless connection unit a copy of the database associated

with the second wireless connection unit.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said transmitting and receiving steps are

performed over a network communication medium.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein said ttansmitting and receiving steps are

performed over the Internet.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein said transmitting and receiving steps are

performed by wireless communications.

11. A method of performing disaster recovery on a telecommunication system

including first and second enteφrise telecommunication networks respectively

connected to first and second wireless connection units, said method comprising the steps of: repUcating databases of the first and second wireless connection units, the

databases comprising a pluraUty of telephone extensions each associated with a first

communication device connected to the enteφrise telecommunication network and a

wireless communication device;

detecting that one of the first and second enteφrise telecommunication

networks has become inoperable; and

routing a communication destined for an extension of the inoperable enteφrise

telecommunication network to the wireless connection unit associated with and

connected to the other of the first and second enteφrise telecommunication networks;

identifying a dialed telephone extension from the routed communication;

using the identified extension to retrieve a telephone number associated with the

wireless communication device; and

directing the routed communication to the telephone number of the wireless

communication device.

12. A method of providing access to a telecommunication system from a

wireless telephone, the system comprising multiple enteφrise telephone networks, the

method comprising the steps of:

receiving a telephone caU from the wireless telephone;

determining a location of the wireless telephone; connecting the wireless telephone to one of the enteφrise telephone networks

based on the location of the wireless telephone;

identifying a wireless telephone number of the wireless telephone;

using the wireless telephone number to authenticate a user of the wireless

telephone;

generating a simulated dial tone;

sending the simulated dial tone to the wireless telephone;

providing telecommunication access to the enteφrise telephone network

communicating with the wireless telephone based on at least one user preference and at

least one enteφrise preference associated with the wireless telephone.

13. A telecommunication system comprising:

a first telecommunication unit connected to a first enteφrise telecommunication

network, said first telecornmunication unit comprising:

a first memory device comprising a first database, said first database

comprising a first pluraUty of telephone extensions for the first telecommunication

network, each extension being associated with first and second communication devices,

and

a first processor connected to said first memory device, said first processor

for identifying a first telephone caU to a first dialed extension of the first telecommunication network and routing the first telephone caU to first and second

communication devices associated with the first dialed extension; and

a second telecommunication unit connected to a second enteφrise

telecommunication network and being in communication with said first

telecommunication unit, said second telecommunication unit comprising:

a second memory device comprising a second database, said second

database comprising a second pluraUty of telephone extensions for the second

telecommunication network, each extension being associated with third and fourth

communication devices, and

a second processor connected to said second memory device, said second

processor for identifying a second telephone caU to a second dialed extension of the

second telecommunication network and routing the second telephone caU to third and

fourth communication devices associated with the second dialed extension;

wherein said first processor repUcates and stores the second database in said first

memory device and said second processor repUcates and stores the first database in said

second memory device.

14. The telecommunication system of claim 13, wherein said first processor

processes telephone caUs made to extensions of the second telecommunication network.

15. The telecommunication system of claim 13, wherein said second processor

processes telephone caUs made to extensions of the first telecommunication network.

16. The telecommunication system of claim 13, wherein said first and second

databases further comprise at least one user preference associated with each of said first

and second pluraUty of telephone extensions.

17. The telecommunication system of claim 16, wherein said first processor

retrieves at least one user preference associated with said second dialed extension and

routes the second telephone caU to third and fourth communication devices associated

with the second dialed extension based on the at least one user preference.

18. The telecommunication system of claim 16, wherein said first processor

retrieves at least one user preference associated with said second dialed extension and

routes the second telephone caU to a destination telephone number based on the at

least one user preference, wherein said destination telephone number is selected from

the group consisting of telephone numbers of said third and fourth communication

devices associated with the second dialed extension and a voice maU box.

19. The telecommunication system of claim 16, wherein said second processor

retrieves at least one user preference associated with said first dialed extension and

routes the first telephone caU to first and second communication devices associated with

the first dialed extension based on the at least one user preference.

20. The telecommunication system of claim 16, wherein said second processor

retrieves at least one user preference associated with said first dialed extension and

routes the first telephone caU to a destination telephone number based on the at least

one user preference, wherein said destination telephone number is selected from the group consisting of telephone numbers of said first and second communication devices

associated with the first dialed extension and a voice maU box.

21. The telecommunication system of claim 13, wherein said first processor

repUcates said second database by receiving a copy of said second database over a

network communication medium.

22. The telecommunication system of claim 13, wherein said first processor

repUcates said second database by receiving a copy of said second database over the

Internet.

23. The telecommunication system of claim 13, wherein said first processor

repUcates said second database by receiving a copy of said second database by wireless

communication .

24. The telecommunication system of claim 13, wherein said first processor

routes the second telephone caU to a wireless device.

25. The telecommunication system of claim 13, wherein said second processor

routes the first telephone caU to a wireless device.

26. A telecommunication system comprising:

means for receiving a telephone caU from a wireless device via a toU free

telephone number;

means for determining a location of the wireless device; means for connecting the wireless device to an enteφrise telephone network

based on the location of the wireless device;

means for identifying a wireless telephone number of the wireless device;

means for using the wireless telephone number to authenticate a user of the

wireless device;

means for generating a simulated dial tone;

means for sending the simulated dial tone to the wireless device;

means for providing telecommunication access to the enteφrise telephone

network communicating with the wireless device based on at least one user preference

and at least one enteφrise preference associated with the wireless device.