SIP Re-INVITE Detection for Call Queue Position Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
In SIP-enabled call centers, queued calls are prematurely disconnected when a user puts their terminal on hold, leading to inefficient bandwidth management and potential loss of calls, as agents receive calls in an on-hold state and cannot communicate with callers.
Innovation Solution
The call center detects SIP re-INVITE requests indicating an on-hold condition, modifying its treatment of queued calls by freezing their position or maintaining them at the top of the queue until the user takes the call off hold, while also sending instant messages to inform users of their queue status, thus avoiding premature disconnection and optimizing bandwidth utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the call center disables the media stream when a terminal is put on hold, then bandwidth utilization is conserved, but the call is prematurely disconnected and the agent cannot communicate with the caller
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the media stream state based on the terminal's hold status and queue position. When the terminal is on hold and not at the top of the queue, the media stream is disabled to conserve bandwidth. When the terminal reaches the top of the queue, the system automatically re-enables the media stream, ensuring the agent can communicate with the caller. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making bandwidth conservation conditional rather than absolute.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the media stream parameter (enabled/disabled) based on the terminal's state in the queue. The media stream is disabled when the terminal is on hold and positioned below the top of the queue, but re-enabled when the terminal reaches the top of the queue or is taken off hold. This parameter change ensures that bandwidth is conserved during waiting periods while maintaining communication capability when the call is ready to be serviced.
2Loss of energy
If the call center allows multiple queued calls to disable media streams simultaneously, then bandwidth utilization is significantly conserved, but the system complexity increases in managing multiple on-hold calls
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms to monitor the state of each queued call and the overall queue status. When a terminal is put on hold, the system detects the SIP re-INVITE request and updates the call's state. The system continuously monitors queue position changes and automatically adjusts media stream states accordingly. This feedback loop manages the complexity of multiple on-hold calls by providing automated, state-driven control rather than manual management.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables automated self-management of media streams for multiple calls. Each call's media stream state is automatically adjusted based on its own hold status and queue position, without requiring manual intervention. The call center system autonomously tracks which calls are on hold, their queue positions, and when they should have media streams enabled or disabled, reducing the operational complexity of managing multiple on-hold calls.
3Measurement precision
If the call center monitors SIP re-INVITE requests to detect on-hold conditions, then call state accuracy is improved, but the processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The SIP re-INVITE request monitoring mechanism serves multiple functions: it detects when a terminal is put on hold, tracks the terminal's hold status, and triggers appropriate queue management actions. By making this single monitoring mechanism multi-functional, the system improves call state detection accuracy without proportionally increasing processing overhead, as the same signal processing serves multiple detection and control purposes.
Data Source
AI summary
A method is disclosed that enables the proper treatment of a queued call by a call center, or other data-processing system capable of queuing calls, in which the calling terminal of the queued call has been put on hold by its user. The call center is able to detect the terminal being put on hold by monitoring for a SIP re-INVITE request, in which the session description signifies an on-hold condition. When it is determined that the calling terminal is on hold, the call center modifies its treatment of the queued call. For example, the call center might freeze the call's position in the queue until the calling party takes the phone off of hold. As another example, the call center might allow the call to work its way to the top of the queue, with the terminal on hold, and then maintain the call's position at the top of the queue until a service agent is available.