Importance

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Abstract

A system and method for teleconferencing between conferees connected through a connectionless network and conferees connected through a connection-oriented network having a bridge. A call server connects to a bridge hosting a teleconference among connection-oriented conferees and joins the teleconference. The connection-oriented signal received by the call server is converted into a connectionless signal and sent to authorized, authenticated conferees connected through the connectionless network. The call server receives a connectionless signal from a conferee through the connectionless network, converts the signal to a connection-oriented signal and sends the connection-oriented signal to the bridge. Connectionless signals are stored in a database to be analyzed or sent to other conferees, such as those who were unavailable to join the teleconference as it occurred. The call server provides multimedia interfaces to conferees by which the conferees can monitor and join an ongoing teleconference, access a stored teleconference, or configure a new teleconference. The call server can also bridge teleconferences hosted on two or more bridges, expanding the audience for a given teleconference beyond the capacity of a single bridge.

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First Claim