Routing toll-free telecommunications traffic over data networks

摘要

A system according to the principles of the invention provides toll-free calling that transports calls using a data network (112) such as the Internet. One or more gateways (108, 116, 118, 122) may be provided the transfer incoming call traffic from LECs (104, 114) to a data network (112). Calls may be transported over the data network (112) using any suitable addressing technique, such as Internet Protocol ("IP") addresses. A receiving node on the data network (112) may connect incoming call traffic directly to a toll-free call center (126), or the receiving node may connect to a second LEC (124) which can connect incoming calls to a toll-free subscriber (126) or a toll-free call center (126).