Ad Ringer

Abstract

A method and system are provided for playing an advertisement to a telephone subscriber prior to call completion in a telecommunications network. A subscriber telephone line is provisioned to provide an advertisement. A switch in the telecommunications network detects an off-hook condition at the subscribers telephone and interprets the digits of the telephone number of a called party dialed by the subscriber. The switch then retrieves an advertisement and plays the advertisement to the subscriber instead of generating a ringing tone prior to call completion. The switch may also play the advertisement instead of a dial tone. The advertisement may be stored in an advertisement module in the switch or in a network component in the telecommunications network. The period for playing the advertisement may be extended by delaying call processing at the network component. Once the advertisement begins playing, the subscriber may terminate the advertisement by depressing a key on a telephone keypad. The switches and network components in the telecommunications network may be advanced intelligent network (AIN) components.

1 . A method of modifying audio associated with call origination, the method comprising: 
 detecting that a subscriber is attempting to establish a call from a subscriber station through a network and has entered at least one input associated with selecting a destination station to dial;    forming at least one information signal prior to completion of the call, the at least one information signal comprising non-standard audio; and    conveying the non-standard audio to the subscriber, wherein the non-standard audio to the subscriber is different from normally-generated audio that is conveyed to the subscriber during call processing.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein conveying the non-standard audio to the subscriber comprises conveying the non-standard audio outside of a time interval corresponding to a condition starting with the network determining that the subscriber station is off-hook and ending with the network determining that the subscriber station has at least started to transmit destination station dial information and wherein a dial tone is a normally-generated network signal during the time interval corresponding to the condition starting with the network determining that the subscriber station is off-hook and ending with the network determining that the subscriber station has at least started to transmit destination station dial information.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining whether to form the at least one information signal based at least upon an indication of whether the subscriber should receive non-standard audio.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein determining whether to form the at least one information signal based at least upon an indication of whether the subscriber should receive non-standard audio comprises determining the presence of a tag associated with the subscriber, the presence of the tag indicating conveyance of the non-standard audio.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein determining whether to form the at least one information signal based at least upon an indication of whether the subscriber should receive non-standard audio comprises determining the absence of a tag associated with the subscriber, the absence of the tag indicating conveyance of the normally-generated audio.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising delaying call processing during the conveyance of the non-standard audio to the subscriber.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein forming at least one information signal prior to completion of the call comprises forming the at least one information signal to replace a ringing tone normally conveyed to the subscriber during call processing.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein forming at least one information signal prior to completion of the call comprises forming an advertisement for conveyance to the subscriber.  
     
     
         9 . A system for modifying audio associated with call origination in a telecommunications network, the system comprising: 
 means for detecting that a subscriber is attempting to establish a call from a subscriber station through a network and has entered at least one input associated with selecting a destination station to dial;    means for forming at least one information signal prior to completion of the call, the at least one information signal comprising non-standard audio; and    means for conveying the non-standard audio to the subscriber, wherein the non-standard audio to the subscriber is different from normally-generated audio that is conveyed to the subscriber during call processing.    
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the means for conveying the non-standard audio to the subscriber comprises means for conveying the non-standard audio outside of a time interval corresponding to a condition starting with the network determining that the subscriber station is off-hook and ending with the network determining that the subscriber station has at least started to transmit destination station dial information and wherein a dial tone is a normally-generated network signal during the time interval corresponding to the condition starting with the network determining that the subscriber station is off-hook and ending with the network determining that the subscriber station has at least started to transmit destination station dial information.  
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising means for determining whether to form the at least one information signal based at least upon an indication of whether the subscriber should receive non-standard audio.  
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the means for determining whether to form the at least one information signal based at least upon an indication of whether the subscriber should receive non-standard audio comprises means for determining the presence of a tag associated with the subscriber, the presence of the tag indicating conveyance of the non-standard audio.  
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the means for determining whether to form the at least one information signal based at least upon an indication of whether the subscriber should receive non-standard audio comprises means for determining the absence of a tag associated with the subscriber, the absence of the tag indicating conveyance of the normally-generated audio.  
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 9  further comprising means for delaying call processing during the conveyance of the non-standard audio to the subscriber.  
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the means for forming at least one information signal prior to completion of the call comprises means for forming the at least one information signal to replace a ringing tone normally conveyed to the subscriber during call processing.  
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the means for forming at least one information signal prior to completion of the call comprises means for forming an advertisement for conveyance to the subscriber.