Method and system for combing modular availability projections in a telecommunication system

Claim 1

A method for determining availability of a telecommunications network by a service provider, comprising the steps of: (1) determining a first and second endpoint, said first endpoint indicative of where the call is being made from, said second endpoint indicative of where the call is being made to; (2) determining a path between said endpoints; (3) dividing said path into a plurality of modular components, wherein each of said modular components represents a different portion of said path; (4) empirically measuring availability for the first of said modular components; (5) determining availability for each of said remaining modular components, wherein said determining step comprises the steps of: (a) retrieving availability from a database indicative of said modular component, if an agreement exists for said modular component to be empirically monitored by the service provider; (b) retrieving availability from a lookup table indicative of said modular component, if an agreement exists for availability empirically provided to the service provider; (c) determining circuit mileage for said modular component, if step (a) and step (b) do not apply; and (d) extrapolating availability for said modular component using the circuit mileage from step (c); and (6) determining a composite availability by combining said availability for each of said plurality of modular components.

Claim 2

A method for determining availability of a telecommunications network by a service provider, comprising the steps of: (1) determining a first and second endpoint, said first endpoint indicative of where the call is being made from, said second endpoint indicative of where the call is being made to; (2) determining a path between said endpoints; (3) dividing said path into a plurality of modular components, wherein each of said modular components represents a different portion of said path; (4) empirically measuring availability for the first of said modular components; (5) determining availability for each of said remaining modular components, wherein said determining step comprises the steps of: (a) retrieving availability from a database indicative of said modular component, if an agreement exists for said modular component to be empirically monitored by the service provider; (b) retrieving availability from a lookup table indicative of said modular component, if an agreement exists for availability empirically provided to the service provider; (c) determining circuit mileage for said modular component, if step (a) and step (b) do not apply; and (d) extrapolating availability for said modular component using the circuit mileage from step (c); and (6) determining a composite availability by combining said availability for each of said plurality of modular components.

Claim 6

A system for determining availability of a telecommunications network by a service provider, comprising: means for determining a first and second endpoint, said first endpoint indicative of where the call is being made from, said second endpoint indicative of where the call is being made to; means for determining a path between said endpoints; means for dividing said path into a plurality of modular components, wherein each of said modular components represents a different portion of said path; means for empirically measuring availability for the first of said modular components; means for determining availability for each of said remaining modular components, wherein said means for determining availability comprises: means for retrieving availability from a database indicative of said modular component, if an agreement exists for said modular component to be empirically monitored by the service provider; means for retrieving availability from a lookup table indicative of said modular component, if an agreement exists for availability empirically provided to the service provider; means for determining circuit mileage for said modular component, if said means for retrieving availability from a database and said means for retrieving availability from a lookup table do not apply; and means for extrapolating availability for said modular component using the circuit mileage; and means for determining a composite availability by combining said availability for each of said plurality of modular components.

Claim 7

A system for determining availability of a telecommunications network by a service provider, comprising: means for determining a first and second endpoint, said first endpoint indicative of where the call is being made from, said second endpoint indicative of where the call is being made to; means for determining a path between said endpoints; means for dividing said path into a plurality of modular components, wherein each of said modular components represents a different portion of said path; means for empirically measuring availability for the first of said modular components; means for determining availability for each of said remaining modular components, wherein said means for determining availability comprises: means for retrieving availability from a database indicative of said modular component, if an agreement exists for said modular component to be empirically monitored by the service provider; means for retrieving availability from a lookup table indicative of said modular component, if an agreement exists for availability empirically provided to the service provider; means for determining circuit mileage for said modular component, if said means for retrieving availability from a database and said means for retrieving availability from a lookup table do not apply; and means for extrapolating availability for said modular component using the circuit mileage; and means for determining a composite availability by combining said availability for each of said plurality of modular components.

Claim 11

A system for determining availability in a telecommunications network, the system comprising: a telecommunications network, said telecommunications network comprising a multitude of interconnected switches to carry and route telecommunications traffic among customer endpoints, and an entry and exit gateway for performing protocol conversion from one communication network to another; a network management system connected to said interconnected switches in said telecommunications network via control links, wherein said network management system monitors availability for said telecommunications network; a plurality of databases, wherein each of said databases stores availability data for a network, said network owned and operated by one other than said service provider and being monitored by said service provider upon an agreement; a performance lookup table, wherein said performance lookup table comprises availability data for telecommunication networks owned and operated by one other than said service provider and not being monitored by said service provider; a network monitoring processor for monitoring telecommunication networks owned and operated by one other than said service provider upon an agreement, said network monitoring processor attached to said plurality of databases; a trans-oceanic network management system for monitoring availability for undersea telecommunication equipment owned by said service provider; an extrapolation processor, said extrapolation processor used to determine availability for modular components of a network not capable of being monitored by said service provider; a performance processor, said performance processor connected to said plurality of databases, said performance lookup table, said extrapolation processor, said network management system, and said trans-oceanic network management system, for determining a composite availability from a plurality of modular component availabilities; and a workstation connected to said network management system, said extrapolation processor and said performance lookup table, whereby said workstation allows a user to interface with said system.

Claim 12

A system for determining availability in a telecommunications network, the system comprising: a telecommunications network, said telecommunications network comprising a multitude of interconnected switches to carry and route telecommunications traffic among customer endpoints, and an entry and exit gateway for performing protocol conversion from one communication network to another; a network management system connected to said interconnected switches in said telecommunications network via control links, wherein said network management system monitors availability for said telecommunications network; a plurality of databases, wherein each of said databases stores availability data for a network, said network owned and operated by one other than said service provider and being monitored by said service provider upon an agreement; a performance lookup table, wherein said performance lookup table comprises availability data for telecommunication networks owned and operated by one other than said service provider and not being monitored by said service provider; a network monitoring processor for monitoring telecommunication networks owned and operated by one other than said service provider upon an agreement, said network monitoring processor attached to said plurality of databases; a trans-oceanic network management system for monitoring availability for undersea telecommunication equipment owned by said service provider; an extrapolation processor, said extrapolation processor used to determine availability for modular components of a network not capable of being monitored by said service provider; a performance processor, said performance processor connected to said plurality of databases, said performance lookup table, said extrapolation processor, said network management system, and said trans-oceanic network management system, for determining a composite availability from a plurality of modular component availabilities; and a workstation connected to said network management system, said extrapolation processor and said performance lookup table, whereby said workstation allows a user to interface with said system.