Abstract:
The present invention comprises methods for efficiently identifying international outbound calls, in the telecommunications network (TN) of the outgoing country, which should be screened as possibly requiring processing according to a Global Virtual Network Service (GVNS), as opposed to conventional international long distance (ILD) call processing. In particular, the present invention is directed to outbound international GVNS calls, known as “on-net,” which are from-one GVNS location to another GVNS location of the same customer. International calls that are not Outbound International GVNS On-net calls, referred to as Other ILD calls, include at least three types: standard ILD, non-GVNS data and international GVNS off-net calls. Standard ILD, non-GVNS data calls and international GVNS off-net calls all have a routing number which comprises a country code (CC) followed by a national number (NN). In the present invention, all Outbound International GVNS On-net calls have a routing number which begins with a CC followed by a country code suffix (CC-suffix). Therefore, the presence of a CC-suffix after the CC in a call routing number indicates that the call should be screened as being, possibly, an Outbound International GVNS On-net call. It is desirable to minimize the number of Other ILD calls which are subject to extra screening for being, possibly, an Outbound International GVNS On-net call. Selecting a CC-suffix which comprises the national trunk prefix (NTP) or domestic application prefix digit (DAPD) of the call receiving country insures that only a small percentage of Other ILD calls, such as are represented by mis-dialed standard ILD calls or mis-dialed non-GVNS data calls, contain the CC-suffix. If the NTP or DAPD cannot be used, then a national destination code (NDC) of the receiving country which receives minimal Other ILD call traffic is selected as the CC-suffix.