MXPA98009507A - Method and apparatus for analyzing international long distance marking errors and completing automatically a call - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of processing of international telecommunication calls and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for analyzing international long distance dialing errors and automatically completing a call if the err can be determined.

Description

M ALL AND APPARATUS FOR ANALYZING LONG MARKING ERRORS INTERNATIONAL DISTANCE AND COMPLETING AUTOMATICALLY ONE CALL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Technical Field The present invention relates to the field of international telecommunication call processing and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for analyzing international long distance dialing errors and automatically completing them. a call if the error can be determined. 2. Description of Related Art Referring to Figure 1A, it shows a North American dial plan to automatically access an international long distance telephone number without the assistance of an international operator. Most nations now have adopted certain international standards so a calling party can have access to a nation's foreign telecommunications network without the calling party having to contact an international carrier. In the United States, to obtain automatic international long distance access, the digits 011 are dialed, which include REF: 28730 an international dialing access code IA, Other countries may adopt different codes, but the principle remains the same, the international dialing access code IA comprises a known code that distinguishes intranational dialing codes (within the country) such as those for accessing local and long distance services and help within the country. After the international access code IA, a CO country code is found, the country code indicates the country or nation that the calling party wishes to reach. The country codes used by subscribers who call internationals of the United States comprise two or three digits. The examples of CO country codes are 33 for France, 49 for Germany, 81 for Japan and 972 for Israel. Again, this two- or three-digit country code is an agreed international country code that is used by callers throughout the world to access a particular country by adopting the standard. If a country code comprises three digits, then the maximum number of countries that can be marked is one thousand. Since there are more than one thousand countries in the world, there is a need to increase the number of digits that comprise the CO country code. to four or more digits.

After the country code, the calling party must frequently enter a city code Cl that can comprise one or two digits. Some countries do not require any city code, for example, Kuwait, which has a country code of 965 and does not require any city code. In this way, a minimum number of digits that can comprise a combination of country code / city code is three digits. Examples may be Buenos Aires, which has the city code of 1 in Argentina. Argentina has a country code of 54. So the combination for Buenos Aires, Argentina, has three digits: 541. In the United States and Canada and under the North American numbering plan, we call the city code Cl area code. Due to the large increase in the demand for area codes in North America, it was contemplated that the "city code" or area code may, like the country code, exceed three digits and comprise four digits or more. The requirements in the United States that the area code has an intermediate digit of only 0 or 1 has disappeared. Now an example of an area code can have the same three digits as the first three digits of a directory number. The final step in dialing an international phone number in the United States is to enter the phone number or local DN directory number within the desired city and country. According to Figure 1A, the DN directory number typically comprises from 5 to 8 digits. On the other hand, as few as eight total digits including the country code, city code and directory number (excluding any international access code) may be required in some countries to complete a call to a directory number in that country. In the United States and abroad as well, there has been considerable, almost exponential growth in the demand for new telephone numbers. Citizens not only have a telephone number for their residence, they can also demand, for example, a telephone number for their portable cell phone, their pager, for their personal computer and their facsimile machine. Foreign telecommunications carriers have to grow with demand by adding new city codes in a way comparable to the way in which the United States has had to assign new area codes, for example, the new 732 area code in New Jersey . Also, the number of countries that want to modernize their international dialing is rapidly approaching the thousand level. It is difficult for telephone directories in the United States, which provide international dialing instructions, to provide only international long distance service providers, to grow with the dial plan changes needed by the demand for new telephone numbers. Increasingly, it is likely that a user may refer to inaccurate sources for the dialing information and, consequently, mark a number that may not be intelligible to the telephone network. For example, France typically has a CO country code of 33 and the Nice neighborhood in France requires a city code of 9. However, to increase the availability of telephone numbers in the neighborhood, the French telecommunications network recently instituted the inclusion of a digit between the CO country code and the city code Cl of 4. This digit must be included in the 2 place in Figure 1A. As a matter of additional confusion, when one receives correspondence from someone who has the DN directory number in the vicinity, they can give the new directory number as, for example, 04 93 24 08 91. They can dial 33 04 93 24 08 91 by mistake, thinking that 04 is a correct city code or could dial 33 4 93 24 08 91; In other words, is the 0 in 04 necessary? The calling party can be confused with the instructions in their local telephone directory by suggesting the entry of a country code and a one-digit city code (the local directory can only identify the city code for Paris, which is 1 and no other city codes). The calling party can not know where the country code ends, where the city code begins and ends, and where the directory number begins. Referring again to Figure 1A, in any of the places 1, 2, 3 and 4, ie between the access code and the country code, the country code and the city code, between the city code and the city code. Directory number and in the directory number itself, there is an opportunity for a foreign telecommunications network to add a new capacity in the directory number in a geographic region of the country by adding digits without deviating from the agreed international dialing plan. Currently, when a caller in the United States attempts to dial an international telephone number where the dial plan has changed, the calling party may not receive an indication that there is a problem other than a "high and dry" period. prolonged that can extend up to a minute or more where the caller, waiting to be connected, does not hear anything. The high and dry condition can use national and international telecommunications resources for which benefits will not be obtained (and could still be used for other calls). Receiving such an indication, the calling party can try again, then receiving the same "high and dry" indication, try to reach his international operator, who may or may not be able to help him with the problem, depending on how updated is the database to which the international operator can access. As a result, the international long distance carrier may suffer when dealing with an international carrier for a period of time and not benefit from one or more call attempts. In addition, each call attempt can be linked to additional local, international and foreign telecommunications facilities. In addition, the subscribers you call may be frustrated since not only are they unable to complete the call they want but they have no idea what the problem is. Of course, if the calling party makes the additional step of calling an international operator for help and if the international operator is able to assist the calling party, the international carrier providing the international operator services may be able to complete The call, but the international call carrier may not be able to charge for additional operator services because the failure to complete the international call was not the fault of the calling party. According to the copending United States Application Serial No., filed on August 27, 1997, there is an opportunity under the international dialing plans and standards to receive valuable call data by providing some indication as to why a call was not completed when it was dialed. abroad. For example, if the calling party dials an invalid number, the cause code value of 28 is returned by the foreign network for an "invalid number format". However, with such data of the cause code value, no additional automatic transmission of data that could be useful for updating a local database is provided as long as the new foreign numbering plan changes. The current system only identifies the problem. Typically, changes to foreign dial plans (adding digits in 1, 2, 3, or 4 in Figure IB) are handled "offline" (not in real time). The foreign telecommunications carrier typically notifies international carriers in the United States of changes in directory numbers and routing of the call, so that changes can be made to their databases and call processing algorithms. As a result, there is still a problem in the international calling plans and international dialing services that has to be solved, the problem is to help calling subscribers reach the international telephone numbers they are trying to reach automatically and so efficiently as possible.

PREVENT DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The problems and problems related to the prior art are solved by the principles of the present invention, a method and an apparatus for analyzing international dialing errors and, if the error can be determined, automatically completing the call. A database of the long distance adjunct processor for a consumer known in the art is updated with the new data from the international dial plan and preserves the associated obsolete country code and city code data. An adjunct processor comprises a controller / processor capable of processing calls, a database for storing data and an interactive voice or announcement system for communicating with a calling subscriber. Preferably, if a dialing error is detected and the error can be corrected, an ad system of the attached processor may not only announce that a call of the calling party can not be completed as it was set but describes the error and, In addition, it suggests that the calling subscriber take note of the new change in the dial plan. Once the consumer is notified of the error and how the error can be corrected, the calling party can make a reasonable determination of whether it agrees with the automatic evaluation provided via the attachment. The calling party may not have attempted an international call at all, not even reach a foreign part and city in the directory number, the deputy may announce it. On the other hand, the calling party can find the exact error analysis, take note of the change of the dialing plan and signal to the deputy that the deputy can proceed with the establishment of the call. The interactive voice system and the human factor interface that the present invention presents to the international caller is important. The identification and correction of a call erroneously marked in the present invention should not be addressed without paying attention to the behavior of the calling party. The charges for processing of dialing errors are weighed against the benefit of providing personalized service to calling subscribers in the determination of the different embodiments of the present invention. In another preferred embodiment, announcements of a whole are not made. The first several digits, for example, up to eight digits after an access code are taken into account, the digits are compared with combinations of anticipated city code and city code such as obsolete country or city codes, and, if the error can be determined positively, the call can be re-launched automatically with the country code / city code corrected. The subscriber calling in this mode may not know that a correction was made to the digits that the subscriber who called frame. On the other hand, the call is processed efficiently and quickly without delay. In another modality, where the combination of country codes and city code can not be positively determined from the marked digits considered, the call can be automatically connected to an international operator to provide help. In yet another mode, the international dialing habits of the calling subscriber can be stored over time and the collected information used to correct the dialing errors made by the calling subscriber, who frequently calls international numbers. Those and other embodiments and features of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description of the invention in connection with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1A provides an overview of an automatic international dialing plan, for example, in telephone directories of carriers of local exchange, where an international access code IA precedes a country code CO, the CO country code precedes a city code Cl and the city code Cl precedes a directory number for an international part called. Figure IB describes the establishment of an international call in the United States via a consumer's long distance adjunct processor 60 for special services to consumers 10 trying to establish international calls to a party called 100 connected to a foreign telephone network. Figure 2 provides a schematic, functional block diagram, a long distance adjunct processor of a consumer 60 of Figure IB comprising a processor / controller, a voice system and a database. Figure 3 provides a flowchart of call processing for processing a call according to the present invention via the attachment 60 and with reference to Figure IB.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Figure 1A has already been described in some detail to present the problem solved by the present invention. Referring to Figure IB, it shows a system according to the present invention for completing an international call. A subscriber calling 10, not aware of a change of the dialing plan in a foreign telephone network 80, can dial 011, an international access code IA, a country code CO, a city code Cl and a directory number DN and may not yet be able to complete your call even if it is not your fault. The foreign telecommunication network 80 may have changed its dialing plan to include a change in any of the places 1, 2, 3 or 4. The change may comprise a single new digit or even two new digits, depending on the circumstances of the change . The change can be instituted in more than one place in the international telephone number simultaneously, for example, in each of the places 1 and 2. Referring to Figure IB, a typical global telephone network comprises a domestic switched telephone network 70 and a foreign telephone network 80. Of course, the figure as it is drawn does not reflect that the domestic telephone network can connect to multiple foreign telephone networks 80, each of which can have its own dialing plan. In the United States, the calling party at station 10 dials the international access code IA 0-1-1 to signal to a final office 20 in its local exchange area that the calling party wishes to make an international call. The series of digits that follow immediately must represent a CO country code followed by a city code Cl. As used here, the city code must be constructed to include the concept of an area code or any other code that follows the code. country code and precede a directory number. The digits for international access, country code and city code are followed by the directory number DN or telephone number of the called party with which the calling party wishes to speak. Traditionally, once the final office 20 receives the digits 0-1-1, the final office 20 knows that it must send the following digits to a long distance switch 40 (sometimes via a cascade switch 30), which in turn sends the dialed digits to an international gateway switching office 50 of the long distance carrier selected by the calling subscriber 10. The logical address tables of the attachment (ALA) have previously been used by the long distance offices to locate attachments and send calls to attachments for processing. In the most recent long distance network architectures, the long distance switch has associated with it a USDS 90 network control point for the routing and priority service that can eventually replace the traditional ALA and the active long distance office the tables (for example, which helps the long distance office obtain a direct link to the international gate). Also shown is a long-distance attached processor of a consumer 60. The international gateway switching office 50 can be connected to a selected foreign telephone network 80 represented by the following digits of the code of steps CO. The final office 20, for example, can point to the international gateway 50 long distance center and the intermediate office via either a bandwidth or a more modern out-of-band signaling system. The final office 20 can send the dialed digits and the automatic number identification (ANI) data identifying the calling party 10 by his telephone number. When the international gateway switching office 50, for example, a # 4ESS switch available Lucent Technologies, Inc., receives the city code, the city / region code and the telephone number, the office 50 is in a position to look for both ways to establish links with the calling party 10 via other network elements, if they are not already established, and the party called 100. In the prior art band signaling, communication links through cascading communication offices 30 and long-distance switching offices 40 were determined at the time of signaling the international gateway switch 50. That is, the office end 20 attempts to reach gate 50 by establishing successive communication links through, for example, cascaded offices 30, long distance offices 40 and finally international gateway switch 50, In the most modern out-of-band signaling systems, such Like the SS-7, communication links are determined after signaling. For example, activation tables and, eventually, a USDS network control point helps achieve this as a direct link where possible between offices. In any case, the path of the conversation between the calling party 10 and the gate 50 is typically determined at the time or before the gate office 50 begins to reach the foreign network 80. The international gateway switching center 50 it then signals the foreign telephone network 80 by sending the city / region code dialed and the telephone number of the called party. If the calling subscriber 10 is identified as a subscriber belonging to a special service available for example for a long distance carrier, his call can be processed by a long distance adjunct processor of the consumer 60, for example, associated with a switching office long distance 40 (or another office in the home network 70). The present invention relates to what happens in the case where the digits initially marked by the calling subscriber could result in an incomplete call, for example, because the caller 10 was provided with a "high" indication and dry "that nothing happened (ie there is no busy signal or ring). The calling party may suspect that there is something wrong with the number he has set and can check the display screen of the dialed number if he has it or dial the number again. If you dial the number again and you receive the same answer, you can try to reach an international operator to get help. If the international operator can help you, instructions can be given to the calling party about the easily recognized dialing problem; On the other hand, if the international operator can not help, the call is lost and the operator's time is consumed. Referring briefly to Figure 2, an attached long-distance dialing processor of a consumer 60 comprises an interactive voice system and a database management system under the control of a controller / processor that can be interconnected by others. of a local area network 230. Such processors 60 are known, for example, to provide international dialing services known as international redial services available from AT & T. An interactive voice system 210 is known, for example, such as a conversation system available from Lucent Technologie Inc. or a Nortel. Interactive speech system 210 provides voice announcements and can receive and interpret voice responses or multiple frequency tone signaling responses to questions or queries almost as a virtual human dialogue with an international operator. The controller / processor 200 may, for example, comprise a VAX machine available from Digital Equiment Corporation and have an associated database 220. Important to the present invention are the combination of the human factors interconnection of the interactive voice system 210 for help kindly calling subscribers, trying to make international long distance calls and add the call handling capability of the VAX 200 processor, above and beyond normal call handling, to launch international calls again found They contain marking errors. The present invention may be implemented in such an attachment 60 or in connection with the call processing algorithms implemented in a long distance office 40 or gate 50, provided that each has access to the database and an interactive voice system. Now that the problem solved by the present invention has been introduced, the present invention will be discussed with reference to Figure 3. The database administration system 220 can be a shared system of a domestic long distance carrier. As such, the database administration system is updated with the changes of the numbering plan of the foreign telephone networks 80 and the identification of the ANI of the calling subscribers, who frequently call to countries where change is occurring. For example, the database 220 comprises an obsolete country code list and the corresponding updated country codes and obsolete city codes for those country codes and the corresponding updated city codes. Referring briefly to Figure 1, the updated country code may have a digit added in place 1 or 2 and the updated city code may have a digit added in place 2 6 3. Next, the algorithm and related algorithms of Figure 3 of, for example, the attachment 60 will take the necessary action to interpret, analyze, inform and launch the calls again. The updates are shared among all the long distance offices 40 or international gate offices 50 or any other switch of the domestic long distance carrier having access to the database 220, for example, via the attachment 60.

The attached processor 60 further comprises a controller or processor for performing an algorithm according to the present invention as suggested by Figure 3. Figure 3 provides an implementation of the present invention, other implementations can be had in mind from the following description of a preferred embodiment. Attachment 60 may accommodate the present invention but alternatively or future embodiments, the present invention may be implemented practically anywhere within the home network 70 or the foreign network 80. Before entering Figure 3, a subscriber who has selected a long distance carrier capable of offering the service of the present invention marks an international call, for example, from his residence or business. The long-distance switching office 40 recognizes the calling party's telephone number via automatic identification of the number sent via the carrier of the local exchange. The long distance office recognizes that the calling party is a subscriber of international long distance services and sends the call to attachment 60 for processing. There may be other ways in which the attachment 60 may be called in the international call processing activity that may be held by "one skilled in the art." Future plans for international dialing may involve control points of the network 90 and alternative means for directing call processing The processor / controller comprising the attachment 60 refers to its database and determines which call processing is necessary by searching for the ANI of a calling party 10 and the dialed number understand all the elements sent by the long distance switch suggested by Figure 1A after the international access code 0-1-1 In a preferred mode, as few as five and as many as eight or even more digits after the access code are considered In step 300, the ANI, the country code CO, or the city code Cl, and the DN directory number are all received in the adju 60 and separately and together, for example, alone, in pairs, in groups of three or in other combinations immediately compared to the values known in database 220 in step 305. If considered individually, problems can be determined or detected, but the information may be insufficient to correct an error. According to the present invention, a comparison of the first three to six or more digits such as the eight digits of the dialed number can be attempted first to locate a valid country code, a valid city code or a pair of country codes / Valid city code. An algorithm based on the context is thus suggested by the present invention, where, for example, the combination of CO country codes, and city code Cl can be analyzed in the context of the requirement of both inputs. In the two entries for the country code and the city code, an intermediate step not shown may be the elimination / compression of unnecessary zero (0) entries. Also, subsequently, the DN directory number is determined, any one or the other or the pair of city codes and directory numbers can be analyzed. In addition, the DN directory number can also be considered separately or in the context of both of the others. The verification of the international directory number may require the connection of the attachment 60 to another database of shared resources (not shown) where all the directory numbers for a telephone network of a marked country are located. Such a service can be provided by the foreign telephone network or a private entity and connect via a local or wide area data network or through the Internet. Simplifying the analysis, the possible results of the match 310 or absence of equality 320 represent an initial stage of the analysis, so the number dialed after the international access code is compared directly against a valid dialed number. If there is an equality in step 310, then, the call is allowed to complete or can be completed automatically, and it can be assumed that the originally dialed number will result in a complete call. In this case, there is no need to provide an announcement to the calling party 10 because the dialed digits appear to have been entered correctly, the call can be completed as originally marked, and the network assumes that an error occurred in the processing of the call committed by the home network 70 or the foreign network 80. On the other hand, if an equality of the dialed digits does not occur and that results in an inequality in the step 320, the present invention assumes further that an auxiliary search for codes is available. of obsolete country and city and / or an analysis can be made based on the context. Thus, the present invention comprises step 325 wherein this can be learned from an analysis of the first three to six, and preferably up to eight, digits dialed that, for example, now France requires a 4 between the country code 33 and its city code for Nice, France is 9, In this way the auxiliary search relates to the concept of not only considering a. country code and a city code individually but together as a pair so that errors can be corrected. The first three digits 3-3-9 can be identified as a potential error by finding an equalization with a combination of obsolete city code / city code, and the subscriber can learn to mark the corrected digits 3-3-4-9, specifically since the error can be determined with a high probability of success. Thus, an equalization with a reasonable correction can be made in step 330 through the auxiliary processing in step 325 when an equalization can not be determined in step 305. This matching can result in a mode with an automatic re-launch of Calls without a message to the calling party from where the error occurred. In the analysis, a preferred analysis is to examine the first three to six digits to match the country code and city code in one modality, up to eight or more digits, and then proceed with an analysis of a city code combination, and appropriate directory number. Other alternative steps of the analysis may be kept in mind by one skilled in the art. Continuing with the example of marking Nice, France. A voice announcement may then be provided to the subscriber calling 100 in step 335 via the interactive speech system 210 in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The advertisement may provide one or more combinations of the following forms of information as appropriate: 1) a feedback of the digits dialed by the consumer and an explanation, 2) the existence of a potential network, 3) a potential reason why the call could not be completed as marked, 4) instructions on how the calling party could have dialed the number to complete the call and 5) an offer to complete the call automatically. The service may request to respond with the voice or dial to proceed. For example, step 335 may operate as follows. The attached processor retrieves a voice pattern assumed for an advertisement and inserts the information according to the results of receiving a number dialed in step 300 and the results of processing steps 305 and 325 where an error has been detected. potential and a reasonable solution has been determined. The announcement may proceed as follows: "We are unable to complete your call as marked." We understand that you dialed a directory number 3-2-4-0-8- -1 located in city code 9 (the Nice region) from country code 33 (France) The French telephone network now asks you to insert a 4 between the country code and the city code Please note this change If you want us to complete your call for you, please say yes or, use your numeric keypad, enter *. "If the user enters a * or says" yes ", then the call can be redialed automatically in the re-launch step of 340, the opportunity for the caller saying "yes" or tick * can affirm the reasonable determination of an error by attachment 60, In other words, the adjunct does not have to perfectly correct its determination of a potential error and a reasonable correction. more than one equalization or solution to the problem and announce if the caller would like to hear the second most likely solution of the attachment to their dialing problem if the adjunct can determine such a better second solution.This is a feature that may require a baseline analysis to the context more complex than a simple analysis of the country code and city code taken together.Of course, if the consumer says "yes" or enters a request for the digit or sequence of dialed digits, the attachment tries the call in relaunch step 340 and completes the "call in step 345. The user is happy, the operator of the long-distance carrier saves services and obtains benefits from the call in other lost circumstances. The long distance carrier that offers the present service does not need to make a charge for the service itself. The service of the invention of the present becomes a valuable aggregate feature not necessarily provided by another long distance carrier offering international long distance connection services.

In a simplified embodiment of the present invention, an international telephone number marked by an error can be re-launched automatically if the error can be determined positively. For example, in the example of dialing to Nice, France, given above, the error is clear. The change to the French network has occurred. In this embodiment, the processor 60 preferably intercepts the dialed calls to know, recognize, the obsolete country code and / or city code combinations, of which the solution is known. As a result, the error can be corrected safely and the call can be launched again without hesitation. This immediate relaunch of the call to the calling subscriber may mean a faster conclusion of the call for the calling subscriber, but, a disadvantage of such a mode may be that the called subscriber can receive news of how the international call can dial in. a future without error. A remedy to this problem may be by providing an advertisement or indication to the calling subscriber of the change of the country code or city code as soon as the called party picks up and before the calling party picks up or rings the calling party again with the ad immediately after picking up. In yet another embodiment, the calling patterns of an international caller can be memorized in the attachment 60. A subscriber who frequently calls a called party can inadvertently dial an erroneous number which can be corrected by comparison with a dialing list called frequently and stored in the memory of the attachment 60. In such an embodiment, the correction of a directory number can be relatively easy to perform. If an analysis is made based on the context of all the components of the dialed number in Figure 1A, the correction of the errors in any of the places 1, 2, 3, and 4 can be obtained as a result. For example, there may be a Recently incremented instruction in the number of digits from a local seven-digit number to eight or the dialed directory number may have changed to a newly assigned directory number because the dialed subscriber could have been changed. Such analysis may require connection to an auxiliary database for directory numbers managed by the foreign telephone network or by a private entity for the foreign telephone network. In that case, the message may follow step 335: "We are unable to complete your call as marked." We understand that you dialed the number 3-2-4-0-8-9-1 located in city code 9 (the Nice region) of the country code 33 (France), The directory list you just dialed is for Hotel de Vence and its number has recently changed to 3-3-2-5-2-9-4. Please take note of this change If you would like us to complete your call for you, please say yes or, use your numeric keypad, enter * ". The subscriber can recognize that the list of directory numbers is the number he wishes to dial and proceeds with the call. However, as suggested at the outset, to determine a complex change such as an increase in the number of dialed digits or combination errors occurring in two places in Figure 1A, the attachment 60 may have to refer to an auxiliary database and, in addition, to determine, from the context of the whole number marked in Figure 1A, how and where the error occurred and to make conjectures about what caused the error. In a preferred embodiment anticipating the future where a country code can comprise up to four digits and a similar city number and code, there may still be two-digit country codes and single-digit city codes and the like they can be followed by five-digit directory numbers. Accordingly, if one embodiment of the present invention considers eight digits after the access code, this eight-digit consideration can allow not only the analysis of the country code and the city code but also the directory number. On the other hand, and for other countries, the analysis of up to eight digits can only allow the analysis of the country code / city code.

Any number of changes to a numbering plan or local directory number may require analysis based on the complex context at several levels. By plurality of levels means, not to perform the individual analysis of entries such as the country code and city code, but pairs of entries or the full dialed number after the international access code. Once the adjunct resolves a particular problem, the attachment 60 can learn from consumer feedback and assume a solution to similar problems. Such processes are not shown in the flow diagram herein but may be provided. Referring again to Figure 1A, the problem caused by the marker can be related to changes in the dial plan of a foreign network, changes that can appear in 1, 2, 3 or 4. Another possible change described above is that the number DN directory has indeed changed due to a change in the dial plan or due to the need for a changed list, for example, by relocating a called party. Each of these can be solved according to the present invention. Even combinations of changes or errors are possibly solved where an error may occur at any of the places 1, 2, 3, or 4. A reasonable correction can be identified and announced to the calling subscriber in step 335 and, if the subscriber The call is in accordance with the proposed solution, the call can be retested in steps 340 and 345. Finally, if the user verifies the change, the system can learn from the experience and provide such a solution to the same caller or to a new subscriber. Call with the same dialing problem. If the analysis based on the context of the present invention fails, there is still an opportunity to provide alternative solutions to the caller 10. If there is no match in step 350, the announcement step 355 may result in the advertisement or message: "Your call could not be completed as you marked it, we interpret your request as an application for a telephone number in Nice, France, if you wish, we can connect you with an international operator." The calling party is given an opportunity to agree or disagree with the analysis and / or examine the number he dialed. If the calling subscriber answers "yes" or dials a predetermined code or code sequence, the calling subscriber can be connected to the international operator services in step 360. The attendant can in turn connect the calling subscriber to the subscriber. directory assistance on the foreign network or may otherwise be able to assist the calling party to complete the call to its intended caller at step 370. If the calling party can not be helped, the call ends at the Step 365 Other features of the present invention may include the opportunity to offer known auxiliary services to the calling subscriber 10, such as automatic international redialing if the called party is not available or his line is currently busy. The announcements and suggestions in step 335 or 355 can be provided to the calling subscriber in a selected foreign language, such as Spanish for Spanish-speaking Americans. Any patent applications or patents referred to herein shall be considered and incorporated by reference in all their contents for any material deemed necessary for an appreciation of the present invention. The present invention should be considered only limited by the scope of the following claims. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention. Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following

Claims (22)

1. A method for completing an international call when the call can not be completed as it was initially marked, characterized in that it comprises the steps of receiving a country code, a city code and called party part numbers, comparing combinations of the country code, city code and called party number to detect if there is a potential error in the country code, between the country code and the city code and between the city code and the called party number; and announce the calling party that the potential error occurred.

The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it also comprises the steps of determining a reasonable correction of the detected potential error and announcing the reasonable correction to the calling party.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it also comprises the steps of referring to a database of obsolete country codes and city codes and corresponding updated city codes and city codes; and retrieve an updated country code and city code for an obsolete country code and city code from a database that are the same as the received country code and city code.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it also includes the step of announcing to the called party that it has the opportunity to connect to receive assistance from an international operator.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the announcement or message step further comprises announcing the country code and the city code marked by the calling party.

6. The method of compliance with the claim 1, characterized in that the announcement step further comprises announcing the number dialed after the international access code,

7. The method according to the claim 2, characterized in that the announcement step further comprises a suggestion for the calling party to accept the reasonable correction.

8. The method in accordance with the claim 1, characterized in that it also comprises the steps of determining a reasonable correction of the detected potential error; and complete the call to a dialed number that incorporates reasonable correction.

The method according to claim 7, characterized in that it further comprises the steps of receiving a predetermined suggestion from the calling party and completing the call to a dialed number incorporating reasonable correction.

10. The method of compliance with the claim 2, characterized in that it also comprises the step of learning the validity of a reasonable correction if the calling party verifies the reasonable correction.

11. The method according to the claim 3, characterized in that the comparison step comprises the step of considering the first three to eight digits of the dialed number.

12. A method for completing an international call when the call can not be completed as it was initially dialed, characterized in that it comprises the steps of receiving a number of digits between three and eight digits of the dialed number, storing the dialed number, comparing the three to eight digits of the dialed number with a list of obsolete country code and city code combinations, retrieve and update the combination of country code and city code if there is equality between the three to eight digits and the list of country codes and obsolete city codes and automatically redial the dialed number including the updated country code and city code retrieved.

The method according to claim 12, characterized in that it also comprises the step of announcing the calling party the updated country code and city code.

The method according to claim 12, characterized in that it also comprises the step of requesting the call to accept the meaning before the step of automatically dialing again.

15. A method to complete an international call when the call can not be completed as it was initially dialed, characterized in that it comprises the steps of receiving a number of digits between one and four digits of the dialed number, storing the dialed number, comparing one to four digits of the dialed number with a list of obsolete country codes, retrieving an updated country code if there is equality between one to four digits and the list of obsolete country codes and automatically redial the dialed number including the updated country code retrieved.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that it also comprises the step of announcing to the calling party the updated country code.

The method according to claim 15, characterized in that it further comprises the step of requesting the calling subscriber to accept the meaning before the step of automatically redialing.

18. A method for completing an international call when the call can not be completed as it was initially dialed, characterized in that it comprises the steps of receiving a number of digits between three and eight digits of the dialed number, storing the dialed number, comparing the three to eight digits of the number marked with a list of obsolete city codes, retrieve and update the city code if there is an equality between the three to eight digits and the list of obsolete city codes and automatically redial the dialed number including the code of updated and recovered city.

The method according to claim 18, characterized in that it also comprises the step of announcing the calling part of the updated city code.

The method according to claim 18, characterized in that it also comprises the step of requesting the calling subscriber to accept the meaning before the step of automatically redialing.

21. A method for completing an international call to the called party's number, when the call can not be completed as initially dialed, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: receiving an international call that includes a first string of digits indicative of the geographical destination of a called party and a second string of digits comprising the address of the called party within that geographical destination; compare the first string of digits received with the first strings of obsolete digits to determine the existence of an error and retrieve a first associated string of digits, updated, different from the first string of digits received, and complete the international call that includes the first string of recovered digits and the second string of digits.

22. The method for completing an international call according to claim 21, characterized in that it also comprises the step of announcing the first received string of digits.