Virtual networking work at home system and method

Claim 1

A virtual networking system for completing a call from an originating telephone station to a telecommunication network, the system comprising: a receiver for receiving an input signaling message comprising an indicator of the originating telephone station and an indicator of a destination virtual network station; a billing number translator for translating the indicator of the originating telephone station to a corresponding indicator of a billing station to which the call is to be billed; a destination translator for translating the indicator of a destination virtual network station to a corresponding indicator of a destination telephone station to which the call is to be completed; a signaling message generator for generating an output signaling message containing the corresponding indicator of the billing station to which the call is to be billed in place of the indicator of the originating telephone station, and the corresponding indicator of the destination telephone station in place of the indicator of the destination virtual network station; and a transmitter for transmitting the output signaling message to the telecommunication network, such that the call is completed to the destination telephone station and is billed to the billing station instead of the originating telephone station.

Claim 11

A method of completing a call in a virtual telecommunication network from an originating telephone station to an interexchange carrier network, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, at a service control point, an input signaling message containing an indicator of the originating telephone station and an indicator of a destination virtual network station; translating the indicator of the originating telephone station to a corresponding indicator of a station to which the call is to be billed and the indicator of a destination virtual network station to a corresponding indicator of a destination telephone station to which the call is to be completed; generating an output signaling message comprising the corresponding indicator of a billing station to which the call is to be billed in place of the indicator of the originating telephone station and the corresponding indicator of a destination telephone station in place of the indicator of the destination virtual network station; and, transmitting the output signaling message to the interexchange carrier network, such that the call is completed to the destination telephone station and is billed to the billing station instead of the originating telephone system.

Claim 12

A method of completing a call in a virtual telecommunication network from an originating telephone station to an interexchange carrier network, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, at a service control point, an input signaling message containing an indicator of the originating telephone station and an indicator of a destination virtual network station; translating the indicator of the originating telephone station to a corresponding indicator of a station to which the call is to be billed and the indicator of a destination virtual network station to a corresponding indicator of a destination telephone station to which the call is to be completed; generating an output signaling message comprising the corresponding indicator of a billing station to which the call is to be billed in place of the indicator of the originating telephone station and the corresponding indicator of a destination telephone station in place of the indicator of the destination virtual network station; and, transmitting the output signaling message to the interexchange carrier network, such that the call is completed to the destination telephone station and is billed to the billing station instead of the originating telephone system.

Claim 15

A method of completing a call in a virtual telecommunication network from an originating station to an interexchange carrier network, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, at a service switching point, an access code dialed by a caller at the originating station; transmitting, from the service switching point to a service control point, a signaling message indicating receipt of the access code; recognizing, at the service control point, the access code and transmitting, from the service control point to the service switching point, a signaling message instructing the service switching point to present a second dial tone to the caller; receiving, at the service switching point, a dialed number from the caller; transmitting, from the service switching point, a signaling message indicating an originating station number and the dialed number; responsive to receiving the signaling message at the service control point, modifying the signaling message by performing the steps of: translating the originating number to a corresponding billing number and replacing the originating number in the signaling message with the billing number; if the dialed number is a virtual network station number, translating the dialed number to a corresponding destination number and replacing the dialed number in the signaling message with the destination number; presenting the call, including the modified signaling message, to the interexchange carrier; billing the call to the billing number; and completing the call to the destination number.

Claim 16

A method of completing a call in a virtual telecommunication network from an originating station to an interexchange carrier network, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, at a service switching point, an access code dialed by a caller at the originating station; transmitting, from the service switching point to a service control point, a signaling message indicating receipt of the access code; recognizing, at the service control point, the access code and transmitting, from the service control point to the service switching point, a signaling message instructing the service switching point to present a second dial tone to the caller; receiving, at the service switching point, a dialed number from the caller; transmitting, from the service switching point, a signaling message indicating an originating station number and the dialed number; responsive to receiving the signaling message at the service control point, modifying the signaling message by performing the steps of: translating the originating number to a corresponding billing number and replacing the originating number in the signaling message with the billing number; if the dialed number is a virtual network station number, translating the dialed number to a corresponding destination number and replacing the dialed number in the signaling message with the destination number; presenting the call, including the modified signaling message, to the interexchange carrier; billing the call to the billing number; and completing the call to the destination number.