Smarter telephony & e-mail protocols

Abstract

An apparatus for filtering telephone calls includes a fee module, an exemption list module, a call module, a matching module, and a fee waiver module. The fee module charges a fee to a caller for an incoming call made by the caller to a user. The fee is specific to the incoming call. The exemption list module maintains an exemption list, which includes callers exempt from the fee, and their information. This information identifies an exempted caller when the call module receives an incoming call. The matching module determines if information associated with the incoming call matches an exempt caller's information on the exemption list. The fee waiver module exempts the incoming call from the fee when the matching module determines that the caller's information matches the information on the exemption list. The fee module charges the fee for incoming calls not exempted from the fee.

Description

FIELD[0001]The subject matter disclosed herein relates to telecommunications and more particularly relates to call-filtering technology.BACKGROUNDDescription of the Related Art[0002]Often times, individuals and businesses are flooded with unwanted telephone calls. These calls may be from solicitors, may be at undesirable times, or may just be generally unwanted. Responding to these unwanted calls may consume time, energy, and other important resources, such as network bandwidth, telephone lines, and patience. Furthermore, these unwanted calls may be difficult to block out for several reasons. For instance, the callers may frequently change or disguise their identifying information (e.g., telephone numbers). In addition, some call-blocking schemes may be over-inclusive, blocking out calls that, for whatever reason, are desirable to the call recipient.BRIEF SUMMARY[0003]An embodiment of an apparatus for filtering telephone calls includes a fee module, an exemption list module, a call ...

Images