Systems and methods to provide voice connections via local telephone numbers

US9317855B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• YELLOWPAGES.COM LLC · US

Inventors

• Ebbe Altberg · Mill Valley, US
• Christopher Scott Crothers · San Francisco, US
• Scott Faber · San Francisco, US
• Ron Hirson · San Francisco, US
• Paul G. Manca · Oakland, US
• Sean Van Der Linden · Berkeley, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 17, 2007
• Grant date: Apr 19, 2016
• Expiry date: Oct 27, 2033

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04M15/8033
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses to dynamically allocate location dependent telephone numbers to facilitate voice connections between people. One embodiment includes: responsive to a request from a user, selecting a telephone number from a plurality of telephone numbers of a connection server to match a location indicator of the request; embedding the telephone number in an advertisement, the telephone number to be used by the user to initiate a telephone call to the connection server for further connection to an advertiser of the advertisement; and providing the advertisement with the telephone number of the connection server as a response to the request. In one embodiment, responsive to receiving the telephone call at the telephone number of the connection server from the user, whether to play a prompt message to the user is determined based at least in part on statistic data about telephone calls collected at the connection server.