WO2009082803A1

WO2009082803A1 - Method and system for processing calls in an architecture allowing a telephony identifier to be associated with a group of identities

Info

Publication number: WO2009082803A1
Application number: PCT/CA2007/002363
Authority: WO
Inventors: David William Clark; Eric John Wolf; Yannick Lessard; Danica Rogers; Nathan Gerald Archer; Jonathan Allan Arsenault; Luan Cao Tuong Nguyen
Original assignee: Bce Inc.
Priority date: 2007-12-27
Filing date: 2007-12-27
Publication date: 2009-07-09
Also published as: CA2695657C; US8693652B2; US20140199978A1; US9203967B2; US20110038469A1; CA2695657A1

Abstract

A system and a method for processing calls. The system comprises a database including: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of persons that is associated with the telephony identifier, each person of the group of persons being reachable by placing a call to the telephony identifier, the information comprising, for each person of the group of persons, information related to processing of calls involving the person. The system also comprises a processing element having access to the database and being operative for: determining that a given call involves a particular person of the group of persons that is associated with a given one of the telephony identifiers; and processing the given call based on the information related to processing of calls involving the particular person. Also provided is a method for associating an additional telephony identifier with one or more identities of a group of identities that is associated with a telephony identifier, and a method for associating an additional identity with a telephony identifier that is associated with a group of identities.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING CALLS IN AN

ARCHITECTURE ALLOWING A TELEPHONY IDENTIFIER TO BE

ASSOCIATED WITH A GROUP OF IDENTITIES

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to telecommunications and, more particularly, to a method and a system for processing calls in an architecture allowing a telephone number or other telephony identifier to be associated with a group of identities.

BACKGROUND

People nowadays typically rely on various communication devices to meet their communication needs. For example, it is not uncommon for an individual to use a wired phone at home and another wired phone at work, while carrying around a wireless phone for mobile communication. While certainly facilitating communications, this reliance on various communication devices has some drawbacks.

For instance, in addition to receiving different bills for use of different communication devices (e.g., one bill for a home^'s wired phone and another bill for a wireless phone), it can become inconvenient and inefficient for an individual to give out different telephone numbers (e.g., a telephone number of the home^'s wired phone and a telephone number of the wireless phone) to friends, business contacts or other acquaintances, who must then inconveniently keep track of these different telephone numbers at which the individual can be reached.

Compounding this is that, on top of using various communication devices, different people in a household or other social unit typically have vastly different social networks. Not only can this give rise to a billing chaos, but the different people, communication devices and social networks can result in incoming calls and outgoing calls being inefficiently handled. For example, in a household with parents and children, the parents may frequently answer calls that are intended for their children, which in some cases may prove quite frustrating for the parents who may unnecessarily be distracted and/or waste time.

For these and various other reasons, there exists a need for solutions enabling more efficient processing of calls, particularly in households or other social units with multiple individuals and/or multiple communication devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As embodied and broadly described herein, the present invention provides a system for processing calls. The system comprises a database including: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of persons that is associated with the telephony identifier, each person of the group of persons being reachable by placing a call to the telephony identifier, the information comprising, for each person of the group of persons, information related to processing of calls involving the person. The system also comprises a processing element having access to the database and being operative for: determining that a given call involves a particular person of the group of persons that is associated with a given one of the telephony identifiers; and processing the given call based on the information related to processing of calls involving the particular person.

The present invention also provides a method for processing calls. The method comprises maintaining a database including: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of persons that is associated with the telephony identifier, each person of the group of persons being reachable by placing a call to the telephony identifier, the information comprising, for each person of the group of persons, information related to processing of calls involving the person. The method also comprises: determining that a given call involves a particular person of the group of persons that is associated with a given one of the telephony identifiers; and processing the given call based on the information related to processing of calls involving the particular person.

The present invention also provides at least one data storage medium storing a database for use in processing calls. The database includes: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of persons that is associated with the telephony identifier, each person of the group of persons being reachable by placing a call to the telephony identifier, the information comprising, for each person of the group of persons, information related to processing of calls involving the person.

The present invention also provides a system for processing calls. The system comprises a database including: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of identities that is associated with the telephony identifier, each identity of the group of identities designating a party reachable by placing a call to the telephony identifier, the information comprising, for each identity of the group of identities, information related to processing of calls involving the identity. The system also comprises a processing element having access to the database and being operative for: determining that a given call involves a particular identity of the group of identities that is associated with a given one of the telephony identifiers; and processing the given call based on the information related to processing of calls involving the particular identity.

The present invention also provides a method for processing calls. The method comprises maintaining a database including: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of identities that is associated with the telephony identifier, each identity of the group of identities designating a party reachable by placing a call to the telephony identifier, the information comprising, for each identity of the group of identities, information related to processing of calls involving the identity. The method also comprises: determining that a given call involves a particular identity of the group of identities that is associated with a given one of the telephony identifiers; and processing the given call based on the information related to processing of calls involving the particular identity.

The present invention also provides at least one data storage medium storing a database for use in processing calls. The database includes: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of identities that is associated with tje telephony identifier, each identity of the group of identities designating a party reachable by placing a call to the telephony identifier, the information comprising, for each identity of the group of identities, information related to processing of calls involving the identity.

The present invention also provides a method for use in call processing. The method comprises maintaining a database comprising: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of identities that is associated with the telephony identifier, each identity of the group of identities designating a party reachable by placing a call to the telephony identifier, the information comprising, for each identity of the group of identities, information related to processing of calls involving the identity. The method also comprises: determining that an additional identity is to be associated with a given one of the telephony identifiers such that a party designated by the additional identity becomes reachable by placing a call to the given one of the telephony identifiers; and associating in the database the additional identity with the given one of the telephony identifiers such that the database comprises information related to processing of calls involving the additional identity.

The present invention also provides a method for use in call processing. The method comprises maintaining a database comprising: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of identities that is associated with the telephony identifier, each identity of the group of identities designating a party reachable by placing a call to the telephony identifier, the information comprising, for each identity of the group of identities, information related to processing of calls involving the identity. The method also comprises: determining that an additional telephony identifier is to be associated with a particular identity of the group of identities that is associated with a given one of the telephony identifiers; and associating in the database the additional telephony identifier with the particular identity such that the party designated by the particular identity is reachable by placing a call to either the additional telephony identifier or the given one of the telephony identifiers.

These and other aspects of the invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of example embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A detailed description of certain embodiments of the present invention is provided herein below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a communications network allowing users of communication devices to effect telephonic communications, the communications network comprising a call processing system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 shows an example of potential contents of a database of the call processing system, where a telephony identifier is associated with a group of identities that designate the users;

Figure 3 shows an example of signals potentially exchanged between the call processing system and various communication devices over the communications network;

Figure 4 shows an example in which the users are enabled to use a computing device to access and interact with a data network site implemented by the call processing system in order to manage the group of identities; Figure 5 shows a first example situation in which an additional telephony identifier is associated with one of the identities; and

Figure 6 shows a second example situation in which an additional identity is associated with the telephony identifier.

It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for the purpose of illustration of example embodiments of the invention and are an aid for understanding. They are not intended to be a definition of the limits of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Figure 1 shows a communications network 10 allowing users of communication devices, including users 12i ... l2₄ of communication devices 14] ...14s, to effect telephonic communications (e.g., receive and originate calls). The communications network 10 may comprise a portion of one or more of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a wireless network (e.g., a cellular network), and a data network (e.g., the Internet).

Various types of communication devices may be used by users to effect telephonic communications. For example, in various embodiments, a communication device used by a user (such as any one of the communication devices 14] 14s) may be a wired

Plain Old Telephony System (POTS) phone (including a cordless phone), a wireless phone (e.g., a cellular phone or other mobile communication device, including a telephony-enabled personal digital assistant (PDA)), a Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, a POTS phone equipped with an analog terminal adapter (ATA), a softphone (i.e., a computer equipped with telephony software), or a telephony-enabled television unit (e.g., a set-top box connected to a television and a remote control). Depending on functionality of a given communication device (such as any one of the communication devices 14i ... l4g), a call originated or received by the given communication device may be a voice call, a video call, a multimedia call, or any other type of call. Also, depending on its functionality, a given communication device (such as any one of the communication devices 14i 14s) may allow other

Communications to be effected (e.g., send and receive text, multimedia, email and/or instant messaging (IM) messages).

In this embodiment, the users 12₁...12₄ are members of a family. More particularly, in this example, the users \2_\ and 12₂ are parents, respectively father and mother, and the users 12₃ and 12₄ are their children, in this case, son and daughter, respectively. Also, in this embodiment: the communication device 14i is a POTS phone located at a workplace 16 of the user 12₁ ; the communication device 14₂ is a wireless phone carried by the user 12i; the communication devices 14₃...14₆ are located at a residence 18 (e.g., a house) of the users 12] ...12₄, with the communication device 14₃ being a VoIP phone located in a common area (e.g., a kitchen or living room) of the residence 18, the communication device 14₄ being an ATA-equipped POTS phone located in a bedroom of the users 12] and 12₂, the communication device 14s being a VoIP phone located in a bedroom of the user 12₃, and the communication device H₆ being a softphone located in a bedroom of the user 12₄; the communication device 14₇ is a wireless phone carried by the user 12₃; and the communication device 14g is a wireless phone carried by the user 12₄.

It will be appreciated that, while in this embodiment the communication devices 14| ...14g are certain types of devices that are associated in a particular manner with the users 12i ... l2₄, in other embodiments, the communication devices 14j ...14g may be other types of devices and may be associated in other manners with the users 12) ...12₄. It will also be appreciated that this embodiment where the users 12] ...12₄ are family members is presented for illustrative purposes only and that, in other embodiments, various users of communication devices may have various different affiliations or no particular affiliation.

The communication devices 14i ... l4₈ are connected to a call processing system 20 via various network portions of the communications network 10. The call processing system 20 is operative to effect various call processing operations when a communication device (such as any one of the communication devices 14i 14s) is destined to receive an incoming call or is used to originate an outgoing call or participate in a call in progress. The call processing system 20 comprises suitable hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof for implementing a plurality of functional elements, including a processing element 24 and a plurality of routing elements 22) ...22₃, whose functions are discussed below.

More particularly, in this embodiment;

- The communication device 14] (in this case, a wired POTS phone) is connected to the routing element 22₁ of the call processing system 20 via a network portion 26] of the communications network 10. The network portion 26i may comprise a telephone line in the PSTN and possibly one or more other network components (e.g., routing elements, gateways, etc.). The routing element 22₁ is operative to perform operations to cause establishment of a call destined for or originated by the communication device 14|. For example, the routing element 22₁ may be implemented by a central office telephone switch.

The communication device 14₂ (in this case, a wireless phone) is connected to the routing element 22₂ of the call processing system 20 via a network portion 26₂ of the communications network 10. The network portion 26₂ may comprise a wireless link in combination with a base station and a wireline link, and possibly one or more other network components (e.g., routing elements, gateways, etc.). The routing element 22₂ is operative to perform operations to cause establishment of a call destined for or originated by the communication device 14₂. For example, the routing element 22₂ may be implemented by a mobile switching center.

Similarly, the communication devices 14₇ and 14« (in this case, wireless phones) are connected to the routing element 22₂ of the call processing system 20 via network portions 26₇ and 26₈ of the communications network 10. Each of the network portions 26₇ and 26g may comprise a wireless link in combination with a base station and a wireline link, and possibly one or more other network components (e.g., routing elements, gateways, etc.). The routing element 22₂ is operative to perform operations to cause establishment of a call destined for or originated by any of the communication devices 14₇ and 14g. It will be appreciated that, in other embodiments, the communication devices H₇ and \4g may be connected to one or more other routing elements of the call processing system 20 (e.g., where the wireless phones 14₂, 14₇ and 14$ are serviced by different service providers which may operate different routing elements).

The communication devices 14₃...14₆ (each of which is, in this case, a VoIP phone, ATA-equipped POTS phone or softphone) are connected to the routing element 22₃ of the call processing system 20 via network portions 26₃...26₆ of the communications network 10. Each of the network portions 26₃...26₆ may comprise a digital communications link (e.g., a digital subscriber line (DSL) link, a cable link, or a wireless data link such as a WiMAX link) and possibly one or more other network components (e.g., routing elements, gateways, etc.). While they are shown as distinct from one another in Figure 1 , it will be appreciated that some or all of the network portions 26₃...26₆ may be implemented as a common network portion that branches off at the residence 18. For instance, in some cases, certain ones of the communication devices 14₃... H₆ (e.g., the communication devices M₃, 14s and 14₆) may be connected to a local router at the residence 18.

The routing element 22₃ is operative to perform operations to cause establishment of a call destined for or originated by any of the communication device 14₃...14₆.

For example, the routing element 22₃ may be implemented by a Softswitch, a router (e.g., an edge router or a core router), or a server equipped with a modem. It will be appreciated that, in other embodiments, some of the communication devices 14₃...14₆ may be connected to one or more other routing elements of the call processing system 20 (e.g., where two or more of the communication devices

14₃...14_ft are serviced by different service providers which may operate different routing elements).

It will be appreciated that each of the network portion 26i ...26g may span across different networks (e.g., PSTN, wireless, and/or data networks) in which case it may comprise one or more gateways enabling communication and interoperability between these networks. Such gateways are well known and need not be described in further detail. It will also be appreciated that, while in this embodiment the communication devices 14i ... l4g are connected to the call processing system 20 in a certain manner, communication devices such as the communication devices 14] ... H₈ may be connected to the call processing system 20 in various other manners in other embodiments.

With continued reference to Figure 1 , in this embodiment, the call processing system 20 is operated by a service provider that provides communication services to various users of communication devices (including, in this case, the users 12₁...12₄). It will be recognized however that, in other embodiments, different functional elements of the call processing system 20 may be operated by different service providers.

In some embodiments, two or more of the processing element 24 and the routing elements 22| ...22₃ of the call processing system 20 may be functional elements implemented by a common network component. In particular, the processing element

24 and one or more of the routing elements 22j ...22₃ may be implemented by a common network component. For example, in some embodiments, the processing element 24 and the routing element 22₃ may be functional elements of a Softswitch or other server.

Also, in some embodiments, two or more of the processing element 24 and the routing elements 22] ...22₃ of the call processing system 20 may be functional elements implemented by different network components that are linked by one or more physical (i.e., wired or wireless) communication links and possibly other network components (e.g., gateways) of the communications network 10. For example, in some embodiments, the processing element 24 and the routing element 22₃ may be functional elements of a Softswitch or other server, while the routing element 22₁ is a functional element of a central office telephone switch and the routing element 22₂ is a functional element of a mobile switching center, whereby the central office telephone switch and the mobile switching center are linked to the Softswitch or other server via communication links and possibly other network components of the communications network 10. The processing element 24 comprises suitable hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof for implementing a plurality of functional entities, including a processing entity 30 and a routing entity 32, which are configured to perform various operations when a communication device (such as any one of the communication devices 14i ... l4g) is destined to receive an incoming call or is used to originate an outgoing call or participate in a call in progress.

More particularly, the processing entity 30 implements a call processing logic to process a call destined for, originated by, or in progress at a communication device (such as any one of the communication devices 14j ...14₈). For example, the call processing logic may be defined by a sequence of decisions to be taken with respect to a given call, which may lead to one or more actions being performed based on those decisions.

Each decision taken with respect to a given call may be based on one or more factors. A factor on which is based a decision to be taken with respect to a given call may be defined in terms of information regarding the given call. For example, information regarding a given call may include information regarding an origin of the given call such as: the given call's origin which may be expressed, for instance, as a telephone number or other identifier (e.g., an Internet Protocol (IP) address or another Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) such as a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) URI) identifying a device that originated the given call or as a name or other identifier of a calling party that originated the call; a time at which the given call was originated (e.g., a day, hour, minute, etc.); and/or a location (e.g., a city or street address) where the given call was originated. As another example, information regarding a given call may include information regarding a destination of the given call as specified by a calling party that originated the call, such as the given call's intended destination, which may be expressed, for instance, as a telephone number or other identifier (e.g., an IP address or SIP URI) identifying a device for which the call is destined or as a name or other identifier of a called party for which the call is destined. A factor on which is based a decision to be taken with respect to a given call may also be defined in terms of certain information included in a database 36 that may be accessed by the processing entity 30.

One or more actions are performed based on one or more decisions taken with respect to a given call, such as route the given call to a certain destination, cause a distinctive ringing to be effected to announce the given call, block the given call, etc. The routing entity 32 is operative to cause these one or more actions to be performed. For example, for a given call destined for, originated by, or in progress at one of the communication devices \4_\ ...14s, the routing entity 32 may cause a given one of the routing elements 22] ...22₃ to perform these one or more actions.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a telephone number or other telephony identifier enabling establishment of calls may be associated with a group of "identities", where each "identity" designates a party reachable by placing a call to this telephone number or other telephony identifier. The party designated by an identity may be a person or a group of persons. Also, in some cases, a person may have a plurality of identities (e.g., a personal identity for his/her personal life and a business identity for business purposes).

As further discussed below, this association of a telephone number or other telephony identifier with a group of identities is particularly useful from various perspectives. For example, this may allow multiple persons and/or multiple communication devices to share a common telephone number or other telephony identifier, and have an incoming call placed to that telephone number or other telephony identifier routed according to which identity it is determined to be intended for and/or have an outgoing call placed by any of these persons using any of these communication devices processed according to which identity it is determined to be originated by. In addition, a single consolidated bill may be issued by the service provider operating the call processing system 20 for charges incurred by these multiple persons and/or multiple communication devices, thereby simplifying a billing process for both the service provider and a subscriber receiving this single consolidated bill. An association of a telephone number or other telephony identifier with a group of identities may be maintained in the database 36. Figure 2 shows an example of potential contents of the database 36. In this example, the database 36 stores a plurality of records 200]-200_M, where each of the records 200_I-200_M is associated with a subscriber to communication services provided by the service provider operating the call processing system 20.

For purposes of illustration, it is assumed that, in this example, a record 200, of the records 200_I-200_M is associated with the family formed by the users 12] ...12₄.

In this embodiment, the record 200, includes subscriber identification information 17 identifying the subscriber associated with the record 200,. For instance, the subscriber identification information 17 may include an account number and/or another subscriber identifier.

The record 20O_j also includes a telephony identifier 19 enabling establishment of calls. In this embodiment, the telephony identifier 19 is a telephone number, which, for purposes of this example, is assumed to be (555) 555-1234. In other embodiments, the telephony identifier 19 may be any other information that can be provided by a calling party and/or used by the communications network 10 when a call is to be established (e.g., a name, an electronic serial number (ESN), an IP address, a SIP URI, Electronic Numbering (ENUM) information, etc.).

In this example, the telephone number 19 is associated with a group of identities 21 ₁...21₅. In this case, each of the identities 21 i ...21₅ designates a person, namely, one of the users 12i ... l2₄. More particularly, in this example: each of the identities

21 i and 2I₂ designates the user 12) (i.e., the father), where the identity 21 ] is a personal identity of the user 12_t used for his personal life and the identity 2I₂ is a business identity of the user \2_\ used for business purposes; the identity 2I₃ designates the user 12₂ (i.e., the mother); the identity 2I₄ designates the user 12₃ (i.e., the son); and the identity 2I ₅ designates the user 12₄ (i.e., the daughter). As further discussed later on, when it operates to establish a call placed to the telephone number 19 (in this case, (555) 555-1234) by a calling party, the call processing system 20 may determine, based on information regarding an origin of the call (e.g., a telephone number or other identifier of the calling party, a time at which the call was originated, a location where the call was originated, etc.), to which of the identities 21 ₁ 21₅ the call is intended for and may proceed to route the call accordingly, for instance, by directing the call to one or more of the communication devices 14| ...14₈. Similarly, when it operates to establish a call originated by any of the users 12i ... l2₄ using any of the communication devices 14i ... l4s, the call processing system 20 may process the call according to which of the identities 21 ₁...21₅ it is determined to be originated by.

Each of the identities 21 ₁...2I ₅ is associated with various information that effectively serves to define that identity within the call processing system 20.

More particularly, in this embodiment, each of the identities 21₁ 21s is identified by identity identification information 31 , which may include, for instance, a name (e.g., a name of a given one of the users 12| ...12₄ designated by that identity), an identity number or code, and/or other information identifying that identity.

Also, each of the identities 21₁ 21₅ is associated with information 25 related to processing of calls involving that identity, i.e., calls intended for or originated by the person designated by that identity. The information 25 associated with each of the identities 21₁ 21₅, which is hereinafter referred to as "call processing information", is used by the call processing system 20 to process a call intended for or originated by that identity.

In this embodiment, the call processing information 25 associated with each of the identities 21 | ...21₅ comprises device identification information 33 directly or indirectly identifying one or more of the communication devices 14] 14s associated with that identity. More particularly, the person designated by each of the identities 21 1...2I ₅ may be associated with one or more of the communication devices 14j ... l4g that he/she is expected to use for effecting calls. Thus, in this example: the identity 21 ] (which designates the user 12_t, and more specifically, his personal identity) is associated with the communication devices 14₁... H₄; the identity 2I₂ (which designates the user 12|, and more specifically, his business identity) is associated with the communication devices 14] and H₂; the identity 2I₃ (which designates the user 12₂) is associated with the communication devices 14₃ and 14₄; the identity 2I₄ (which designates the user 12₃) is associated with the communication devices 14₃, 14₅ and 14₇; and the identity 2I ₅ (which designates the user 12₄) is associated with the communication devices 14₃, H₆ and 14s.

In order to reach or be reached by the call processing system 20 over the

Communications network 10, each of the communication devices I4i 14s is directly or indirectly identified by a device identifier included in the device identification information 33. The device identifier identifying each of the communication devices 14| ...14₈ may take on various forms depending on that communication device^'s type. For example: for the communication device 14], which, in this case, is a wired POTS phone, the device identifier may include a telephone number identifying a telephone line to which the wired POTS phone 14i is connected; for the communication device H₂, which, in this case, is a wireless phone, the device identifier may include an electronic serial number (ESN) and/or a telephone number associated with the wireless phone 14₂; for each of the communication devices 14₃...14₆, each of which is, in this case, a VoIP phone, ATA-equipped POTS phone, or softphone, the device identifier may include an IP address and/or a telephone number (and/or another URI such as a SIP URI) associated with the VoIP phone, ATA-equipped POTS phone, or softphone. It will be recognized that the device identifier identifying a given communication device may take on other forms (e.g., Electronic Numbering (ENUM) information) in other cases.

In this example, callers who desire to reach the users 12] ...12₄ can do so by placing calls to the telephone number 19 (in this case, (555) 555-1234) without knowing the device identifier associated with any of the communication devices 14i ... l4g. In that sense, the device identifier associated with each of the communication devices 14) ...14₈ can be viewed as a "hidden" identifier (e.g., a hidden telephone number) that is used by the call processing system 20 to communicate with that communication device. That is, the device identifier associated with each of the communication devices 14_\ ...14g need not be known by callers that call the users 12\ ...12₄ or even by the users 12i ... l2₄ themselves. Rather, the users 12i ... l2₄ may provide only the telephone number 19, in this case, (555) 555-1234, to individuals (e.g., friends, colleagues, business contacts or other acquaintances) who may then proceed to call any one of the users 12i ... l2₄ using that telephone number. As further discussed later on, the call processing system 20 can determine, based on information regarding an on gin of a given call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234, to which of the identities 21₁...2Is the call is intended for and can then proceed to route the call accordingly, for instance, by directing the call to one or more of the communication devices 14j ...14g using the (hidden) device identifier associated with each of these communication devices.

In this embodiment, the call processing information 25 associated with each of the identities 21 ] ...21₅ also comprises information 23 regarding one or more operations to be performed by the call processing system 20 to process calls intended for or originated by that identity. This information 23, which is hereinafter referred to as '"processing operation information", can take on many forms in various embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the processing operation information 23 associated with each of the identities 21₁ 21₅ can be viewed as defining a set of one or more rules that may be characterized by various levels of complexity. For instance, in some cases, the processing operation information 23 associated with a given one of the identities 21₁ 21₅ may simply specify to route a call determined to be intended for that identity to one or more communication devices (e.g., any one of the communication devices 14] ...14s), while, in other cases, it may specify a more complex set of rules to be applied when a call is determined to be intended for or originated by that identity (e.g., based on an origin of the call, a time at which it is originated, etc.).

The processing operation information 23 associated with each of the identities

211 215 may be configurable in order to allow processing of calls intended for or originated by the person designated by that identity as desired by that person. In some embodiments, the processing operation information 23 associated with each of the identities 21 ₁ 21₅ may be configured by the person designated by that identity during a provisioning phase (e.g., via a data network site operated by the service provider operating the call processing system 20).

For instance, in some embodiments, the processing operation information 23 associated with each of the identities 21₁...21₅ may relate to zero or more telephony features that may be subscribed to by the person designated by that identity. Subscription to different telephony features may be completely independent from one person to another and there is no restriction on a number or combination of features that may be subscribed to by any one person. In some cases, a person may not subscribe to any telephony feature, while in other cases a person may subscribe to all available telephony features. Also, in some cases, one or more telephony features may be subscribed to without having to pay for these one or more features, which may be provided as default or standard features.

Examples of telephony features that may be subscribed to by the person designated by an identity 2 I_j of the identities 21 , ...21₅ (I <j <5) include:

a call forwarding feature whereby every incoming call determined to be intended for the identity 2 I_j is to be forwarded to a particular communication device (e.g., any one of the communication devices \4_\ ..A4_$) associated with a particular device identifier (e.g., a telephone number, IP address, or SIP URI), in which case the processing operation information 23 may include the particular device identifier and possibly other information (e.g., one or more periods of time during which this feature is to be applied);

a selective call forwarding feature whereby an incoming call determined to be intended for the identity 2 I_j and originated by any of one or more communication devices each associated with a predetermined identifier (e.g., a predetermined telephone number, IP address, or SIP URI) is to be forwarded to a particular communication device (e.g., any one of the communication devices 14_t ...14₈) associated with a particular device identifier (e.g., a telephone number, IP address, or SIP URI), in which case the processing operation information 23 may include the predetermined identifier associated with each of the one or more communication devices, the particular device identifier and possibly other information (e.g., one or more periods of time during which this feature is to be applied);

a no-answer call forwarding feature whereby an incoming call determined to be intended for the identity 2 I_j is to be forwarded to a particular communication device (e.g., any one of the communication devices 14] ...14s) associated with a particular device identifier (e.g., a telephone number, IP address, or SIP URI) if it is not answered within a predetermined period of time (e.g., a predetermined number of rings), in which case the processing operation information 23 may include the particular device identifier, the predetermined period of time, and possibly other information (e.g., one or more periods of time during which this feature is to be applied);

a "find me / follow me^"' (FM/FM) call forwarding feature whereby an incoming call determined to be intended for the identity 21_, is to be forwarded to a plurality of communication devices (e.g., plural ones of the communication devices 14] ...14s) respectively associated with a plurality of identifiers (each of which may be, for example, a telephone number, IP address, or SIP URI) either simultaneously and/or sequentially (e.g., until it is answered or all the identifiers have been used and the call remains unanswered, in which case it can be forwarded to a voicemail system), in which case the processing operation information 23 may include the plurality of identifiers, a sequence in which they are to be used or an indication to use all or some of them simultaneously, and possibly other information (e.g., one or more periods of time during which this feature is to be applied, one or more identifiers associated with one or more communication devices originating calls to which this feature is to be applied, etc.);

a distinctive ringing feature whereby incoming calls determined to be intended for the identity 2I ₁ are to be announced by different audio signals (e.g., ring tones or songs) when they originate from communication devices associated with specific identifiers (each of which may be, for example, a telephone number, IP address, or SIP URI), in which case the processing operation information 23 may include, for each of the communication devices, the specific identifier associated therewith, information regarding a specific audio signal to be produced when an incoming call originates therefrom, and possibly other information (e.g., one or more periods of time during which this feature is to be applied);

a selective call rejection feature whereby an incoming call determined to be intended for the identity 2 I_j and originated by any of one or more communication devices each associated with a predetermined identifier (e.g., a predetermined telephone number, IP address, or SIP URI) is rejected and not announced, in which case the processing operation information 23 may include the predetermined identifier associated with each of the one or more communication devices and possibly other information (e.g., one or more periods of time during which this feature is to be applied);

a selective call acceptance feature whereby only an incoming call determined to be intended for the identity 21_j and originated by any of one or more communication devices each associated with a predetermined identifier (e.g., a predetermined telephone number, IP address, or SIP URI) is accepted and announced, in which case the processing operation information 23 may include the predetermined identifier associated with each of the one or more communication devices and possibly other information (e.g., one or more periods of time during which this feature is to be applied);

a call waiting feature whereby a communication device (e.g., any one of the communication devices \4_\ ... Hg) involved in a call in progress produces a notification of an incoming call determined to be intended for the identity 21_J? in which case the processing operation information 23 may include an indication that this feature is to be applied, information regarding an audio notification to be produced to announce an incoming call, and possibly other information (e.g., one or more periods of time during which this feature is to be applied); a distinctive ringing call waiting feature whereby a communication device (e.g., any one of the communication devices 14) ... H₈) involved in a call in progress produces a distinctive audio notification of an incoming call determined to be intended for the identity 2I₁ and originated by any of one or more communication devices each associated with a specific identifier (e.g., a specific telephone number, IP address, or SIP URI), in which case the processing operation information 23 may include, for each of the one or more communication devices, the specific identifier associated therewith, information regarding an audio notification to be produced to announce an incoming call originated therefrom, and possibly other information (e.g., one or more periods of time during which this feature is to be applied);

- a calling line identification (CLID) displaying feature whereby CLID information (e.g., a telephone number and/or a name) associated with a communication device originating a call determined to be intended for the identity 2 I_j is displayed, in which case the processing operation information 23 may include an indication that this feature is to be applied and possibly other information (e.g., one or more periods of time during which this feature is to be applied);

- a CLID blocking feature whereby CLID information (e.g., a telephone number and/or a name) is not provided to a communication device when an outgoing call for that communication device is determined to be originated by the identity 21_J3 in which case the processing operation information 23 may include an indication that this feature is to be applied and possibly other information (e.g., one or more periods of time during which this feature is to be applied);

a speed calling feature whereby an outgoing call determined to be originated by the identity 2 I_j and destined for any of one or more communication devices each associated with a predetermined telephone number can be originated by inputting a specific code (e.g., a one or two digit code) shorter than the predetermined telephone number, in which case the processing operation information 23 may include, for each of the one or more communication devices, the predetermined telephone number associated therewith, the specific code, and possibly other information (e.g., one or more periods of time during which this feature is to be applied); and

an outgoing call barring feature whereby an outgoing call determined to be originated by the identity 21_j and destined for any of one or more communication devices each associated with a predetermined identifier (e.g., a predetermined telephone number, IP address, or SIP URI) is to be prevented from being established, in which case the processing operation information 23 may include, for each of the one or more communication devices, the predetermined identifier associated therewith and possibly other information (e.g., one or more periods of time during which this feature is to be applied).

It is to be understood that these examples of telephony features are presented for illustrative purposes only and are not to be considered limiting in any respect as various other telephony features are or may become available. Also, the above examples of information that may be part of the processing operation information 23 associated with the identity 2 I_j in relation to one or more telephony features are presented for illustrative purposes only and are not to be considered limiting in any respect.

It is also to be understood that, in some embodiments, the processing operation information 23 associated with any one of the identities 21₁ 21₅ may not relate to any particular telephony feature. Generally, the processing operation information 23 associated with each of the identities 21 ₁ 21₅ is indicative of one or more operations to be performed by the call processing system 20 to process calls intended for or originated by that identity.

In this embodiment, each of the identities 21₁ 21 s may also be associated with contact information 37 regarding one or more contacts (e.g., friends, colleagues, business contacts or other acquaintances) of the person designated by that identity. For example, for each of these one or more contacts, the contact information 37 may include a telephony identifier associated with that party, such as a telephone number, a name, an electronic serial number (ESN), an IP address, a SIP URI, Electronic Numbering (ENUM) information, etc. Thus, in this case, the contact information 37 associated with each of the identities 21 ] ...2I ₅ can be viewed as part of an address book of the person designated by that identity. The contact information 37 associated with each of the identities 21 ₁ 215 may be configured by the person designated by that identity during a provisioning phase (e.g., via a data network site operated by the service provider operating the call processing system 20).

While in this embodiment the database 36 includes certain information in connection with each of the identities 21 ] ...2I₅, the database 36 may include various other information in other embodiments. Also, while in this example each of the identities

21 ] ...21₅ designates a single one of the users 12] 12₄, in other examples, the telephone number 19 may be associated with an additional identity designating two or more of the users 12_I ... 12__J. For instance, in some cases, in addition to being associated with the identities 21 _\ ...21₅, the telephone number 19 may be associated with an identity designating the family formed by the users 12₁...12₄.

Also, while in this example the record 200, associates the telephone number 19 (in this case, (555) 555-1234) with the group of identities 21₁ 21₅. it will be appreciated that, in some embodiments, one or more of the records 200] -200_M in the database 36 may include a telephony identifier 19 that is not associated with a group of identities, but that is rather generally associated with a subscriber to communication services provided by the service provider operating the call processing system 20 without defining two or more identities.

In addition, while it is depicted in Figure 1 as being one component, the database 36 may be distributed in nature. For example, the database 36 can have portions of its content stored in different data storage media possibly located in different network components of the communications network 10.

Referring now to Figure 3, operation of the call processing system 20, and in particular of the processing element 24, will be illustrated in the context of an example in which a calling party 40 uses a communication device 42 for placing a call to the telephone number 19, in this case, (555) 555-1234, associated with the group of identities 21 ₁...21₅ designating the users 12₁...12₄. In various embodiments, the communication device 42 may be a wired POTS phone, a wireless phone, a VoIP phone, an ATA-equipped POTS phone, a softphone, a telephony-enabled television unit, or any other suitable communication device.

For example, the calling party 40 may interact with the communication device 42 to dial the telephone number (555) 555-1234, select a contact identifier from a contact function implemented by the communication device 42 to indicate his/her desire to call that telephone number, or speak a voice command indicative of his/her desire to call that telephone number. This interaction of the calling party 40 with the communication device 42 results in the communication device 42 transmitting a signal 100 over a network portion 50 of the communications network 10 (e.g., a telephone line in the PSTN, a wireless link in combination with a base station and a wireline link, a digital communications link, and/or one or more other network components (e.g., routing elements, gateways, etc.)). The signal 100, which travels to the call processing system 20, serves to place the call to the telephone number (555) 555-1234. For example, and depending on the nature of the network portion 50 and the nature of the interaction of the calling party 40 with the communication device 42, the signal 100 may convey one or more dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) tones, one or more data packets, or other information serving to place the call for the telephone number (555) 555-1234.

In the call processing system 20, the signal 100 is eventually processed by the processing element 24 (possibly after being processed by one or more other elements of the call processing system 20 such as, for instance, one or more of the routing elements 22| ...22₃). As part of this process, the processing entity 30 determines that the signal 100 originates from the communication device 42 and serves to place the call to the telephone number (555) 555-1234. More particularly, the processing entity 30 obtains, based on the signal 100, information regarding an origin of the call and information indicating that the call has been placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234. For instance, in this embodiment, the information regarding the origin of the call is indicative of a telephone number identifying the communication device 42, which, for purposes of this example, is assumed to be (555) 555-5678, and of a time at which the call was originated (e.g., a day, hour, minute, etc.).

As it carries out its call processing logic, the processing entity 30 consults the database 36 to determine whether certain actions are to be performed in respect of the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234. Thus, in this example, the processing entity 30 consults the database 36 in an attempt to find a given one of the record 200)-200_M that includes a telephony identifier 19 corresponding to the telephone number (555) 555-1234. In this case, upon finding the record 20O_j which corresponds to the telephone number (555) 555-1234, the processing entity 30 determines that this telephone number is associated with the group of identities

21 , ...2I ₅.

The processing entity 30 proceeds to determine for which of the identities 21 ₁ 21₅ the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended and then causes the call to be routed accordingly, for instance, by causing the call to be directed to one or more of the communication devices 14] ...14s- In this embodiment, the processing entity 30 determines, based on the information regarding the origin of the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234, at least one particular identity of the identities 21₁ 21₅ for which the call is intended, and proceeds to cause routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the at least one particular identity of the identities 21 ₁ 21₅.

More particularly, in this embodiment, the processing entity 30 searches the record 20O_j to determine whether the telephone number (555) 555-5678, from which originates the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234, is part of the contact information 37 associated with any one of the identities 21₁...21₅. Different scenarios that can arise will now be discussed.

Scenario I: Originating telephone number is part of contact information associated with a single identity If the telephone number (555) 555-5678 is part of the contact information 37 associated with a single one of the identities 21 i ...21₅, the processing entity 30 concludes that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for that identity.

In this case, the processing entity 30 proceeds to cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the single one of the identities 21₁ 21₅. For instance, based on the call processing information 25 associated with the single one of the identities 21₁ 21₅, the routing entity 32 may cause one or more of the routing elements 22i ...22₃ to send one or more signals 1 10| ...1 1 Og over one or more of the network portions 26] ...26g to route the call to one or more of the communication devices 14] ...14g, and/or may cause the call to be routed in other ways (e.g., to a voicemail system). While the call is being routed, the routing entity 32 may cause the communication device 42 to provide a ring back tone (e.g., a standard or other audible tone or sound file) to indicate to the calling party 40 that the call is being placed.

For example, assume that (i) the single one of the identities 21 j 21₅ is the identity

2I₂ (which is the business identity of the user 12i, i.e., the father), and (ii) the call processing information 25 associated with the identity 2I₂ indicates that any call (or any call originating from one or more predetermined telephone numbers, including the telephone number (555) 555-5678) intended for the identity 2I₂ and originated on weekdays between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM is to be routed to the communication device 14] (i.e., the wired POTS phone at the workplace 16 of the user 12i) and that any call intended for the identity 21? at any other time is to be routed to the communication device H₂ (i.e., the wireless phone of the user 12j). Thus, in a case where the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 was originated at 2:30 PM on a Tuesday, the routing entity 32 causes the routing element 22] to send a signal 110] over the network portion 26₁ to route the call to the communication device 14], while in a case where the call was originated at 10:30 AM on a Saturday, the routing entity 32 causes the routing element 22₁ to send a signal 1 1O₂ over the network portion 26₂ to route the call to the communication device H₂. As another example, assume that (i) the single one of the identities 21 j — 2I₅ is the identity 21₁ (which is the personal identity of the user 12i, i.e., the father), and (ii) the call processing information 25 associated with the identity 21 ] indicates that any call intended for the identity 21 ₁ and originated on weekdays between 7:00 AM and 6:00 PM is to be routed to the communication device 14₂ (i.e., the wireless phone of the user 12i) and that any call intended for the identity 21 ] at any other time is to be routed to each of the communication devices H₃ and 14₄ (i.e., the VoIP phone and the ATA-equipped POTS phone in the kitchen and the parents' bedroom of the residence 18, respectively). Thus, in a case where the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 was originated at 1 :40 PM on a Tuesday, the routing entity 32 causes the routing element 22₂ to send a signal 110₂ over the network portion 26₂ to route the call to the communication device 14₂, while in a case where the call was originated at 8:00 PM on a Monday, the routing entity 32 causes the routing element 22₃ to send signals 1 1O₃ and 1 1O₄ over the network portions 26₃ and 26₄ to route the call to the communication devices 14₃ and 14₄.

As yet another example, assume that (i) the single one of the identities 21₁ 21₅ is the identity 2I₄ (which designates the user 12₃, i.e., the son), and (ii) the call processing information 25 associated with the identity 2I₄ indicates that any call intended for the identity 2I₄ is to be first routed to the communication device 14s (i.e., the VoIP phone in the son^'s bedroom at the residence 18) and, if not answered within a certain period of time (e.g., a certain number of rings), then routed to the communication device 14₇ (i.e., the wireless phone of the user 12₃). Thus, the routing entity 32 causes the routing element 22₃ to send a signal 1 10₅ over the network portion 26₅ to route the call to the communication device 14₅ and, if the call is not answered within the certain period of time, the routing entity 32 causes the routing element 22₂ to send a signal 1 10₇ over the network portion 26₇ to route the call to the communication device 14₇.

As yet another example, assume that (i) the single one of the identities 21₁...21s is the identity 2I₃ (which designates the user 12₂, i.e., the mother), and (ii) the call processing information 25 associated with the identity 2I₃ indicates that any call intended for the identity 2I₃ is to be routed to each of the communication devices H₃ and 14₄ (i.e., the VoIP phone and the ATA-equipped POTS phone in the kitchen and the parents^" bedroom of the residence 18, respectively). Thus, in that case, the routing entity 32 causes the routing element 22₃ to send signals HO₃ and HO₄ over the network portions 26₃ and 26₄ to route the call to the communication devices 14₃ and H₄.

It will be appreciated that these examples are presented for illustrative purposes only and that the routing entity 32 may cause the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 to be routed in various manners depending on the call processing information 25 associated with the single one of the identities 211 21₅ for which the call is determined to be intended (e.g., the routing entity 32 may cause one or more actions to be performed in relation to one or more telephony features that may be subscribed to by the person designated by that identity).

It will also be appreciated that, in cases where the routing entity 32 causes the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 to be routed to a given one of the communication devices 14 j 14s that is associated with two or more of the identities

21₁ 2I₅ (e.g., the communication device 14₃ or 14₄), the routing entity 32 may cause that given communication device to indicate which one of these identities the call is intended for. For example, the routing entity 32 may cause the given communication device to provide an audible indication (e.g., a distinctive ringtone and/or a voice announcement) and/or a visual indication (e.g., a displayed announcement, which may be combined with CLID information, and/or lighting up of a light) of which one of these identities the call is intended for.

Scenario II: Originating telephone number is part of contact information associated with two or more identities

If the telephone number (555) 555-5678 is part of the contact information 37 associated with each of two or more of the identities 21 j ...21₅, the processing entity 30 concludes that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for at least one of these two or more identities. In some embodiments, upon concluding that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for at least one of two or more of the identities 211...215, the processing entity 30 may cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with each of these two or more identities. For instance, based on the call processing information 25 associated with the two or more of the identities 21 ) ...21₅, the routing entity 32 may cause one or more of the routing elements 22] ...22₃ to send one or more signals 1 1 Oj ... HOg over one or more of the network portions 26i ...26s to route the call to one or more of the communication devices 14] ...14g, and/or may cause the call to be routed in other ways (e.g., to a voicemail system). For example, in a case where the telephone number (555) 555-5678 is part of the contact information 37 associated with each of the identities 21₁ and 2I₃, which respectively designate the user 12] (i.e., the father) and the user 12₂ (i.e., the mother), the routing entity 32 may cause the routing element 22₃ to send signals 110₃ and 1 10₄ over the network portions 26₃ and 26₄ to route the call to the communication devices 14₃ and 14₄.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, upon concluding that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for at least one of two or more of the identities 21 ] 2I₅, the processing entity 30 may attempt to single out a specific one of these two or more identities as being more likely to be the identity for which the call is intended.

For example, in some embodiments, the processing entity 30 may consult a call history in an attempt to single out a specific identity for which the call is intended. The call history may be included in the record 200, of the database 36 or in another database to which the processing entity 30 has access. In some cases, the call history may indicate which of the identities 21 | ...21₅ effectively answered previous calls placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 from various origins (e.g., various origination telephone numbers). For instance, this can be achieved by indicating which of the communication devices 14) ...14g have been used to answer these previous calls or using other techniques to flag incoming calls as having been answered by one of the identities 21 ₁ 21₅. Upon consulting the call history, the processing entity 30 may determine that a specific one of the two or more of the identities 21 _\ ...21₅, which are associated with the contact information 37 that includes the telephone number (555) 555-5678, has been involved in answering most or all of the previous calls originating from that telephone number or the last call originating from that telephone number, in which case the processing entity 30 may conclude that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for that specific identity. In other cases, the call history may indicate which of the identities 211...2I5 effectively placed previous calls to various destinations (e.g., various destination telephone numbers). For instance, this can be achieved by indicating which of the communication devices 14| ...14g have been used to place these previous calls or using other techniques to flag outgoing calls as having been placed by one of the identities 21₁....2I₅. Upon consulting the call history, the processing entity 30 may determine that a specific one of the two or more of the identities 21₁ 21₅, which are associated with the contact information 37 that includes the telephone number (555) 555-5678, has been involved in placing most or all of the previous calls to that telephone number or the last call placed to that telephone number, in which case the processing entity 30 may conclude that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for that specific identity. In these cases, the processing entity 30 may cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the specific one of the identities 21 ] ...21₅, in a manner similar to that described above in respect of Scenario I.

As another example, in some embodiments, the processing entity 30 may cause transmission of a signal 120 to the communication device 42 in order to invite the calling party 40 to specify which of the identities 21 ₁ 21₅ he/she is trying to reach. For example, the signal 120 may convey a message inviting the calling party 40 to specify which of the identities 21 ] 21₅ he/she is trying to reach. Depending on functionality of the communication device 42, the message may comprise a voice message and/or a displayable message prompting the calling party 40 to specify which of the identities 21 ₁...21₅ he/she is trying to reach. For instance, in a case where the processing entity 30 concluded that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555- 1234 is intended for at least one of the identities 21 ₁ and 2I₃ and where the user 12] is named John and the user 12₂ is named Carol, the message may be "Are you trying to reach John or Carol?^", 'Tress 1 if you want to reach John, 2 if you want to reach Carol, or 3 if you want to reach either of them", or any conceivable variant thereof. Alternatively, the message may be "Please specify who you are trying to reach'^" or any conceivable variant thereof such as to not give out the names of John and Carol. The calling party 40 may then interact with the communication device 42, for instance, by pressing on one or more buttons or otherwise manually interacting therewith and/or speaking one or more utterances in order to specify which of the identities 21 ] ...21₅ he/she is trying to reach, thereby causing the communication device 42 to transmit a signal 124 indicative of which of the identities 211 215 the calling party 40 is trying to reach. Upon processing the signal 124 indicative of which of the identities 21₁ 21₅ the calling party 40 is trying to reach (possibly applying a speech recognition function in a case where the calling party 40 vocally specified which identity he/she is trying to reach), the processing entity 30 concludes that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for that specified identity. In such a case, the processing entity 30 may cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the specified one of the identities 21 ₁...21₅, in a manner similar to that described above in respect of Scenario I.

Scenario III: Originating telephone number is not part of contact information associated with any identity

If the telephone number (555) 555-5678 is not part of the contact information 37 associated with any of the identities 21₁ 21₅, the processing entity 30 concludes that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for an undetermined one of these identities.

In some embodiments, upon concluding that the call placed to the telephone number

(555) 555-1234 is intended for an undetermined one of the identities 21₁ 21₅, the processing entity 30 may cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with each of these identities. For instance, based on the call processing information 25 associated with each of the identities 21 ) ...2Is, the routing entity 32 may cause one or more of the routing elements 22| ...22₃ to send one or more signals 1 1 Oj 11 Os over one or more of the network portions 26i ...26s to route the call to one or more of the communication devices 14i ... l4s, and/or may cause the call to be routed in other ways (e.g., to a voicemail system). For example, in some cases, the routing entity 32 may cause the routing elements 22] ...22₃ to send signals HOi ... H Os over the network portions 26) ...20₈ to route the call to each of the communication devices 14| ...14₈, either simultaneously or in a particular sequence.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, upon concluding that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for an undetermined one of the identities 21₁ 21₅, the processing entity 30 may attempt to single out a specific one of these identities as being more likely to be the identity for which the call is intended.

For example, in some embodiments, the processing entity 30 may consult the call history described above in connection with Scenario II. In some cases, upon consulting the call history, the processing entity 30 may determine that a specific one of the identities 21₁ 21₅ has been involved in answering most or all of the previous calls originating from the telephone number (555) 555-5678 or the last call originating from that telephone number, in which case the processing entity 30 may conclude that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for that specific identity. In other cases, upon consulting the call history, the processing entity 30 may determine that a specific one of the identities 21 ₁ 21₅ has been involved in placing most or all of the previous calls to the telephone number (555) 555-5678 or the last call placed to that telephone number, in which case the processing entity 30 may conclude that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for that specific identity. In these cases, the processing entity 30 may cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the specific one of the identities 21 ₁...21₅, in a manner similar to that described above in respect of Scenario I.

As another example, in some embodiments, the processing entity 30 may cause transmission of a signal 120 to the communication device 42 in order to invite the calling party 40 to specify which of the identities 21₁ 21₅ he/she is trying to reach, as described above in connection with Scenario II. The calling party 40 may then interact with the communication device 42, for instance, by pressing on one or more buttons or otherwise manually interacting therewith and/or speaking one or more utterances in order to specify which of the identities 21 ₁ 21₅ he/she is trying to reach, thereby causing the communication device 42 to transmit a signal 124 indicative of which of the identities 21₁ 21₅ the calling party 40 is trying to reach.

Upon processing the signal 124 indicative of which of the identities 21 ] ...21₅ the calling party 40 is trying to reach (possibly applying a speech recognition function in a case where the calling party 40 vocally specified which identity he/she is trying to reach), the processing entity 30 concludes that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for that specified identity. In such a case, the processing entity 30 may cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the specified one of the identities 21₁...21₅, in a manner similar to that described above in respect of Scenario I.

As yet another example, in some embodiments, the processing entity 30 may access a public data network such as the Internet in order to determine whether there is a relationship between any one of the identities 21₁ 21₅ and the origin of the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234. More particularly, the processing entity 30 may perform a search on one or more sites (e.g., web sites) of the public data network on a basis of information regarding the origin of the call (e.g., the telephone number (555) 555-5678 identifying the communication device 42 and/or a name or other identifier of the calling party 40) and information pertaining to each of the identities 21 ₁ 21₅ (e.g., a name of a given one of the users 12) ...12₄ designated by that identity) in order to determine whether there is a relationship between the origin of the call and any one of these identities. For example, the processing entity 30 may perform a search on one or more social networking sites (e.g., Facebook^®, Linkedln^®, MySpace*) and/or one or more search engine sites (e.g., Google^®, Yahoo!^®). If, upon processing results of the search, the processing entity 30 determines that there is a relationship between the origin of the call and a given one of the identities 21 ₁...21₅ (e.g., a name of the calling party 40 has been found as a friend or contact in a social networking site profile of one of the users 12₁...12₄ designated by that given identity), the processing entity 30 may conclude that the call is intended for that given identity. In such a case, the processing entity 30 may cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the given one of the identities 21 ] ...2I ₅, in a manner similar to that described above in respect of Scenario I.

While in embodiments considered above a determination as to which of the identities

21 ₁ 21₅ the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for is effected in a particular manner, it will be appreciated that this determination may be effected in various other manners in other embodiments.

For example, and as mentioned previously, in some embodiments, in addition to being associated with the identities 21 ₁...21₅, the telephone number (555) 555-1234 may be associated with a sixth identity designating the family formed by the users 12] 12₄.

In these embodiments, the call processing information 25 associated with the identity designating the family formed by the users 12₁...12₄ may specify to route a call intended for the family to one or more common ones of the communication devices 14i ... l4g (e.g., the communication device H₃ located in a common area of the residence 18) and, optionally, if the call remains unanswered after a predetermined period of time (e.g., a predetermined number of rings), to route the call to a voicemail system. For instance, upon encountering Scenario III described above where the telephone number (555) 555-5678 from which originates the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is not part of the contact information 37 associated with any of the identities 21₁...21₅, the processing entity 30 may conclude, by default, that the call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for the identity designating the family formed by the users 12₁ 12₄ and may proceed to cause the routing entity 32 to effect routing of the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with the identity designating the family formed by the users 12₁...12₄, thereby causing the call to be routed to one or more common ones of the communication devices 14i ... l4g and possibly to a voicemail system.

In addition, one or more other sources of information may be consulted by the processing entity 30 in making a determination as to which of the identities 21 ₁ 21₅ a call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for. For example, in some embodiments, the processing entity 30 may have access to one or more directories associated with one or more of the users 12) ...12₄ designated by the identities 21 | ...21₅ (e.g., a corporate directory, a university directory, or another organization's directory) and may consult these one or more directories in an attempt to determine to which of the identities 21₁ 21₅ a call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for. For instance, in one case, further to provisioning of the identity 2I₂, i.e., the business identity of the user 12], the processing entity 30 may have knowledge that the user 12| works for a particular company and may have access to that company^'s directory. In this case, in determining to which of the identities 21 ) ...2I₅ a given call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for, the processing entity 30 may consult the directory of the particular company and, upon finding in the directory an origination telephone number and/or a calling party's name for the given call, may determine that the given call is intended for the identity 2I₂ and cause the given call to be routed accordingly.

Also, while in embodiments considered above the processing entity 30 determines to which of the identities 21₁ 2I₅ a call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 is intended for by consulting different sources of information, including the contact information 37 associated with each of these identities, a call history of previous calls, and one or more sites of a public data network, it will be appreciated that, in other embodiments, the processing entity 30 may effect this determination by consulting only one or a different combination of these sources of information (or other sources of information).

It will thus be appreciated that, in this embodiment, the telephone number (555) 555- 1234 being associated with the group of identities 21 ₁...21₅ which designate the users 12i ... l2₄ is particularly useful from various perspectives. For example, in this case, the users 12] ...12₄ and the communication devices 14i ... l4₈ share a common telephone number (i.e., (555) 555-1234) and every incoming call placed to that telephone number is routed according to which of the identities 2I ₁...2I₅ it is determined to be intended for. This benefits the users 12| ...12₄ who only need to remember and give out to their friends, colleagues and/or other acquaintances a single telephone number (i.e., (555) 555-1234) at which they can be reached. Similarly, this benefits these friends, colleagues and/or other acquaintances of the users 12) ...12₄ who only need to remember a single telephone number (i.e., (555) 555-1234) at which each of the users \2_\ ... \2₄ can be reached. Also, by virtue of routing every incoming call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 according to which of the identities 21 ₁...21₅ it is determined to be intended for, undesirable situations where a given one of the users 12₁...12₄ for whom the call is not intended wastes his/her time picking up the call can be avoided.

Although the above-considered example relates to an incoming call placed to the telephone number (555) 555-1234 associated with the group of identities 21 ] ...215, it will be appreciated that this association between the telephone number (555) 555-

1234, the users 12] 12₄ and the communication devices 14-j 14s may also provide other benefits in respect of an outgoing call originated by any of these users using any of these communication devices.

For example, when a given one of the users 12i ... l2₄ uses a given one of the communication devices 14| ...14g to place a call, the processing entity 30 may determine that a given one of the identities 21 ₁ 21₅ designates the given one of the users 12i ... l2₄ and proceed to process the call based on the call processing information 25 associated with that given identity. For instance: where the call processing information 25 associated with the given one of the identities 21₁ 21₅ indicates that any outgoing call originated by that identity is to be accompanied by specific CLID information identifying that identity (e.g., a name of the given one of the users 12j ...124), the processing entity 30 may cause the routing entity 32 to effect display of this specific CLID information on a called party's device; where the call processing information 25 associated with the given one of the identities 21₁...21₅ relates to a speed calling feature specific to this identity, the processing entity 30 may enable the given one of the users 12₁...12₄ to use speed calling codes pertaining to this speed calling feature to place the call; where the call processing information 25 associated with the given one of the identities 21 ₁ 21₅ indicates that the contact information 37 associated with that given identity can be used when an outgoing call is originated by that given identity, the processing entity 30 may enable the given one of the users 12i ... l2₄ to specify a particular contact for which the outgoing call is intended (e.g., by selecting the particular contact from an audio or displayed list of contacts or by speaking a voice command identifying the particular contact); where the call processing information 25 associated with the given one of the identities

21₁ 21₅ relates to one or more outgoing call telephony features (e.g., a CLID blocking feature, an outgoing call barring feature, etc.) to be applied to any call originated by that identity, the processing entity 30 may cause these one or more outgoing call telephony features to be applied; and so on.

The processing entity 30 may identify a given one of the identities 211...2I₅ designating a given one of the users 12] ...12₄ that originates a given call in various ways in various embodiments. For example, in some cases, the processing entity 30 may identify the given one of the identities 21 ₁...2I₅ based on the (hidden) identifier of the given one of the communication devices 14] 14g that has been used to originate the given call. In other cases, the processing entity 30 may identify the given one of the identities 21 ₁...21₅ based on information provided by the given one of the users 12i ... l2₄ when originating the call, such as a name, an identity number or code (e.g., conveyed by one or more DTMF tones transmitted by the given one of the communication devices 14| ...14₈ in response to one or more buttons thereof being pressed), and/or a voiceprint. In yet other cases, the processing entity 30 may identify the given one of the identities 21₁...21₅ based on a signal received from the given one of the communication devices 14| ...14s that has been used to originate the given call as a result of the given one of the users 12|...12₄ pressing on one or more dedicated buttons (e.g., physical buttons, soft buttons, or graphical buttons) or otherwise manually interacting with the given one of the communication devices 14i ... l4g in order to specify that given identity.

In addition to facilitating processing of calls involving the users 12i 12₄, the group of identities 21 _! 21₅ allows the users 12i 12₄ to manage their communication needs in a flexible and convenient way. A few examples of this flexibility and convenience will now be illustrated with reference to Figure 4, which shows a computing device 70 that can be used by the users 12i ... l2₄ to access and interact with a data network site (e.g., a web site) implemented by a computing element 72 of the call processing system 20. In some embodiments, the computing device 70 may be implemented as a personal computer (PC) such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, or a tablet PC. The computing device 70 is provided with at least one input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, a stylus, a microphone, etc., as well as a display and possibly one or more other output devices (e.g., speakers) that enable interaction of the users 12i ...l2₄ with the computing device 70. The computing device 70 may be operative to run a software application implementing a network browser (e.g., a web browser) with which the users ]2_\... \2₄ can interact via the display (and possibly one or more other output devices) and the at least one input device in order to access and interact with the data network site implemented by the computing element 72. Although shown as a distinct component in Figure 4, in some embodiments, and depending on functionality of the communication devices 14j 14s, the computing device 70 may be implemented by one of these communication devices (e.g., the communication device 14₆).

The computing element 72 may be implemented as a server (e.g., a web server) operative to communicate with the computing device 70 via a data network portion 74. Although they are shown as distinct components in Figure 4, in some embodiments, the computing element 72 and the processing element 24 may be functional elements implemented by a common network component of the call processing system 20.

The data network site implemented by the computing element 72 enables one or more of the users 121...12₄ to manage the identities 21₁...21 $ defined in connection with the record 200, maintained in the database 36. For example, the data network site may provide one or more pages (e.g., web pages) with functions and controls (e.g., buttons, selection tools, text input fields, etc.) allowing one or more of the users 12i ... l2₄ to: configure (e.g., provide and/or modify) information associated with any one of the identities 21 ] ...2I₅ (e.g., call processing information 25, contact information 37, and/or identity identification information 31 associated with that identity); associate an additional identity, in addition to the group of identities 21₁...2I₅, with the telephone number (555) 555-1234; and/or associate another telephone number, in addition to the telephone number (555) 555-1234, with one or more of the identities 21 ) ...21₅. In some cases, each of the users 12) ...12₄ may be allowed to effect such management operations via the data network site for any of the identities 21 ) ...2I₅. In other cases, such management operations may be performed in respect of some or all of the identities 21₁ 21s only by one or more of the users 121 124 authorized to do so (e.g., the users 12| and 12₂), in which case the data network site may implement an authentication process to allow these one or more authorized users to manage the identities 21 ] ...21₅.

A few examples of how the users 12) ...12₄ can use the computing device 70 to access and interact with the data network site implemented by the computing element 72 in order to manage the identities 21₁...21₅ will now be illustrated.

Example 1 : Configuring information associated with an identity

As a first example, one or more of the users 12) 12₄ may use the computing device

70 to access and interact with the data network site implemented by the computing element 72 in order to configure (e.g., provide and/or modify) information associated with any one of the identities 21₁...21₅. For instance, by using controls and functions provided by the data network site, a given one of the users 12₁ 12₄ may: configure the call processing information 25 associated with any one of the identities 21₁...21₅ (e.g., specify or modify one or more routing operations to be performed for incoming calls intended for that identity, enable, disable or modify application of one or more telephony features to calls involving that identity, etc.); configure the contact information 37 associated with any one of the identities 21₁ 21₅ (e.g., add or remove one or more contacts, change a telephone number of a given contact, import one or more contacts from another address book or service such as Hotmail^® or Google Talk^®, etc.); and/or configure the identity identification information 31 identifying any one of the identities 21₁ 21₅ (e.g., change a name or other identifier serving to identify that identity). The given one of the users 12] ...12₄ may effect such configuration operations during an initial provisioning phase or at any time thereafter.

Example 2: Associating an additional telephone number to one or more identities As a second example, in some situations, it may be desired to associate an additional telephone number, in addition to the telephone number (555) 555-1234, to one or more of the identities 21 i ...21s such that a party designated by each of these one or more identities is reachable by placing a call to either the telephone number (555) 555-1234 or the additional telephone number.

For instance, Figure 4 illustrates an example situation in which the user 12₃ (i.e., the son) is moving to an area remote from the residence 18 and its surrounding area where he has been living. For purposes of this example, it is assumed that the user 12₃ is moving to a different city (possibly in a different country), corresponding to a different area code, in order to attend university. It is further assumed that, as a result of this move, the user 12₃ acquires a new communication device H₉, which may be a wired POTS phone, a wireless phone, a VoIP phone, an ATA-equipped POTS phone, a softphone, a telephony-enabled television unit, or any other suitable communication device usable to effect telephonic communications.

In this case, upon acquiring the communication device H₉, the user 12₃ acquires a new telephone number, which for purposes of this example is assumed to be (444) 555-3456, identifying the communication device H₉. The telephone number (444) 555-3456 may be given to friends or other contacts of the user 12₃ which are in or around the city to which the user 12₃ has moved, thus making it easier for these friends or other contacts to call the user 12₃ without incurring long distance charges.

The user 12₃ may then use the computing device 70 to access and interact with the data network site implemented by the computing element 72 in order to reflect availability of the telephone number (444) 555-3456 to which can be placed calls intended for the user 12₃. For example, by using controls and functions provided by the data network site, the user 12₃ may specify that the telephone number (444) 555- 3456 is associated with the identity 214 which designates the user 12₃. This causes the computing element 72 (or another element of the call processing system 20) to create in the database 36 an association between the telephone number (444) 555-3456 and the identity 2I₄, as conceptually illustrated in Figure 5 where the telephone number (444) 555-3456 is denoted by reference numeral 27. With the telephone number (444) 555-3456 being associated with the identity 2I₄, the information associated with that identity, including the call processing information 25 and the contact information 37, is effectively linked to both the telephone number (555) 555-1234 and the telephone number (444) 555-3456. This provides several benefits.

For example, the user 12₃ is reachable by placing a call to either the telephone number (555) 555-1234 or the telephone number (444) 555-3456. Thus, friends or other contacts of the user 12₃ which are in or around the city to which the user 12₃ has moved can reach the user 12₃ by calling the telephone number (444) 555-3456 likely without incurring long distance charges, while friends or other contacts of the user 12₃ which are in or around the residence 18 and its surrounding area where the user 12₃ had been living can still reach the user 12₃ by calling the telephone number (555) 555- 1234.

As another example, the processing operation information 23 associated with the identity 2I₄, which specifies one or more operations to be performed by the call processing system 20 to process calls intended for or originated by that identity, is applied to the telephone number (444) 555-3456 without the user 12₃ having to configure similar or identical processing operation information specifically for purposes of the telephone number (444) 555-3456. For instance, one or more routing rules defined by the processing operation information 23 associated with the identity 2I₄ and/or one or more telephony features subscribed to by the user 12₃ are applied to calls placed to the telephone number (444) 555-3456 and/or originated using the communication device \4_% without the user 12₃ having to go through a new provisioning phase specifically for the telephone number (444) 555-3456. It is noted that, in some cases, upon interacting with the data network site implemented by the computing element 72 in order to specify that the telephone number (444) 555-3456 is associated with the identity 2I₄, the user 12₃ may modify the call processing information 25 associated with that identity in order to take into account his moving away (e.g., the user 12₃ may modify the processing operation information 23 so that it indicates that any call placed to the telephone number (444) 555-3456 is to be routed first to the communication device 14₉). Similarly, the contact information 37 associated with the identity 2I₄ is available to the user 12₃, for instance, when using the communication device M₉ to originate an outgoing call, without the user 12₃ having to provide this contact information once more.

As yet another example, since the telephone number (444) 555-3456 is linked to the record 200,, the subscriber associated with that record may be billed in a consolidated manner (e.g., by receiving a single bill) for charges incurred for communication services in relation to both the telephone number (555) 555-1234 and the telephone number (444) 555-3456, thereby simplifying the billing process from the subscriber's perspective. However, while in this embodiment the association between the telephone number (444) 555-3456 and the identity 2I₄ is maintained as part of the record 200, of the database 36, in other embodiments, this association may be maintained as part of another one of the records 200] ■ - -200_M of the database 36.

While in this example situation the user 12₃ acquires the telephone number (444) 555- 3456 upon acquiring the communication device \4_% it will be appreciated that in other example situations the user 12₃ may acquire this telephone number without acquiring any new communication device. For instance, in some cases, the user 12₃ may bring with him the communication device 14₇ when moving away, in which case the user 12₃ may, upon interacting with the data network site implemented by the computing element 72 to specify that the telephone number (444) 555-3456 is associated with the identity 2I₄, have calls placed to the telephone number (444) 555- 3456 routed first to the communication device 14₇.

Also, while in this example situation it is desired to associate the telephone number (444) 555-3456, in addition to the telephone number (555) 555-1234, with the identity 2I₄ due to the user 12₃ moving away to a different city, it will be recognized that various other situations can arise where it may be desired or needed to associate an additional telephone number, in addition to the telephone number (555) 555-1234, to one or more of the identities 21 ] ...21 s such that a party designated by each of these one or more identities is reachable by placing a call to either the telephone number (555) 555-1234 or the additional telephone number. For example, the family formed by the users 12] ...12₄ may have other family members (e.g., extended family members) living in a remote city (possibly in a remote country) corresponding to a different area code, in which case the family formed by the users \2_\ ...12₄ may desire to associate an additional telephone number, which is a local telephone number for the remote city, to one or more of the identities 21₁ 21s in order to make it easier for these other family members to call the users \2_\ ...

without incurring long distance charges. As another example, upon registering to associate the telephone number (555) 555-1234 to the group of identities 21₁...21₅, one or more of the users 12i...l2₄ may already have one or more original telephone numbers at which they could be reached (e.g., an original telephone number associated with the communication device 14], an original telephone number associated with the communication device 14₂, an original telephone number associated with the communication devices 14₃...146, etc.), in which case these one or more original telephone numbers may be associated, in addition to the telephone number (555) 555-1234, to one or more of the identities 2I ₁...2I ₅ such that callers calling these one or more original telephone numbers can still reach the one or more of the users 12₁...12₄.

Example 3: Associating an additional identity to a telephone number

As a third example, in some situations, it may be desired to associate an additional identity, in addition to the group of identities 21 ] ...21₅, with the telephone number (555) 555-1234 such that a party designated by the additional identity is reachable by placing a call to the telephone number (555) 555-1234.

For instance, Figure 4 illustrates an example situation in which a user 12s who, for purposes of this example, is assumed to be a grandmother of the users 12₃ and 12₄ (i.e., a mother of the user 121 or the user 12₂) is moving in with the family living at the residence 18. It is further assumed that, as a result of this move, the user 12₅ is provided with a new communication device 14io, which, in this case, is a VoIP phone located in a bedroom of the residence 18 which has been set up for the user 12s. In other cases, the communication device 14io may be a wired POTS phone, a wireless phone, an ATA-equipped POTS phone, a softphone, a telephony-enabled television unit, or any other suitable communication device usable to effect telephonic communications.

As the user 12s is moving into the residence 18, it is desired to associate an additional identity, which designates the user 12₅, with the telephone number (555) 555-1234 that is already associated with the group of identities 21 _\ ...21₅. Accordingly, the user 12₅ or one of the users 12i ... l2₄ may use the computing device 70 to access and interact with the data network site implemented by the computing element 72 in order to associate an additional identity designating the user 12₅ with the telephone number (555) 555-1234. For example, by using controls and functions provided by the data network site, the user 12s or one of the users 12] ...12₄ may associate an additional identity designating the user 12₅ with the telephone number (555) 555-1234. This causes the computing element 72 (or another element of the call processing system 20) to create in the database 36 an association between the telephone number (555) 555-1234 and an identity 2I₆ which designates the user 12₅, as conceptually illustrated in Figure 6.

In some cases, the identity 2I₆ may be a new identity created by the user \2$ or one of the users \2_\ ... \2n, while interacting with the data network site implemented by the computing element 72 using the computing device 70. For example, by using controls and functions provided by the data network site, the user 12₅ or one of the users 12i ... l2₄ may configure information associated with the identity 2I₆. More particularly, the user 12s or one of the users 121 12₄ may interact with the data network site to: provide call processing information 25 associated with the identity 2I₆ (e.g., specify one or more routing operations to be performed for incoming calls intended for the user 12₅, enable application of one or more telephony features to calls involving the user 12s, etc.); provide contact information 37 associated with the identity 2I₆ (e.g., add one or more contacts of the user 12s); and/or provide identity identification information 31 identifying the identity 2I₆ (e.g., specify a name or other identifier serving to identify that identity). For instance, in this example situation, the call processing information 25 associated with the identity 2I₆ may indicate that any call intended for that identity is to be first routed to the communication device Hjo (i.e., the VoIP phone in the grandmother^'s bedroom at the residence 18) and, if not answered within a certain period of time (e.g., a certain number of rings), then routed to the communication device 14₃ (i.e., the VoIP phone located in the common area of the residence 18).

In other cases, the identity 2I₆ may be an already-existing identity designating the user 125 that had been previously created for the user 12s within the call processing system 20. For example, the user 12_$ may already be a subscriber to communication services provided by the service provider operating the call processing system 20 and may have had the identity 2I₆ set up as part of an earlier provisioning phase with the service provider during which information associated with that identity (e.g., call processing information 25, contact information 37, and/or identity identification information 31 associated with that identity) had been configured. In such cases, while using the computing device 70 to interact with the data network site implemented by the computing element 72, the user 12_.5 or one of the users 12i ... l2₄ may specify that the (already-existing) identity 2I₆ is to be associated with the telephone number (555) 555-1234. Also, in some situations, prior to being associated with the telephone number (555) 555-1234 as a result of the user 12₅ moving into the residence 18, the (already-existing) identity 2I₆ may have been associated with an original telephone number of the user 12s. In these situations, while interacting with the data network site to specify that the (already-existing) identity 2I₆ is to be associated with the telephone number (555) 555-1234, the user 12s or one of the users 12₁...12₄ may remove a previous association between the identity 21₆ and the original telephone number of the user 12s or may keep this previous association such that the user 12«; is reachable by placing a call to either the telephone number (555) 555-1234 or her original telephone number.

Thus, in this example situation where the user 12₅ is moving in with the family living at the residence 18, the association of the identity 2I₆, in addition to the group of identities 2I ₁...21₅, with the telephone number (555) 555-1234 (either by creating the identity 2I₆ or by accessing it if it already exists) enables convenient and efficient handling of calls involving the user 12s in her new living environment. Also, as the identity 2I₆ is associated with the telephone number (555) 555-1234 that is linked to the record 200,, the subscriber associated with that record may be billed in a consolidated manner (e.g., by receiving a single bill) for charges incurred for communication services used by the user 12₅ as well as the users 12₁...12₄, thereby simplifying the billing process from the subscriber^'s perspective.

While in this example situation it is desired to associate the identity 2I₆, in addition to the group of identities 21 ₁...2I ₅, with the telephone number (555) 555-1234 due to the user 12s moving in with the family formed by the users 12j 12₄, it will be recognized that various other situations can arise where it may be desired or needed to associate an additional identity to the telephone number (555) 555-1234, in addition to the group of identities 21 ₁...21₅, such that a party designated by the additional identity is reachable by placing a call to the telephone number (555) 555-1234

It will thus be appreciated that, by interacting with the data network site implemented by the computing element 72, the users 12i ... l2₄ (and/or other users such as the user 12₅) can manage the identities 21 j 21₅ (and/or other identities such as the identity

2I₆) associated with the telephone number (555) 555-1234 (and/or one or more other telephone numbers such as the telephone number (444) 555-3456) in a flexible and convenient manner.

It will also be appreciated that, while in embodiments considered above the users

121...12-t can manage the identities 21₁ 21₅ by using the computing device 70 to access and interact with the data network site implemented by the computing element 72, in other embodiments, the users 12i ...124 may interact with the service provider operating the call processing system 20 in other ways in order to effect these management activities. For example, in some embodiments, one or more of the users 12| ...12₄ may interact in person, via phone or otherwise with a representative of the service provider in order to manage the identities 21₁...21₅.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in some embodiments, certain functionality of a given element described herein (e.g., the processing element 24) may be implemented as pre-programmed hardware or firmware components (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), etc.) or other related components. In other embodiments, a given element described herein (e.g., the processing element 24) may comprise a processor having access to a memory which stores program instructions for operation of the processor to implement functionality of that given element. The program instructions may be stored on a data storage medium that is fixed, tangible, and readable directly by the given element. The data storage medium may store data optically (e.g., an optical disk such as a CD-ROM or a DVD), magnetically (e.g., a hard disk drive, a removable diskette), electrically (e.g., semiconductor memory, floating-gate transistor memory, etc.), or in various other ways. Alternatively, the program instructions may be stored remotely but transmittable to the given element via a modem or other interface device connected to a network over a transmission medium. The transmission medium may be either a tangible medium (e.g., optical or analog communications lines) or a medium implemented using wireless techniques (e.g., microwave, infrared or other wireless transmission schemes).

Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A system for processing calls, said system comprising: a database including: - a plurality of telephony identifiers; and for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, each person of said group of persons being reachable by placing a call to said telephony identifier, said information comprising, for each person of said group of persons, information related to processing of calls involving said person; and a processing element having access to said database and being operative for: determining that a given call involves a particular person of the group of persons that is associated with a given one of the telephony identifiers; and - processing the given call based on the information related to processing of calls involving the particular person.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the telephony identifiers is a telephone number.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information related to processing of calls involving said person comprises information identifying a communication device associated with said person.

4. A system as claimed in claim 3, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information identifying a communication device associated with said person comprises a hidden identifier identifying said communication device.

5. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information related to processing of calls involving said person comprises information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said person.

6. A system as claimed in claim 5, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said person defines at least one call processing rule.

7. A system as claimed in claim 5, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said person relates to at least one telephony feature.

8. A system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the at least one telephony feature includes at least one of: a call forwarding feature, a selective call forwarding feature, a no-answer call forwarding feature, a find me / follow me call forwarding feature, a distinctive ringing feature, a selective call rejection feature, a selective call acceptance feature, a call waiting feature, a distinctive ringing call waiting feature, a calling line identification displaying feature, a calling line identification blocking feature, a speed calling feature, and an outgoing call barring feature.

9. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said database includes, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, contact information regarding at least one contact of said person.

10. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is intended for the particular person and said processing the given call comprises causing routing of the given call based on the information related to processing of calls involving the particular person.

1 1. A system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the information related to processing of calls involving the particular person comprises information identifying a communication device associated with the particular person, said causing routing comprising causing routing of the given call to the communication device.

12. A system as claimed in claim 10, wherein said processing element is operative for obtaining information regarding an origin of the given call, said determining comprising determining that the given call is intended for the particular person based on the information regarding the origin of the given call.

13. A system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the database includes, for each person of the group of persons that is associated with the given one of the telephony identifiers, contact information regarding at least one contact of said person, wherein the information regarding the origin of the given call comprises at least one of (1) a certain telephony identifier associated with a communication device from which the given call originates and (2) an identifier of a calling party having originated the given call, and wherein said determining comprises concluding that at least one of the certain telephony identifier and the identifier of the calling party is included in the contact information regarding at least one contact of the particular person.

14. A system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the given call is a current call and said determining comprises: - consulting a call history of previous calls; and concluding from the call history and the information regarding the origin of the current call that the current call is intended for the particular person.

15. A system as claimed in claim 14, wherein said concluding comprises determining from the call history that the particular person has answered at least one previous call placed to the given one of the telephony identifiers and having an origin corresponding to the origin of the current call.

16. A system as claimed in claim 14, wherein said concluding comprises determining from the call history that the particular person has placed at least one previous call to a destination corresponding to the origin of the current call.

17. A system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the information regarding the origin of the given call comprises at least one of (1) a certain telephony identifier associated with a communication device from which the given call originates and (2) an identifier of a calling party having originated the given call, said determining comprising: - performing a search on at least one site of a data network on a basis of at least one of the certain telephony identifier and the identifier of the calling party; and identifying, based on results of the search, a relationship between the particular person and the origin of the given call.

18. A system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the at least one site comprises at least one of a social networking site and a search engine site.

19. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information related to processing of calls involving the particular person comprises information identifying a communication device associated with the particular person, said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular person based on the communication device being used to originate the given call.

20. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular person based on a signal produced by a communication device used to originate the given call.

21. A system as claimed in claim 20, wherein the signal conveys at least one dual-tone multi-frequency tone serving to identify the particular person.

22. A system as claimed in claim 20, wherein the signal conveys at least one utterance spoken by the particular person when originating the given call.

23. A system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the at least one utterance specifies an identifier of the particular person.

24. A system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the at least one utterance has voice characteristics corresponding to a voiceprint of the particular person.

25. A system as claimed in claim 20, wherein the signal is produced in response to the particular person pressing on at least one button of the communication device dedicated to identification of the particular person.

26. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular person and said processing the given call comprises causing presentation of information identifying the particular person at a communication device receiving the given call.

27. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular person and said processing the given call comprises enabling the particular person to use contact information regarding at least one contact of the particular person in order to specify a destination of the given call.

28. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the information related to processing of calls involving the particular person comprises information regarding at least one telephony feature applicable to outgoing calls, and wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular person and said processing the given call comprises causing application of the at least one telephony feature applicable to outgoing calls.

29. A system as claimed in claim 28, wherein the at least one telephony feature applicable to outgoing calls includes at least one of: a speed calling feature, a caller line identification blocking feature, and an outgoing call barring feature.

30. A method for processing calls, said method comprising: maintaining a database including: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, each person of said group of persons being reachable by placing a call to said telephony identifier, said information comprising, for each person of said group of persons, information related to processing of calls involving said person; - determining that a given call involves a particular person of the group of persons that is associated with a given one of the telephony identifiers; and processing the given call based on the information related to processing of calls involving the particular person.

31. A method as claimed in claim 30, wherein each of the telephony identifiers is a telephone number.

32. A method as claimed in claim 30, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information related to processing of calls involving said person comprises information identifying a communication device associated with said person.

33. A method as claimed in claim 32, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information identifying a communication device associated with said person comprises a hidden identifier identifying said communication device.

34. A method as claimed in claim 30, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information pertaining to processing of calls involving said person comprises information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said person.

35. A method as claimed in claim 34, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said person defines at least one call processing rule.

36. A method as claimed in claim 34, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said person relates to at least one telephony feature.

37. A method as claimed in claim 36, wherein the at least one telephony feature includes at least one of: a call forwarding feature, a selective call forwarding feature, a no-answer call forwarding feature, a find me / follow me call forwarding feature, a distinctive ringing feature, a selective call rejection feature, a selective call acceptance feature, a call waiting feature, a distinctive ringing call waiting feature, a calling line identification displaying feature, a calling line identification blocking feature, a speed calling feature, and an outgoing call barring feature.

38. A method as claimed in claim 30, wherein said database includes, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, contact information regarding at least one contact of said person.

39. A method as claimed in claim 30, wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is intended for the particular person and said processing the given call comprises causing routing of the given call based on the information related to processing of calls involving the particular person.

40. A method as claimed in claim 39, wherein the information related to processing of calls involving the particular person comprises information identifying a communication device associated with the particular person, said causing routing comprising causing routing of the given call to the communication device.

41. A method as claimed in claim 39, comprising obtaining information regarding an origin of the given call, said determining comprising determining that the given call is intended for the particular person based on the information regarding the origin of the given call.

42. A method as claimed in claim 41, wherein the database includes, for each person of the group of persons that is associated with the given one of the telephony identifiers, contact information regarding at least one contact of said person, wherein the information regarding the origin of the given call comprises at least one of (1) a certain telephony identifier associated with a communication device from which the given call originates and (2) an identifier of a calling party having originated the given call, and wherein said determining comprises concluding that at least one of the certain telephony identifier and the identifier of the calling party is included in the contact information regarding at least one contact of the particular person.

43. A method as claimed in claim 41 , wherein the given call is a current call and said determining comprises: consulting a call history of previous calls; and concluding from the call history and the information regarding the origin of the current call that the current call is intended for the particular person.

44. A method as claimed in claim 43, wherein said concluding comprises determining from the call history that the particular person has answered at least one previous call placed to the given one of the telephony identifiers and having an origin corresponding to the origin of the current call.

45. A method as claimed in claim 43, wherein said concluding comprises determining from the call history that the particular person has placed at least one previous call to a destination corresponding to the origin of the current call.

46. A method as claimed in claim 41 , wherein the information regarding the origin of the given call comprises at least one of (1) a certain telephony identifier associated with a communication device from which the given call originates and (2) an identifier of a calling party having originated the given call, said determining comprising: performing a search on at least one site of a data network on a basis of at least one of the certain telephony identifier and the identifier of the calling party; and - identifying, based on results of the search, a relationship between the particular person and the origin of the given call.

47. A method as claimed in claim 46, wherein the at least one site comprises at least one of a social networking site and a search engine site.

48. A method as claimed in claim 30, wherein the information related to processing of calls involving the particular person comprises information identifying a communication device associated with the particular person, said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular person based on the communication device being used to originate the given call.

49. A method as claimed in claim 30, wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular person based on a signal produced by a communication device used to originate the given call.

50. A method as claimed in claim 49, wherein the signal conveys at least one dual- tone multi-frequency tone serving to identify the particular person.

51. A method as claimed in claim 49, wherein the signal conveys at least one utterance spoken by the particular person when originating the given call.

52. A method as claimed in claim 51, wherein the at least one utterance specifies an identifier of the particular person.

53. A method as claimed in claim 51 , wherein the at least one utterance has voice characteristics corresponding to a voiceprint of the particular person.

54. A method as claimed in claim 49, wherein the signal is produced in response to the particular person pressing on at least one button of the communication device dedicated to identification of the particular person.

55. A method as claimed in claim 30, wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular person and said processing the given call comprises causing presentation of information identifying the particular person at a communication device receiving the given call.

56. A method as claimed in claim 30, wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular person and said processing the given call comprises enabling the particular person to use contact information regarding at least one contact of the particular person in order to specify a destination of the given call.

57. A method as claimed in claim 30, wherein the information related to processing of calls involving the particular person comprises information regarding at least one telephony feature applicable to outgoing calls, and wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular person and said processing the given call comprises causing application of the at least one telephony feature applicable to outgoing calls.

58. A method as claimed in claim 57, wherein the at least one telephony feature applicable to outgoing calls includes at least one of: a speed calling feature, a caller line identification blocking feature, and an outgoing call barring feature.

59. At least one data storage medium storing a database for use in processing calls, said database including: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, each person of said group of persons being reachable by placing a call to said telephony identifier, said information comprising, for each person of said group of persons, information related to processing of calls involving said person.

60. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 59, wherein each of the telephony identifiers is a telephone number.

61. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 59, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information related to processing of calls involving said person comprises information identifying a communication device associated with said person.

62. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 61 , wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information identifying a communication device associated with said person comprises a hidden identifier identifying said communication device.

63. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 59, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information related to processing of calls involving said person comprises information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said person.

64. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 63, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said person defines at least one call processing rule.

65. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 63, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said person relates to at least one telephony feature.

66. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 65, wherein the at least one telephony feature includes at least one of: a call forwarding feature, a selective call forwarding feature, a no-answer call forwarding feature, a find me / follow me call forwarding feature, a distinctive ringing feature, a selective call rejection feature, a selective call acceptance feature, a call waiting feature, a distinctive ringing call waiting feature, a calling line identification displaying feature, a calling line identification blocking feature, a speed calling feature, and an outgoing call barring feature.

67. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 59, wherein said database includes, for each telephony identifier and for each person of said group of persons that is associated with said telephony identifier, contact information regarding at least one contact of said person.

68. A system for processing calls, said system comprising: a database including: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and - for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, each identity of said group of identities designating a party reachable by placing a call to said telephony identifier, said information comprising, for each identity of said group of identities, information related to processing of calls involving said identity; and a processing element having access to said database and being operative for: determining that a given call involves a particular identity of the group of identities that is associated with a given one of the telephony identifiers; and processing the given call based on the information related to processing of calls involving the particular identity.

69. A system as claimed in claim 68, wherein, for each telephony identifier, the party designated by a first identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier is a first person and the party designated by a second identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier is a second person.

70. A system as claimed in claim 68, wherein, for each telephony identifier, the party designated by a first identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier and the party designated by a second identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier is a common person.

71. A system as claimed in claim 68, wherein, for each telephony identifier, the party designated by a first identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier is a person and the party designated by a second identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier is a plurality of persons.

72. A system as claimed in claim 68, wherein each of the telephony identifiers is a telephone number.

73. A system as claimed in claim 68, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information related to processing of calls involving said identity comprises information identifying a communication device associated with said identity.

74. A system as claimed in claim 73, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information identifying a communication device associated with said identity comprises a hidden identifier identifying said communication device.

75. A system as claimed in claim 68, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information related to processing of calls involving said identity comprises information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said identity.

76. A system as claimed in claim 75, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said identity defines at least one call processing rule.

77. A system as claimed in claim 75, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said identity relates to at least one telephony feature.

78. A system as claimed in claim 77, wherein the at least one telephony feature includes at least one of: a call forwarding feature, a selective call forwarding feature, a no-answer call forwarding feature, a find me / follow me call forwarding feature, a distinctive ringing feature, a selective call rejection feature, a selective call acceptance feature, a call waiting feature, a distinctive ringing call waiting feature, a calling line identification displaying feature, a calling line identification blocking feature, a speed calling feature, and an outgoing call barring feature.

79. A system as claimed in claim 68, wherein said database includes, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, contact information regarding at least one contact associated with said identity.

80. A system as claimed in claim 68, wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is intended for the particular identity and said processing the given call comprises causing routing of the given call based on the information related to processing of calls involving the particular identity.

81. A system as claimed in claim 80, wherein the information related to processing of calls involving the particular identity comprises information identifying a communication device associated with the particular identity, said causing routing comprising causing routing of the given call to the communication device.

82. A system as claimed in claim 80, wherein said processing element is operative for obtaining information regarding an origin of the given call, said determining comprising determining that the given call is intended for the particular identity based on the information regarding the origin of the given call.

83. A system as claimed in claim 82, wherein the database includes, for each identity of the group of identities that is associated with the given one of the telephony identifiers, contact information regarding at least one contact associated with said identity, wherein the information regarding the origin of the given call comprises at least one of (1) a certain telephony identifier associated with a communication device from which the given call originates and (2) an identifier of a calling party having originated the given call, and wherein said determining comprises concluding that at least one of the certain telephony identifier and the identifier of the calling party is included in the contact information regarding at least one contact associated with the particular identity.

84. A system as claimed in claim 82, wherein the given call is a current call and said determining comprises: consulting a call history of previous calls; and - concluding from the call history and the information regarding the origin of the current call that the current call is intended for the particular identity.

85. A system as claimed in claim 84, wherein said concluding comprises determining from the call history that the particular identity has been involved in answering at least one previous call placed to the given one of the telephony identifiers and having an origin corresponding to the origin of the current call.

86. A system as claimed in claim 84, wherein said concluding comprises determining from the call history that the particular identity has been involved in placing at least one previous call to a destination corresponding to the origin of the current call.

87. A system as claimed in claim 82, wherein the information regarding the origin of the given call comprises at least one of (1) a certain telephony identifier associated with a communication device from which the given call originates and (2) an identifier of a calling party having originated the given call, said determining comprising:

- performing a search on at least one site of a data network on a basis of at least one of the certain telephony identifier and the identifier of the calling party; and identifying, based on results of the search, a relationship between the particular identity and the origin of the given call.

88. A system as claimed in claim 87, wherein the at least one site comprises at least one of a social networking site and a search engine site.

89. A system as claimed in claim 68, wherein the information related to processing of calls involving the particular identity comprises information identifying a communication device associated with the particular identity, said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular identity based on the communication device being used to originate the given call.

90. A system as claimed in claim 68, wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular identity based on a signal produced by a communication device used to originate the given call.

91. A system as claimed in claim 90, wherein the signal conveys at least one dual-tone multi-frequency tone serving to identify the particular identity.

92. A system as claimed in claim 90, wherein the signal conveys at least one utterance spoken by the party designated by the particular identity when originating the given call.

93. A system as claimed in claim 92, wherein the at least one utterance specifies an identifier of the particular identity.

94. A system as claimed in claim 92, wherein the at least one utterance has voice characteristics corresponding to a voiceprint of the party designated by the particular identity.

95. A system as claimed in claim 90, wherein the signal is produced in response to the party designated by the particular identity pressing on at least one button of the communication device dedicated to identification of the particular identity.

96. A system as claimed in claim 68, wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular identity and said processing the given call comprises causing presentation of information identifying the particular identity at a communication device receiving the given call.

97. A system as claimed in claim 68, wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular identity and said processing the given call comprises enabling the party designated by the particular identity to use contact information regarding at least one contact associated with the particular identity in order to specify a destination of the given call.

98. A system as claimed in claim 68, wherein the information related to processing of calls involving the particular identity comprises information regarding at least one telephony feature applicable to outgoing calls, and wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular identity and said processing the given call comprises causing application of the at least one telephony feature applicable to outgoing calls.

99. A system as claimed in claim 98, wherein the at least one telephony feature applicable to outgoing calls includes at least one of: a speed calling feature, a caller line identification blocking feature, and an outgoing call barring feature.

100. A method for processing calls, said method comprising: maintaining a database including: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and - for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, each identity of said group of identities designating a party reachable by placing a call to said telephony identifier, said information comprising, for each identity of said group of identities, information related to processing of calls involving said identity; determining that a given call involves a particular identity of the group of identities that is associated with a given one of the telephony identifiers; and processing the given call based on the information related to processing of calls involving the particular identity.

101. A method as claimed in claim 100, wherein, for each telephony identifier, the party designated by a first identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier is a first person and the party designated by a second identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier is a second person.

102. A method as claimed in claim 100, wherein, for each telephony identifier, the party designated by a first identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier and the party designated by a second identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier is a common person.

103. A method as claimed in claim 100, wherein, for each telephony identifier, the party designated by a first identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier is a person and the party designated by a second identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier is a plurality of persons.

104. A method as claimed in claim 100, wherein each of the telephony identifiers is a telephone number.

105. A method as claimed in claim 100, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information related to processing of calls involving said identity comprises information identifying a communication device associated with said identity.

106. A method as claimed in claim 105, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information identifying a communication device associated with said identity comprises a hidden identifier identifying said communication device.

107. A method as claimed in claim 100, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information pertaining to processing of calls involving said identity comprises information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said identity.

108. A method as claimed in claim 107, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said identity defines at least one call processing rule.

109. A method as claimed in claim 107, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said identity relates to at least one telephony feature.

1 10. A method as claimed in claim 109, wherein the at least one telephony feature includes at least one of: a call forwarding feature, a selective call forwarding feature, a no-answer call forwarding feature, a find me / follow me call forwarding feature, a distinctive ringing feature, a selective call rejection feature, a selective call acceptance feature, a call waiting feature, a distinctive ringing call waiting feature, a calling line identification displaying feature, a calling line identification blocking feature, a speed calling feature, and an outgoing call barring feature.

1 1 1. A method as claimed in claim 100, wherein said database includes, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, contact information regarding at least one contact associated with said identity.

1 12. A method as claimed in claim 100, wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is intended for the particular identity and said processing the given call comprises causing routing of the given call based on the information related to processing of calls involving the particular identity.

1 13. A method as claimed in claim 1 12, wherein the information related to processing of calls involving the particular identity comprises information identifying a communication device associated with the particular identity, said causing routing comprising causing routing of the given call to the communication device.

1 14. A method as claimed in claim 1 12, comprising obtaining information regarding an origin of the given call, said determining comprising determining that the given call is intended for the particular identity based on the information regarding the origin of the given call.

115. A method as claimed in claim 1 14, wherein the database includes, for each identity of the group of identities that is associated with the given one of the telephony identifiers, contact information regarding at least one contact associated with said identity, wherein the information regarding the origin of the given call comprises at least one of (1) a certain telephony identifier associated with a communication device from which the given call originates and (2) an identifier of a calling party having originated the given call, and wherein said determining comprises concluding that at least one of the certain telephony identifier and the identifier of the calling party is included in the contact information regarding at least one contact associated with the particular identity.

1 16. A method as claimed in claim 114, wherein the given call is a current call and said determining comprises: consulting a call history of previous calls; and - concluding from the call history and the information regarding the origin of the current call that the current call is intended for the particular identity.

117. A method as claimed in claim 1 16, wherein said concluding comprises determining from the call history that the particular identity has been involved in answering at least one previous call placed to the given one of the telephony identifiers and having an origin corresponding to the origin of the current call.

1 18. A method as claimed in claim 1 16, wherein said concluding comprises determining from the call history that the particular identity has been involved in placing at least one previous call to a destination corresponding to the origin of the current call.

1 19. A method as claimed in claim 1 14, wherein the information regarding the origin of the given call comprises at least one of (1) a certain telephony identifier associated with a communication device from which the given call originates and (2) an identifier of a calling party having originated the given call, said determining comprising: performing a search on at least one site of a data network on a basis of at least one of the certain telephony identifier and the identifier of the calling party; and identifying, based on results of the search, a relationship between the particular identity and the origin of the given call.

120. A method as claimed in claim 1 19, wherein the at least one site comprises at least one of a social networking site and a search engine site.

121. A method as claimed in claim 100, wherein the information related to processing of calls involving the particular identity comprises information identifying a communication device associated with the particular identity, said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular identity based on the communication device being used to originate the given call.

122. A method as claimed in claim 100, wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular identity based on a signal produced by a communication device used to originate the given call.

123. A method as claimed in claim 122, wherein the signal conveys at least one dual-tone multi-frequency tone serving to identify the particular identity.

124. A method as claimed in claim 122, wherein the signal conveys at least one utterance spoken by the party designated by the particular identity when originating the given call.

125. A method as claimed in claim 124, wherein the at least one utterance specifies an identifier of the particular identity.

126. A method as claimed in claim 124, wherein the at least one utterance has voice characteristics corresponding to a voiceprint of the party designated by the particular identity.

127. A method as claimed in claim 122, wherein the signal is produced in response to the party designated by the particular identity pressing on at least one button of the communication device dedicated to identification of the particular identity.

128. A method as claimed in claim 100, wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular identity and said processing the given call comprises causing presentation of information identifying the particular identity at a communication device receiving the given call.

129. A method as claimed in claim 100, wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular identity and said processing the given call comprises enabling the party designated by the particular identity to use contact information regarding at least one contact associated with the particular identity in order to specify a destination of the given call.

130. A method as claimed in claim 100, wherein the information related to processing of calls involving the particular identity comprises information regarding at least one telephony feature applicable to outgoing calls, and wherein said determining comprises determining that the given call is originated by the particular identity and said processing the given call comprises causing application of the at least one telephony feature applicable to outgoing calls.

131. A method as claimed in claim 130, wherein the at least one telephony feature applicable to outgoing calls includes at least one of: a speed calling feature, a caller line identification blocking feature, and an outgoing call barring feature.

132. At least one data storage medium storing a database for use in processing calls, said database including: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and - for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, each identity of said group of identities designating a party reachable by placing a call to said telephony identifier, said information comprising, for each identity of said group of identities, information related to processing of calls involving said identity.

133. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 132, wherein, for each telephony identifier, the party designated by a first identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier is a first person and the party designated by a second identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier is a second person.

134. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 132, wherein, for each telephony identifier, the party designated by a first identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier and the party designated by a second identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier is a common person.

135. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 132, wherein, for each telephony identifier, the party designated by a first identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier is a person and the party designated by a second identity of the group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier is a plurality of persons.

136. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 132, wherein each of the telephony identifiers is a telephone number.

137. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 132, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information related to processing of calls involving said identity comprises information identifying a communication device associated with said identity.

138. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 137, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information identifying a communication device associated with said identity comprises a hidden identifier identifying said communication device.

139. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 132, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information related to processing of calls involving said identity comprises information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said identity.

140. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 139, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said identity defines at least one call processing rule.

141. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 139, wherein, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, the information indicative of at least one operation to perform to process calls intended for or originated by said identity relates to at least one telephony feature.

142. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 141 , wherein the at least one telephony feature includes at least one of: a call forwarding feature, a selective call forwarding feature, a no-answer call forwarding feature, a find me / follow me call forwarding feature, a distinctive ringing feature, a selective call rejection feature, a selective call acceptance feature, a call waiting feature, a distinctive ringing call waiting feature, a calling line identification displaying feature, a calling line identification blocking feature, a speed calling feature, and an outgoing call barring feature.

143. At least one data storage medium as claimed in claim 132, wherein said database includes, for each telephony identifier and for each identity of said group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, contact information regarding at least one contact associated with said identity.

144. A method for use in call processing, said method comprising:

- maintaining a database comprising: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, each identity of said group of identities designating a party reachable by placing a call to said telephony identifier, said information comprising, for each identity of said group of identities, information related to processing of calls involving said identity;

- determining that an additional identity is to be associated with a given one of the telephony identifiers such that a party designated by the additional identity becomes reachable by placing a call to the given one of the telephony identifiers; and associating in the database the additional identity with the given one of the telephony identifiers such that the database comprises information related to processing of calls involving the additional identity.

145. A method as claimed in claim 144, wherein each of the telephony identifiers is a telephone number.

146. A method as claimed in claim 144, wherein said determining comprises receiving a request to associate the additional identity with the given one of the telephony identifiers.

147. A method as claimed in claim 146, wherein said receiving comprises receiving the request via a data network in response to a user of a communication device making the request via a data network site accessed by the communication device.

148. A method as claimed in claim 144, wherein said associating comprises: - receiving information provided by a user of a communication device; and deriving the information related to processing of calls involving the additional identity on a basis of the information provided by the user.

149. A method as claimed in claim 148, wherein the information provided by the user is provided via a data network site accessed by the communication device.

150. A method as claimed in claim 144, wherein the additional identity is a previously-created identity, the database comprises information related to processing of calls involving the previously-created identity, and said associating comprises: identifying the previously-created identity on a basis of information provided by a user of a communication device; and causing the previously-created identity to be associated with the given one of the telephony identifiers in the database such that the information related to processing of calls involving the additional identity comprises at least a portion of the information related to processing of calls involving the previously-created identity.

151. A method as claimed in claim 150, wherein the information related to processing of calls involving the additional identity comprises certain information derived on a basis of the information provided by the user of the communication device.

152. A method as claimed in claim 150, wherein the previously- created identity is associated with a certain telephony identifier, said method comprising maintaining in the database an association between the certain telephony identifier and the additional identity such that the party designated by the additional identity is reachable by placing a call to either the given one of the telephony identifiers or the certain telephony identifier.

153. A method for use in call processing, said method comprising: - maintaining a database comprising: a plurality of telephony identifiers; and - for each telephony identifier, information regarding a group of identities that is associated with said telephony identifier, each identity of said group of identities designating a party reachable by placing a call to said telephony identifier, said information comprising, for each identity of said group of identities, information related to processing of calls involving said identity; determining that an additional telephony identifier is to be associated with a particular identity of the group of identities that is associated with a given one of the telephony identifiers; and associating in the database the additional telephony identifier with the particular identity such that the party designated by the particular identity is reachable by placing a call to either the additional telephony identifier or the given one of the telephony identifiers.

154. A method as claimed in claim 153, wherein each of the telephony identifiers and the additional telephony identifier is a telephone number.

155. A method as claimed in claim 153, wherein said determining comprises receiving a request to associate the additional telephony identifier with the particular identity.

156. A method as claimed in claim 155, wherein said receiving comprises receiving the request via a data network in response to a user of a communication device making the request via a data network site accessed by the communication device.

157. A method as claimed in claim 153, comprising modifying the information related to processing of calls involving the particular identity so as to cause calls placed to the additional telephony identifier to be handled in a specified manner.

158. A method as claimed in claim 153, comprising adding certain information related to processing of calls involving the particular identity so as to cause calls placed to the additional telephony identifier to be handled in a specified manner.