GB2454886A - Maintaining privacy of primary telephone number by use of secondary number - Google Patents

Abstract

A communication request from a subscriber of a network to establish a communication with a third party includes an indication of the third party's telephone number (i.e. a desired destination number), an indication of the telephone number of the user's telephone handset (i.e. its CLI), and an indication that the user wishes to withhold their handset's telephone number from the third party (e.g. this a predefined prefix added to the dialled destination number). On determining the presence of the indication that the user wishes to withhold their telephone number, the communication request is modified by replacing the indication of the user's telephone number with an indication of a secondary telephone number associated with the user before being forwarded to the third party. Thus the third party receives a communication request appearing to originate from the secondary telephone number. If the third party sends a communication request to the secondary number, the communication request may then be modified so that the destination address associated with the request (i.e. the secondary telephone number) is replaced with the user's handset's telephone number such that the request may be delivered to the user's handset. The communication request from the third party may be modified by adding a prefix (or suffix) to the telephone number of the third party such that if the user uses his telephone's reply feature to call or text the third party back, the privacy prefix is automatically included in his return call/text, thereby preserving his anonymity. Calls or text messages sent using the privacy prefix, or returned via the secondary telephone number, may receive special handling, eg they may be automatically recorded for future reference.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORKS

BACKGROUND ART

The invention relates to telecommunication networks, and in particular to apparatus and methods for processing communication requests in such networks.

A subscriber of a telecommunication network is generally provided with a unique number which identifies the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) (usually inserted into a telephone handset) he uses to accesses the telecommunication network.

The number is generally referred to as the MSISDN of the subscriber, or simply as the subscriber's telephone number. The telephone number is specified by third parties in association with communications, e.g. voice calls or text messages, they wish to send to the subscriber. The telecommunication network relies on the telephone number specified by the sending party to route the communication to the intended recipient's handset. The subscriber's telephone number is also often automatically associated with outgoing communications, e.g. voice calls or text messages to a third party. In this respect the subscriber's telephone number is associated with the communication as what is often referred to as a calling line identity (CLI). Likewise, a CLI identifying the telephone number of a third party will usually be associated with communications received by the subscriber from the third party.

The use of a unique telephone number to identif' a subscriber's handset for incoming communications, and the automatic release of this number as a CLI associated with outgoing communications, provides for a simple mechanism for users of a telecommunications network to send and receive messages. For example, a subscriber who receives a communication from an unknown third party will readily be able to respond to the third party since their telephone number will generally be provided as a CLI of the received communication. Similarly, if the subscriber wishes to contact a third party with a communication which is intended to elicit a reply, the subscriber does not need to manually specify their contact details, e.g. in the body of a text message or by stating their telephone number in a voice call. This is because the subscriber knows that the third party will be able to readily obtain their contaCt details (i.e. telephone number) from the CLI associated with initial communication from the subscriber to the third party.

However, a drawback of this approach is reduced privacy in that often a subscriber may wish to contaCt a third party without releasing their personal telephone number.

To address this issue it is generally possible for a subscriber to avoid releasing their personal telephone number by setting an option of their telephone handset or network such that their CLI is withheld when sending communications. However, this too has drawbacks. For example, it is not uncommOn for people to reject a communication having an unspecified (e.g. withheld) CLI. Thus if a subscriber chooses to withhold their CLI for privacy reasons, their communication may be rejected by the intended recipient. Furthermore, even if the third party recipient does not reject the communication, the third party would have no way of responding to the subscriber unless the subscriber went to the trouble of specifying a separate response path (e.g. the subscriber could specify a telephone number of a second handset they own which has a telephone number they do not mind releasing). However, this solution requires the user to own a second telephone, and furthermore to either carry the second telephone around when he is expecting a communication to that number, or to configure the second telephone to divert incoming calls to the subscriber's primary handset. The subscriber must also remember to withhold their telephone number in any communications to the third party made from their primary handset.

It will often be the case that a subscriber who wishes to keep their telephone number private from a given third party, or from a class of third party, will also often want communications with that third party treated differently from their other "normal" communications. For example, the third party may be a tradesman, or other service provider, who the subscriber wishes to communicate with, but to whom the subscriber does not wish to release their private number. In this case, the subscriber may also want to log and record all voice commufliCati01 with the tradesman and I or store all text messages exchanged with the tradesman, e.g. to help resolve any future disputes as to what was agreed between them.

Accordingly, there is a need for apparatus and methods that allow a user to more readily establish communications with a third party without revealing their primary telephone number, and optionally to allow such communications with the third party to be processed differently from other communications made by/to the subscriber.

I

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of processing communication requests in a telecommunications network, the method comprising: receiving a request from a user of the network to establish a communication with a third party, wherein the communication request includes an indicator representative of a destination telephone number of the third party, an indicator representative of a primary telephone number of the user, and an indication that the user wishes to withhold the primary telephone number from the third party, and, responsive to the presence of the indication that the user wishes to withhold the primary telephone number, the method further comprises modifying the communication request by replacing the indicator representative of the primary telephone number with an indicator representative of a secondary telephone number associated with the user, and forwarding the modified communication request for routing to the third party.

Thus the user (subscriber) is able to instigate communications with the third party without revealing his primary telephone number. The communication request may be for a text communication or a voice communication (it will be appreciated that references throughout this description to voice calls should be interpreted to include video calls unless the context demands otherwise). The secondary telephone number may preferably be a virtual telephone number of the telecommunications network, or a fixed-line number belonging to the telecommunications network, allocated to the user.

The method may further comprise processing a communication between the user and the third party established on the basis of the communication request in a manner dependent on the presence of the indication that the user wishes to withhold the primary telephone number from the third party. For example, the processing may include automatically establishing a record of the communication (e.g. recording and/or making a log of a voice communication, or storing and/or making a log of a text communication).

The indication that the user wishes to withhold the primary telephone number from the third party may for example comprise a predefined prefix or suffix added to the destination telephone number associated with the communication request, and the method may comprise further modifying the communication request by removing the predefined prefix or suffix, e.g. so the communications request can be conventionally routed to the third party. In some cases a prefix will be preferred over a suffix, e.g. a prefix corresponding to an unused telephone country code. This is because the addition of a prefix will generally have less impact on how a communication request is routed in telecommunication networks.

If the user is roaming on another network, the indication that the user wishes to withhold the primaiy telephone number from the third party may be provided by the user sending an initial communication request to a predefined service number. This approach can be useful for voice communication requests if the network on which the user is roaming is not configured to deal with a modified (e.g. prefixed) destination number as an indication that the user wishes to withhold their telephone number. In such cases the voice call communication may then be subsequently established by a service apparatus associated with the predefined service number placing out-dialled calls to the user and third party, and bridging the respective out-dialled calls.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of processing communication requests in a telecommunications network, comprising receiving a request from a third party to establish a communication with a user of the network having a primary telephone number, wherein the communication request includes an indicator representative of a secondary telephone number associated with the user as a destination telephone number for the communication request, and, responsive to the presence of the indicator representative of the secondary telephone number as the destination telephone number for the communication request, the method further comprises modii'ing the communication request by replacing the indicator representative of the secondary telephone number with an indicator representative of the primary telephone number associated with the user, and forwarding the modified communication request for routing to the user.

Thus a user (subscriber) is able to receive com.mnunications frQm a third party without having revealed his primary telephone number to the third party. Again, the communication request may be for a text or voice communication, and the secondary number may be a virtual telephone number of the user's network, or a fixed-line number belonging to the network, which has been allocated to the user.

The method may further comprise processing a communication between the user and the third party established on the basis of the communication request in a manner dependent on the use by the third party of the secondaiy telephone number as the destination telephone number, e.g. processing such as described above in connection with the first aspect of the invention, for example to establish a record of the communication.

The communication request may flirther include an indicator representative of a telephone number of the third party. In this case the method may comprise fluther modifying the communication request by adding a predefined prefix or suffix to the indicated telephone number of the third party. This can be useful in combinations with some embodiments of the first aspect of the invention where the predefined prefix or suffix is also used by the user to indicate his primary number is to be withheld for outgoing communications. By adding the predefined prefix / suffix to the indicator representative of the number of the third party for incoming communication requests, the user (as well as his handset) need only be aware of the modified foim of the third party's number for incoming and outgoing communications. This can help prevent the user from inadvertently using a "reply" function of his handset to reply directly to the third party without use of the prefix / suffix, so releasing his primary number.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a service apparatus for a telecommunications network, the apparatus comprising a communications request processor operable to receive a request from a user of the network to establish a communication with a third party, wherein the communication request includes an indicator representative of a destination telephone number of the third party, an indicator representative of a primary telephone number of the user, and an indication that the user wishes to withhold the primary telephone number from the third party, wherein the service apparatus is operable to determine the presence of the indication that the user wishes to withhold the primary telephone number in the communications request, and in response thereto, to modify the communication request by replacing the indicator representative of the primary telephone number with an indicator representative of a secondary telephone number associated with the user, and to forward the modified communication request for routing to the third party.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a service apparatus for a telecommunications network, the apparatus comprising a communications request processor operable to receive a request from a third party to establish a communication with a user of the network having a primary telephone number, wherein the communication request includes an indicator representative of a secondary telephone number associated with the user as a destination telephone number for the communication request, wherein the service apparatus is operable to determine the presence of the indicator representative of the secondary telephone number as the destination telephone number for the communication request, and in response thereto, to modify the communication request by replacing the indicator representative of the secondary telephone number with an indicator representative of the primary telephone number associated with the user, and to forward the modified communication request for routing to the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect reference is now made by way of example to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 A schematically shows a subscriber of a telephone communications network sending a text message communication to a third party in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure lB schematically shows a subscriber of a telephone communications network initiating a voice communication with a third party in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2A schematically shows a subscriber of a telephone communications network receiving a text message communication from a third party in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2B schematically shows a subscriber of a telephone communications network receiving a voice communication from a third party in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure 3A schematically shows a subscriber of a telephone communications network sending a text message communication to a third party in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and Figure 3B schematically shows a subscriber of a telephone communications network initiating a voice communication with a third party in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 A schematically shows a subscriber of a telephone communications network 2 sending a text message communication to a third party in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In this example the network 2 conforms to the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standards, and the text message communication is a Short Message Service (SMS) communication. The subscriber here is assumed to be using a conventional mobile telephone handset 4 to compose and send his message. Furthermore, in this example the subscriber's handset 4 is within range of a mobile base station (not shown) of the network 2. That is to say the subscriber is within his own network and is not "roaming" on another network. For simplicity, the subscriber handset 4 is taken to represent the subscriber, and so the handset 4 may sometimes be referred to as the subscriber 4.

The subscriber has a primary telephone number SN (subscriber Number). This is the number associated with the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) in his handset 4.

The number will typically be of the form 44 1234 567 890. This primary telephone number SN is the number released as a CLI in association with conventional communications instigated by the subscriber from his handset in the conventional manner. Furthermore, communications from third parties addressed to the primary telephone number SN will be routed by the network 2 to the handset 4, again in accordance with standard techniques. Thus the primary telephone number SN corresponds with what might be termed the subscriber's "real" or "normal" telephone number. This is the number the subscriber may give to friends, family and colleagues etc., but which he may not wish to release to certain persons, or certain classes of person, e.g. tradesmen.

It should be noted that for simplicity in this description reference will sometimes be made to a leg of a communication request containing an indication of, or being associated with, one or more telephone numbers. E.g. a communication request originating from a sender's handset might be said to have an indication of the sender's telephone number as a CLI associated with the communication request. However, it will be appreciated that as is conventional in many telecommunications networks, e.g. in networks conforming to the GSM standard, the communication request might not necessarily be associated with a direct indication of the telephone number, but rather will be associated with an indicator which is representative of the telephone number.

For example, rather than including a direct indication of a sender's telephone number, a communication request will often include instead an indication of an IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) number. The network receiving and processing the communication request may then recover the associated telephone number through conventional means (e.g. Visitor Location Register (VLR) look-up).

Thus the IMSI associated with the call request may be considered as a direct proxy for the telephone number. Furthermore, for security reasons it is often the case that a temporary IMSI is mapped to a subscriber so that his "true" IMSI does not need to be so frequently broadcast through the network. In either case, this description will sometimes simply refer to a telephone number being associated with a conmiunication request, when it will be appreciated that references to the telephone number should sometimes be interpreted as references to an indicator representative of the telephone is number, e.g. an IMSI or a temporary IMSI, as used in conventional networks.

Turning back to Figure 1 A, the third party to whom the subscriber wishes to communicate the text message is represented by hardware 14. For simplicity, the hardware 14 may sometimes be referred to directly as the third party 14. Furthermore still, the third party 14 will generally be referred to as tradesman 14 to distinguish this third party (to whom the subscriber 4 does not wish to release his primary telephone number SN) from a third party to whom the subscriber 4 is happy to release his primary telephone number SN.

The tradesman's hardware 14 may be a mobile telephone handset or a fixed-line telephone, for example, as schematically indicated in Figure 1 A. (In the case the hardware 14 is a fixed-line telephone, it is assumed to be provided with appropriate means for relaying the text message contents to the tradesman, e.g. using a text display or text-to-speech feature). The tradesman's telephone number is taken here to be TN Cfradesman Number). In Figure 1 A the tradesman 14 is assumed to be on the same network as the subscriber 4, as schematically indicated by the solid line representation of hardware 14 within the schematically represented extent of the network 2.

However, the tradesman 14 may equally be on a different network to the subscriber 4 (or nominally on the same mobile network, but roaming), as schematically indicated in Figure 1 A by the dotted line representation of hardware 14 outside the schematically represented extent of the network 2.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the subscriber 4 is associated with a secondary telephone number SS (ubscriber secondary number). For example, the secondary number SS may be a number that the subscriber 4 "rents" from the owner (or a service provider) of telecommunication network 2. The secondary number SS may be considered as a telephone number of a virtual mobile handset. That is to say, the secondary telephone number SS conforms to a conventional number format for the network 2, but is not necessarily associated with a real SIM card.

Furthermore, it is significant to note that the subscriber's handset 4 may be conventional, with all functionality of embodiments of the invention being provided by the network 2 infrastructure.

To send a text message to the tradesman 14 without revealing his own primary number SN, the subscriber 4 first composes a desired text message as normal, e.g. comprising a content string such as "please provide a quote for painting a three-storey house". The user then sends the text message to the telephone number (TN) of the tradesman 14 (e.g. as obtained from public adverts) along with a flag for indicating to the network 2 that the subscriber 4 does not wish to release his primary number SN to the tradesman, but instead wants to release his secondary number SS (i.e. the subscriber wants his "virtual" telephone number SS to be used as the CLI for the communication to the tradesman in place of his "real" telephone number SN). For ease of representations, the symbol "i" will be used here to schematically represent the flag such that the flagged number of the tradesman is designated "TNt"). In this embodiment the flag / indication is made by applying a predefined prefix to the otherwise normal telephone number of the tradesman. E.g. the tradesman's conventional numbers TN in international format may have an additional code of 00 prepended. For example +44 1234 567 890 would become +00 44 1234 567 890.

Since country code 00 is not currently used, a 00 prefix may readily be used as a flag to indicate the subscriber wishes to invoke his secondary number for the communication without clashing with any existing country code prefix. An alternative prefix could be a numeric prefix similar to the "141" prefix used in the UK for both fixed line and mobile networks to indicate that a caller's CLI should be suppressed for

I -12-

a voice call. For example, a prefix 142 could be used to indicate a request for the behaviour of embodiments of the invention as described herein (i.e. a request for CLI substitution / replacement). With most current telecommunication networks, use of this prefix would allow communication requests to be routed normally through the network infrastructure when applied to national format numbers, but may not route correctly when applied to international format numbers. For example, 142 07123 456 789 would be routed normally without requiring network modification, whereas 142 44 123 456 789 may not be (44 is the country code for the UK).

As noted above, in this description the notation TN is used to indicate the tradesman's telephone number TN having the prefix () attached.

Thus the subscriber sends the text message for the tradesman 14 from his handset 4 to telephone number address TN. In accordance with conventional GSM SMS routing techniques, the text message is first directed to the SMS network infrastructure (SMS Inf) 8 of the subscriber's home network 2, e.g. to a Short Message Service Centre (SMSC) or SMS router of the network 2. In accordance with this embodiment of the invention it will be assumed that the SMS network infrastructure of the subscriber's home network 2 is an SMS router 8 which is configured / programmed to operate in a largely conventional manner, save for the below described additional functionality associated with the use of the secondary number SS. The SMS router 8 may thus be considered a communications request processor in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, as indicated in Figure 1A, the text message sent from the subscriber's handset is associated with a destination address (DES) of the subscriber's network's SMS router 8, a desired recipient address (ADD) of TN (i.e. the tradesman's telephone number with prefix), and carries the subscriber's primary number (SN) as its CLI. The text message is conventionally routed through Mobile Switching Centre (MSC) 6 to arrive in mobile originating (MO) form at the SMS router 8.

On receipt of text messages in MO form, the SMS router 8 is configured to scan the desired recipient address associated with the text message communication in order to determine whether or not the predefined prefix is included. If the SMS router 8 determines that no prefix is included, the text message is routed to its destination in the conventional way. However, if it is determined that the prefix is included, the SMS -13 -router 8 identifies that the text message is one which that should be processed in accordance with embodiments of the invention. To do this, the SMS router 8 is configured to modify the data, in particular the CLI and the desired destination address ADD, associated with the text message. As noted above, the CLI associated with the text message on arrival at the SMS router 8 is the primary number SN of the handset 4 (since the text message has been conventionally routed to the SMS router 8). However, on determining from the presence of the prefix in the desired destination address that the subscriber does not wish to release the primary number SN to the tradesman, the SMS router 8 is configured to modify the SMS message properties so that in the CLI field the primary number SN is replaced by the secondary number SS. This may be achieved, for example, based on a simple look-up in a database relating the subscriber's primary number SN to his secondary number SS. In addition to modifying the CLI of the message by replacing the primary number with the secondary number, the SMS router 8 is configured to remove the prefix from the desired destination address field. Thus the message properties are modified by the SMS router 8 such that the CLI field is changed from SN to SS (as indicated by "SN-*SS" within the schematically represented SMS router 8 in Figure 1A), and such that the desired destination address field ADD is changed from TN to TN (as indicated by "TN-4TN" in Figure 1A).

The modified text message may then be processed as normal. Thus the SMS router 8 queries a home location register (HLR) 10 associated with the tradesman's telephone number by sending an SRI_SM request specifying the desired destination address TN to determine where the tradesman is located within the network 2 (i.e. to determine the identity of the Visited Mobile Switching Centre (VMSC) to which the tradesman is connected. In this example it is assumed the tradesman is on the same network as the subscriber (i.e. the tradesman's HLR 10 is within the network 2 and he is connected to VMSC 12. In response to sending the SRI_SM request, the SMS router 8 receives the routing information for VMSC 12. The SMS router 8 thus converts the text message to Mobile Terminated (MT) form, and forwards it to VMSC 12. As indicated in Figure 1A, following the modification to the text message properties in the SMS router 8, the MT text message sent from the SMS router 8 to the VMSC 12 is associated with a destination address (DES) corresponding to the tradesman's -14 -telephone number (TN), and carries the subscriber's secondary number (SS) as its CLI. The MT text message is routed from the VMSC 12 to the tradesman 14 in the normal way. Thus the tradesman receives a text message with a CLI indicating that it has come from the secondary number SS. The tradesman is unaware that the CLI accompanying the message he receives is a substitute.

In addition to modifying the CLI of the text message, the SMS router 8 may also be configured to apply further processing to communications identified by the subscriber as intended for a third party to whom the subscriber does not want to release his telephone number. For example, in this embodiment the SMS router 8 is configured to pass all messages including the predefined prefix to a message logger 16 for storage in a memory 18. Thus at a later stage the subscriber 4 may request a copy of messages sent by him to a given tradesman with whom he is in dispute, for example. The message logger 16 may be operable to allow a user to in-dial a service number associated with the logger and to listen to stored messages (e.g. using text-to.

speech technology). Alternatively, the message logger 16 may be operable to forward the messages to a personal archive of the subscriber -e.g. by automatically forwarding logged message contents to an email address of the subscriber (in this case the memory 18 may be dispensed with).

Figure lB schematically shows what happens when the subscriber 4 of the telephone communications network 2 wishes to instigate a voice call conimunication to the tradesman in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

To establish a voice call to the tradesman 14 without revealing his own primary number SN, the subscriber 4 dials the telephone number of the tradesman along with a flag for indicating to the network 2 that the subscriber 4 does not with to release his primary number SN to the tradesman. For ease of use, in this example the flag for voice calls is the same as the flag for text messages -i.e. the addition of a prefix 00 to the country code of the intended destination number. Thus the subscriber makes a voice call / communication request by dialling telephone number Th from his handset 4.

In accordance with conventional GSM techniques, the voice call request arrives at MSC 6. As indicated in Figure 1 B, the call request sent from the subscriber's handset and arriving at the MSC 6 is associated with a destination address (DES) of -15-TN (i.e. the tradesman's telephone number with prefix), and carries the subscriber's primary number (SN) as its CLI. The network 2 employs conventional B-number routing functionality in the MSC 6 so that call requests including the predefined prefix in the destination address are identified and diverted to an apparatus 26 referred to here as voice services equipment (VSE). (Call requests not including the predefined prefix in the destination address are routed as normal.) As with the SMS router 8 shown in Figure 1, the VSE 26 may be considered a communications request processor.

On receipt of call request from the MSC 6, the VSE 26 is configured to process the call request in accordance with embodiments of the invention. To do this, the VSE 26 is configured to modify the data, in particular the CLI and the destination address DES, associated with the call request. As noted above, the CLI associated with the call request on arrival at the VSE 26 is the primary number SN of the handset 4 (since the call request has been conventionally routed to the VSE 26). However, the VSE 26 is configured to modify the call request properties so that in the CLI field of the call request the primary number SN is replaced by the secondary number SS. Again this may be achieved by interrogating a simple look-up database to check that the subscriber is authorised to use the service and to map the subscriber's primary number SN to the subscriber's secondary number SS. In addition to modifying the CLI of the call request by replacing the primary number by the secondary number, the VSE 26 is configured to remove the prefix from the destination address field. Thus the call request properties are modified by the VSE 26 such that the associated CLI field is changed from SN to SS (as indicated by "SN-*SS" within the schematically represented VSE 26 in Figure 1 B), and such that the destination address field DES is changed from TN to TN (as indicated by "TN-'TN" in Figure 1B).

The modified call request is then returned by the VSE 26 to the MSC 6 such that the call remains routed ("tromboned") through the VSE. The MSC 6 treats the modified call request as a conventional call request intended for a destination address TN and having a CLI corresponding to the secondary telephone number SS substituted by the VSE 26 for the primary telephone number SN. The MSC 6 thus processes the modified call request from the VSE 26 as normal. That is to say the MSC 6 queries the home location register (HLR) 10 associated with the tradesman's telephone number by sending an SRI request specifying the desired destination address TN to determine -16 -where the tradesman is located within the network 2 (i.e. to determine the identity of the tradesman's VMSC/GMSC) In response to sending the SRI request, the MSC 6 receives the routing information for VMSC 12 and routes the modified call request accordingly. As indicated in Figure 1B, following the modification to the call request properties in the VSE 26, the call request sent to the VMSC 12 is associated with a destination address (DES) corresponding to the tradesman's telephone number (TN), and carries the subscriber's secondary number (SS) as its CLI. The call request is routed from the VMSC 12 to the tradesman 14 in the normal way. Thus the tradesman receives a call request (i.e. his telephone rings) with a CLI indicating that it has come from the secondary number SS. The tradesman is unaware that the CLI accompanying the call request he receives is a replacement for the "true" CLI of the subscriber. When the tradesman answers the call request, e.g. by picking up his phone, a voice call is established (a "tromboned" call through the VSE 26).

As with the SMS router 8 in Figure 1 A, in addition to modifying the CLI of the call request, the VSE 26 may also be configured to apply further processing to the call request communication and to the resulting voice call communication. For example, in this embodiment the VSE 26 is configured to log all call requests and record all voice communications passing through the VSE 26 in a memory 28. Thus at a later stage the subscriber 4 may obtain a copy of conversations between him and the tradesman, for example in the event of a dispute, or simply for easy minuting of the call. The VSE 26 may be operable to allow the subscriber to in-dial a service number associated with the VSE to listen to recorded calls. Alternatively, the VSE may be operable to forward an audio file of the recording to a personal archive of the subscriber -e.g. by automatically emailing the audio file to an email address of the subscriber.

Alternatively, if no additional call processing is required, then the VSE could drop the call back to the MSC in order to avoid the tromboned call path. Also the functions of the VSE could be incorporated into the MSC (i.e. such that the VSE functionality is provided within the MSC rather than by a separate equipment).

Thus Figures 1A and lB show how a subscriber can instigate communications (i.e. text messages as in Figure 1A, and voice calls as in Figure IB) with a third party in a way that provides the third party with what appears to be a genuine CLI so the -17-third party is less inclined to reject the communication, but in a way that does not require the subscriber to release his personal (primary) telephone number to the third-party. Furthermore, the above described schemes provide for a ready way of applying additional processing to such communications. In the above examples the additional S processing provides for automatic recording / storing of communications between the subscriber and the third party.

Thus Figures IA and 1 B show schemes that allow a subscriber 4 to instigate communications that present a substituted CLI to third parties (i.e. a CLI indicating a secondary number SS instead of the true telephone number SN of the subscriber), and which may be automatically subjected to additional processing services (e.g. logging / storing / recording). However, it may be useful in some embodiments if the subscriber were able to receive communications from third parties that are addressed to his secondary number, and it may further be useful if these communications could also be automatically subjected to further processing, such as recording / storing. This would allow a tradesman to use the secondary number to instigate communications with the subscriber. I.e. the tradesman could send a text message or place a voice call to the secondary number with the communication being routed to the subscriber's handset.

Thus two-way communication between the subscriber and the tradesman may be established without the tradesman needing to be made aware of the true telephone number associated with the subscriber.

Figure 2A schematically shows a subscriber 4 of a telephone communications network 2 receiving a text message communication from a third party in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Elements of Figure 2A which are similar to and will be understood from correspondingly elements of Figure 1A are indicated by the same reference numeral. As with Figure 1 A, the subscriber 4 in Figure 2A is assumed to be on his home network, as schematically indicated by the solid line representation of subscriber's handset 4 within the schematically represented extent of the network 2.

However, the subscriber 4 could equally be roaming on a different network, as schematically indicated by the dotted line representation of subscriber's handset 4 outside the extent of the network 2.

As described above in connection with Figure I A, the subscriber 4 has a primary telephone number SN. This is the conventional MSISDN number associated -18 -with the subscriber and is the number to which communications intended for the subscriber are ultimately addressed within the network. However, the subscriber also has a secondary number SS associated with his handset / primary number. This is the number released to third parties to whom the subscriber does not want to release his primary number. The secondary number may be released to third parties as a CLI of a communication from the subscriber, e.g., as shown in Figures 1A and 1B, or the subscriber may pass on the secondary telephone number to the third party in some other way, e.g. by simply telling them or writing it down. In any case, so far as the third party is concerned, the secondary number SS is the subscriber's "normal" telephone number and is the number to which the third party sends communications.

As above, the third party in Figure 2A is assumed to be a tradesman. Again the tradesman 14 is assumed to be on the same network as the subscriber 4 (schematically indicated by the solid line representation of the tradesman's hardware 14 within the network 2). However, the tradesman 14 may equally be on a different network to the subscriber 4 (as schematically indicated the dotted line representation of hardware 14 outside the extent of the network 2).

To send a text message to the subscriber 4, the tradesman 14 sends a text message indicating the secondary number SS as the desired recipient of his message in the normal way. E.g. the tradesman may use a "reply" function of his handset to reply to a communication previously received from the subscriber 4 which bears the secondary number SS as the CLI, or the tradesman may manually enter the telephone number SS.

In accordance with conventional GSM SMS routing techniques, the text message is first directed to the SMS network infrastructure of the tradesman's home network (here taken to be the same as subscriber's home network 2, but this is not significant). In accordance with this embodiment of the invention it will be assumed that the SMS network infrastructure to which the tradesman's text message is sent is a conventional SMSC 38. Accordingly, as indicated in Figure 2A, the text message sent from the tradesman is associated with a destination address (DES) of the tradesman's SMSC 38, a desired recipient address (ADD) of SS (i.e. the subscriber's secondary telephone number), and carries the tradesman's normal telephone number (TN) as its CLI. The text message is conventionally routed through Mobile Switching Centre (MSC) 36 to be delivered in mobile originating (MO) form at the SMSC 38.

On receipt of the text message, the tradesman's SMSC 38 processes the communication in the normal way. Thus the SMSC 38 queries a home location register (HLR) 40 associated with the subscriber's secondary telephone number SS by sending an SRI_SM request specifying the desired destination address SS. The secondary number SS is preferably a virtual mobile number, and the HLR function 40 for this number may be implemented either in a conventional HLR, or preferably within the SMS infrastructure as a function of one or more SMS Routers. Thus the network automatically routes HLR traffic relating to SS to the SMS Router implementing the HLR function for SS, which responds as though it were a conventional HLR. The HLR function is configured to give the address of an SMS Router as the VMSC address of the virtual mobile.

The HLR 40 is configured to respond to SRI_SM requests by providing routing information to the tradesman's SMSC 38 indicating that the text message should be routed to the SMS network infrastructure of the subscriber's home network that is configured to provide the functionality of embodiments of the invention, in this example the SMS router 8. Thus the tradesman's SMSC 38 forwards the message in mobile terminated (MT) form to the SMS router 8 of the subscriber. As indicated in Figure 2A, the MT text message sent from the tradesman's SMSC 38 to the subscriber's SMS router 8 carries an IMSI associated with a destination address (DES) corresponding to the subscriber's secondary telephone number (SS), and carries the tradesman's number (TN) as its CLI.

On receipt of text messages in MT form, the SMS router 8 acting as a virtual mobile equipment is configured to compare the received IMSI with a database of IMSIs corresponding to secondary numbers to determine whether or not the received IMSI corresponds to one of the network's allocated secondary numbers. If the SMS router 8 determines that the destination is not one of the secondary numbers, the text message is routed to its destination in the conventional way. However, if it is determined that the destination is a defined secondary number, i.e. in this case the secondary number SS of the subscriber 4, the SMS router 8 identifies that the text message is one that should be processed in accordance with embodiments of the -20 -invention. To do this, the SMS router 8 is configured to modify the data, in particular the received IMSI (destination address) DES and the CLI, associated with the MT text message. As noted above, the received IMSI associated with the text message on arrival at the SMS router 8 is associated with the secondary number SS of the handset 4 (since this is the desired recipient address used by the tradesman in sending the message). The SMS router 8 is configured to modify the text message properties so that the received IMSI associated with the secondary number SS is replaced by the IMSI of the primary number SN. This may be achieved, for example, based on a simple look-up in a database relating the subscriber's primary number SN to his io secondary number SS and a conventional HLR query. In addition to modifying the destination IMSI of the message by replacing the secondary IMSI with the primary IMSI, the SMS router 8 may also be configured to add the predefined prefix for flagging outgoing communications from the subscriber as being communications for third parties to whom the subscriber does not wish to release their primary number to the CLI associated with the message. Although this is not necessary for completing message delivery, it can be helpful because it means the CLI received by the subscriber will already include the predefined prefix. This means that if the subscriber saves the number of the tradesman from the received CLI, or uses a "reply to" function of his handset, the predefined prefix is automatically included in the number used.

This can help prevent the subscriber accidentally sending a communication to a tradesman without using the prefix, which would result in his primary number being released.

Thus the MT message properties are modified by the SMS router 8 such that the destination address filed DES is changed from SS to SN (as indicated by "SS-+SN" within the schematically represented SMS router 8 in Figure 2A), and such that the CLI field is changed from TN to Th (as indicated by "TN-TN" in Figure 2A).

The modified text message may then be processed as normal. Thus the SMS router 8 queries a home location register (HLR) 42 associated with the subscriber's primary telephone number SN by sending an SRI_SM request specifying the desired destination address SN to determine where the subscriber is located within the network 2 (i.e. to determine the identity of the VMSC to which the subscriber is connected). In this example it is assumed the subscriber is not roaming and he is connected to VMSC 44. In response to sending the SRI_SM request, the SMS router 8 receives the routing information for VMSC 44. The SMS router 8 thus forwards the modified MT message to VMSC 44. The MT text message is routed from the VMSC 44 to the subscriber 4 in the normal way. As indicated in Figure 2A, following the modification to the text message properties in the SMS router 8, the MT text message passing through the VMSC 44 is associated with a destination IMSI corresponding to the subscriber's primary telephone number (SN), and carries the tradesman's number with prefix (TNt) as its CLI.

In addition to modifying the destination address of the text message, the SMS router 8 may also be configured to apply further processing to communications initially addressed to the secondary number SS. For example, the SMS router 8 may be configured to pass all messages addressed to the secondary number SS to message logger 16 for storage in memory 18. Thus at a later stage the subscriber 4 may request a copy of messages received by him from a given tradesman with whom he is in dispute, for example. Thus by combining the above-described functionality for subscriber-received text communications with the functionality for subscriber-originating text communications described in relation to Figure 1A, all text communications between the subscriber and tradesman may be automatically logged / stored regardless of who sent the text.

Figure 2B schematically shows what happens when the tradesman 14 wishes to instigate a voice call communication to the subscriber 4 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Elements of Figure 2B which are similar to and will be understood from correspondingly elements of Figure 2A are indicated by the same reference numeral.

To establish the voice call the tradesman 14 dials the secondary number SS of the subscriber from his handset as normal. In accordance with conventional GSM techniques, the corresponding voice call request is routed to MSC 56 within network 2 (because network 2 is the "owner" of the secondary number SS). As indicated in Figure 2B, the call request sent from the tradesman and arriving at the MSC 56 is associated with a destination address (DES) of SS (i.e. the subscriber's secondary telephone number), and carries the tradesman's telephone number (TN) as its CLI. The -22 -network 2 employs conventional B-number routing functionality in the MSC 56 so that call requests directed to numbers allocated as secondary numbers are identified and diverted to voice services equipment (VSE). Alternatively, the received virtual mobile destination number may be processed conventionally by the MSC, which performs an HLR look-up using an SRI message as normal. The HLR function, preferably implemented in an SMS Router or alternatively in a conventional HLR, responds with a VMSC address which is the address of the VSE 26. The call is thus routed in the first instance to the VSE. The VSE in this example may be the same equipment as the VSE 26 shown in Figure lB and described above in connection with out-dialled calls from the subscriber to the tradesman. (Call requests not directed to one of the allocated secondary numbers are routed as normal.) On receipt of call request from the MSC 56, the VSE 26 is configured to process the call request in accordance with embodiments of the invention. To do this, the VSE 26 is configured to modify the data, in particular the destination address DES and the CLI, associated with the call request. As noted above, the destination address DES associated with the call request on arrival at the VSE 26 is the secondary number SS of the handset 4. However, the VSE 26 is configured to modify the call request properties so that in the destination address field of the call request the secondary number SS is replaced by the primary number SN. Again this may be achieved by interrogating a simple look-up database to map the subscriber's primary number SN from the subscriber's secondary number SS. In addition to modifying the destination address of the call request by replacing the secondary number with the primary number, the VSE 26 is configured to add the prefix to the CLI field. Thus the call request properties are modified by the VSE 26 such that the associated destination address field is changed from SS to SN (as indicated by "SS-+SN" within the schematically represented VSE 26 in Figure 2B), and the CLI field is changed from TN to TN (as indicated by "1'N-TN" in Figure 2B).

The modified call request is then returned by the VSE 26 to the MSC 56. The MSC 56 treats the modified call request as a conventional call request intended for a destination address SN and having a CLI corresponding to the tradesman's telephone number with prefix TNt. The MSC 56 thus processes the modified call request from the VSE 26 as normal. That is to say the MSC 56 queries the home location register -23 - (HLR) 42 associated with the subscriber's primary telephone number by sending an SRI request specifying the desired destination address SN in order to determine where the subscriber is located within the network 2, i.e. to determine the identity of the subscriber's VMSC. (The HLR will execute a conventional Provide Roaming Number (PRN) request, as schematically indicated by the dotted arrow marked PRN in Figure 2B. This is to obtain appropriate routing details, e.g. a dynamically allocated temporary number belonging to the VMSC to which the subscriber is attached, in a conventional mariner. It is noted that conventionally a PRN request is executed and a dynamic number allocated regardless of whether the VMSC is part of the home or part of a foreign network.) In response to sending the SRI request, the MSC 56 receives the routing information for VMSC 44 and routes the modified call request accordingly. As indicated in Figure 2B, following the modification to the call request properties in the VSE 26, the call request sent to the VMSC 44 is associated with a dynamically allocated roaming number, and carries the tradesman's number with prefix as its CLI.

The call request is routed from the VMSC 44 to the subscriber's handset 4 in the normal way. Thus the subscriber receives a call request (i.e. his telephone rings) with a CLI indicating that it has come from the tradesman's number with prefix TN. When the subscriber answers the call request, e.g. by picking up his phone, a voice call is established using conventional call tromboning.

As before, in addition to modifying the destination number of the call request, the VSE 26 may also be configured to apply further processing to the call request communication and to the resulting voice call communication. For example, in this embodiment the VSE 26 is configured to log all call requests and record all voice communications (preferably by summing the audio from both sides of the call) passing through the VSE 26 in a memoiy 28. Thus by combining the above-described functionality for subscriber-received communications with the functionality for subscriber-originating communications described in relation to Figure 1 B, all voice communications between the subscriber and tradesman may be automatically recorded regardless of who originated the call.

Figure 3A is in large part similar to, and will be understood from Figure 1A.

However, Figure 3A differs from Figure 1 A in that it shows the subscriber 4 of the telephone communications network 2 sending a text message communication to the -24 -tradesman when the subscriber is roaming on another network. This situation is schematically indicated in Figure 3A by the subscriber handset 4 being outside the schematically represented extent of his home network 2. The subscriber may send a text communication to the tradesmen 14 without revealing his primary number SN while he is roaming in the same way as when he is not roaming (Figure IA).

Thus to send the text message without revealing his primary number SN the subscriber 4 first composes the text content of the message as normal, and then instructs his handset to send the text message to the telephone number of the tradesman 14 along with the prefix flag. The conventional GSM architecture is such that the text message is initially directed to the SMS network infrastructure of the subscriber's home network, e.g. to a Short Message Service Centre (SMSC) or SMS router of the network 2, even though he is roaming on another network. As with Figure 1A, in accordance with this embodiment it is assumed the SMS network infrastructure of the subscriber's home network 2 is SMS router 8. Accordingly, as indicated in is Figure 3A, the text message sent from the subscriber's handset is routed in a conventional manner from the roaming handset to SMS router 8 via VMSC 66. Thus the MO format message arriving at the SMS router 8 is associated with a destination address (DES) of the SMS router 8, a desired recipient address (ADD) of TN (i.e. the tradesman's telephone number with prefix), and carries the subscriber's primary number (SN) as its CLI.

On receipt of text messages in MO form, the SMS router 8 may additionally processes them in the same way as described above in relation to Figure lÀ. Thus a subscriber may send text messages without revealing his primary number SN, and these messages may optionally be automatically further processed, e.g. logged / stored, regardless of whether the subscriber is roaming (Figure 3A) or on his home network 2 (Figure lÀ).

However, the processing of voice call requests may require additional steps if the subscriber is roaming. This is because whereas text messages are automatically initially routed to the address of the SMS router 8 in the home network regardless of the specified intended recipient address TN, initial routing of voice calls is based on the specified intended recipient address itself, i.e. based on the dialled number TNI.

Thus, unless the "foreign" network on which the subscriber is roaming is configured to -25 -properly deal with the prefix, the foreign network will be unable to route the call (e.g. because it will not know where calls beginning +00 should be routed to). In principle the foreign network could be configured to identify voice call requests having the prefix flag, and, based on the CLI of the roaming subscriber, route the calls to the subscriber's home network while maintaining the prefix so that the calls can be picked up in an MSC of the subscriber's home network and dealt with as described above in relation to Figure lB. However, in practice it is unlikely that all, if any, foreign networks would be willing to adopt this scheme, especially if the foreign network does not implement its own version of embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, other techniques may be employed to allow a roaming subscriber to initiate a voice call to a third party without revealing his primary number SN, but revealing instead his secondary number. Figure 3B shows one such example. Elements of Figure 3B that are similar to and will be understood from corresponding elements of Figures IA, 1 B, 2A, 2B and/or 3A are identified by the same reference numeral.

Thus referring to Figure 3B, if the roaming subscriber 4 wishes to instigate a voice call to the tradesman 14, he initially composes a text message having content indicative of the tradesman's telephone number. In this example the text message simply contains the string Th (e.g. in the form +0044 1234567890). The subscriber 4 then instructs his handset to send the text message to a predefined service number RN for setting up voice calls from roaming locations. It is noted there is no for need the subscriber to include the prefix 00 in the text message content for the network 2 to be able to identifS' the nature of the text message because this is already apparent from the mere fact the text message is sent to the special service number RN. However, in this embodiment it is assumed the subscriber does include the prefix so that in common with the communication schemes shown in the other figures the subscriber always uses the tradesman's number with prefix. This allows a single prefixed number to be used and stored in the subscriber's handset's phone book database, for example.

As discussed above in connection with Figure 3A, the text message is conventionally routed from the roaming handset 4 to SMS router 8 via, in this case, VMSC 66. Thus as schematically indicated in Figure 1, the MO format message arriving at the SMS router 8 is associated with a destination address (DES) of the SMS router 8, a desired recipient address (ADD) of RN (i.e. the predefined service number), -26 -contains message content indicative of TN (i.e. the tradesman's telephone number with prefix), and carries the subscriber's primary number (SN) as its CLI.

On receipt of text messages in MO form, the SMS router 8 identifies the text message as a request for a voice call to be established based on the fact the specified desired recipient address is RN (i.e. the text message has been sent to the special service number). The SMS router 8 is configured to obtain data from the text message to be used in setting up the requested voice call. In particular the SMS router 8 is configured to use the subscriber's primary number SN (as determined from the CLI of the text message) to determine the subscriber's secondary number SS, e.g. through a look-up database as described above. In addition, the SMS router 8 is configured to derive the desired recipient address based on an analysis of the text message content string in which the subscriber has provided the prefixed tradesman's telephone number TN. The SMS router 8 is configured to strip the prefix from Th to obtain tradesman's telephone number TN, and to query a home location register (HLR) 10 associated with the tradesman's telephone number by sending an SRI_SM request specifying the desired destination address TN. This is to determine where the tradesman is located within the network 2 (i.e. to determine the identity of the VMSC to which the tradesman is connected. In this example it is assumed the tradesman is on the same network as the subscriber and he is connected to VMSC 12. In response to sending the SRI_SM request, the SMS router 8 receives the routing information for VMSC 12.

The SMS router 8 then passes the tradesman's telephone number TN, the routing details of VMSC 12, and the primary (SN) and secondary (SS) numbers of the subscriber to VSE 26. The VSE 26 is configured to then establish a voice communication between the subscriber 4 and the tradesman 14 by bridging out-dialled calls to each of them.

Thus the VSE 26 first queries the HLR 42 associated with the subscriber's primary telephone number by sending an SRI request specifying the subscriber's primary number SN to determine routing information for out-dialling the subscriber 4.

The HLR 42 responds to the SRI request in the normal way. Thus because the subscriber is roaming, the HLR will execute a conventional Provide Roaming Number (PRN) request (not represented in Figure 3B) to obtain a dynamically allocated number belonging to the network on which the subscriber is roaming. In response to sending the SRI request, the VSE 26 receives an indication of the dynamically allocated roaming number, here taken to be SNR, to be used to contact the roaming subscriber. The VSE then instigates an out-dialled call to the subscriber's handset 4 using the allocated roaming number SNR (schematically indicated in Figure 3B by the arrow marked "OlD SNR"). This is conventionally routed to the subscriber 4, via VMSC 66. The VSE 26 in this example is configured to use the service number RN as the CLI of this call to alert the subscribe that it is related to his call request.

Preferably, when the subscriber answers the call, the VSE 26 instigates a second out-dialled call to the tradesman ("OlD TN"). This is achieved using the routing information indicative of VMSC 12 obtained by the SMS router 8. For this call leg the VSE 26 uses the subscriber's secondary number SS as the CLI. This out-dialled call is routed through the VMSC 12 to the tradesman 14 in the normal way. Thus the tradesman receives a call request (i.e. his telephone rings) with a CLI indicating that it has come from the secondary number SS. When the tradesman answers the call request, e.g. by picking up his phone, the VSE 26 bridges the two out-dialled calls so that a voice call is established between the subscriber and the tradesman.

As before, the VSE 26 may also be configured to apply further processing to the communication, e.g. to log all call requests and record all voice communications in a memory 28.

In the example shown in Figure 3B, the subscriber texts a text message to a predefined service number to instigate a request for a voice call when he is roaming.

Other techniques could be employed. For example a request using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) could similarly be made.

It will be appreciated that the above-described embodiments are illustrative and may be modified in a number of ways. For example, in the above described embodiments certain functions and tasks are described as being performed by certain network elements, however in other examples different elements may perform different tasks. For example, in Figure 3B the SMS router 8 may route the call request text message to a separate service apparatus (identified by number RN) to perform the tasks and functions described above as being performed by the SMS router 8.

-28 -Thus to summarise, embodiments of the invention can provide improvements in telecommunication networks in accordance with the following principles: 1. A secondary number is associated with a mobile handset so that it can receive communications (e.g. voice calls and text messages) sent to that number.

2. A means of indicating for outgoing communications (calls and texts) that the network should release the secondary number as a CLI associated with communications instead of a primary number of the handset.

3. Additional services may be applied to voice and/or text communications in association with use of the secondary number for both communications initiated by the subscriber and communications received by the subscriber.

Thus embodiments of the invention allow a mobile subscriber to rent a secondary alias' telephone number that he can release to third parties, either to whom he does not wish to reveal his true number, and/or with whom he wishes all calls to be subject to an additional service, such as voice call recording / text message storing.

The secondary number may be permanently allocated to the subscriber for as long as his subscription continues, or until he wishes to change the number. For example, if a third party abuses his knowledge of the secondary number, e.g. by making frequent unsolicited communications to the secondary number, the subscriber can simply swap to a different secondary number. Thus the subscriber does not need to change his primary telephone number that may be well known and used by friends, family and work colleagues etc. in order to stop unwanted calls from a third party.

It will be appreciated that while the above-described embodiments of the invention have focussed on GSM networks, embodiments of the invention may also be implemented in other network architectures.

What is more, whereas the above described embodiments have been described in the context of an SMS router-based SMS infrastructure network, embodiments of the invention could equally employ a router-based SMS infrastructure network. For example, embodiments of the invention may use a suitably programmed progranmable text message router, e.g. in the form of a Transaction Converter such as is manufactured by Telsis (RTM) Limited.

Furthermore, while the above described mechanism for indicating that a user wishes to rely on his secondary number SS is based on adding a prefix to an otherwise conventional telephone number, other techniques may equally be used. For example, a suffix might be added, or in the case of text messaging a suitable flag may be included in the body of the text message content. E.g. inclusion of a predefined sequence of characters at the beginning of text message may be used to indicate to the network 2 that the secondary number SS should be used. For voice communications the network may be configured to prompt the subscriber as to which number should be released as a CLI. For example, the subscriber may dial a number as normal and be prompted with an audio message "press I to use your primary number, press 2 to use your secondary number". The network 2 can then act accordingly. However, while many different schemes are possible, it is envisaged that in many cases the above described prefix scheme will be preferred because of its simplicity and transparency to the subscriber.

Thus a method of processing communication requests in a telecommunications network has been described. The method comprises receiving a request from a subscriber of the network to establish a communication with a third party. The received communication request includes an indication of the third party's telephone number (i.e. a desired destination number), an indication of the telephone number of the user's telephone handset (i.e. its CLI), and an indication that the user wishes to withhold their handset's telephone number from the third party (e.g. this a predefined prefix added to the dialled destination number). On determining the presence of the indication that the user wishes to withhold their telephone number, the communication request is modified by replacing the indication of the user's handset's telephone number with an indication of a secondary telephone number associated with the user before being forwarded to the third party. Thus the third party receives a communication request appearing to originate from the secondary telephone number. If the third party sends a communication request to the secondary number, the communication request may then be modified so that the destination address associated with the request (i.e. the secondary telephone number) is replaced with the user's handset's telephone number such that the request may be delivered to the user's handset.

Claims (14)

1. A method of processing communication requests in a telecommunications network, the method comprising: receiving a request from a user of the network to establish a communication with a third party, wherein the communication request includes an indicator representative of a destination telephone number of the third party, an indicator representative of a primary telephone number of the user, and an indication that the user wishes to withhold the primary telephone number from the third party, and, responsive to the presence of the indication that the user wishes to withhold the primary telephone number, the method further comprising modifying the communication request by replacing the indicator representative of the primary telephone number with an indicator representative of a secondary telephone number associated with the user, and forwarding the modified communication request for routing to the third party.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising processing a communication between the user and the third party established on the basis of the communication request in a maimer dependent on the presence of the indication that the user wishes to withhold the primary telephone number from the third party.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the processing includes establishing a record of the communication.

4. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the indication that the user wishes to withhold the primary telephone number from the third party comprises a predeflned prefix or suffix added to the indicator representative of the destination telephone number associated with the communication request, and the method comprises further modifying the communication request by removing the predefined prefix or suffix.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the user is roaming on another teleconmiunications network, and the indication that the user wishes to withhold the primary telephone number from the third party is provided by the user sending an initial communication request to a predefined service number.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the communication request is a request for a voice call communication, and the voice call communication is subsequently established by an apparatus associated with the predefined service number making out-dialled calls to the both the user and third party, and bridging the respective out-dialled calls.

7. A method of processing communication requests in a telecommunications network, the method comprising: receiving a request from a third party to establish a communication with a user of the network having a primary telephone number, wherem the communication request includes an indicator representative of a secondary telephone number associated with the user as a destination telephone number for the communication request, and, responsive to the presence of the indicator representative of the secondary telephone number as the destination telephone number for the communication request, the method further comprising modifying the communication request by replacing the indicator representative of the secondary telephone number with an indicator representative of the primary telephone number associated with the user, and forwarding the modified communication request for routing to the user.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising processing a communication between the user and the third party established on the basis of the communication request in a maimer dependent on the presence of the indicator representative of the secondary telephone number as the destination telephone number for the communication request.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the processing includes establishing a record of the communication.

10. The method of any of claims 7 to 9, wherein the communication request further includes an indicator representative of a telephone number of the third party, and the method comprises further modifying the communication request by adding a predefined prefix or suffix to the indicator representative of a telephone number of the third party.

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11. Service apparatus for a telecommunications network, the apparatus comprising a communications request processor operable to receive a request from a user of the network to establish a communication with a third party, wherein the communication request includes an indicator representative of a destination telephone number of the third party, an indicator representative of a primary telephone number of the user, and an indication that the user wishes to withhold the primary telephone number from the third party, wherein the service apparatus is operable to determine the presence of the indication that the user wishes to withhold the primary telephone number in the communications request, and in response thereto, to modify the communication request by replacing the indicator representative of the primary telephone number with an indicator representative of a secondary telephone number associated with the user, and to forward the modified communication request for routing to the third party.

12. Service apparatus for a telecommunications network, the apparatus comprising a communications request processor operable to receive a request from a third party to establish a communication with a user of the network having a primary telephone number, wherein the communication request includes an indicator representative of a secondary telephone number associated with the user as a destination telephone number for the communication request, wherein the service apparatus is operable to determine the presence of the indicator representative of the secondary telephone number as the destination telephone number for the conmrnnication request, and in response thereto, to modify the communication request by replacing the indicator representative of the secondary telephone number with an indicator representative of the primary telephone number associated with the user, and to forward the modified communication request for routing to the user.

13. A method of processing communication requests in a telecommunications network substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14. A telecommunications network substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.