A system and method to allow telephone subscribers to schedule calls for
future placement on a telephone network using a telephone interface. In
an illustrative implementation, a telephone subscriber part of an AIN
telephone network is offered a call scheduling service whereby the
subscriber may schedule future placed calls according to various
parameters (e.g. telephone number(s) to call, the time of the scheduled
call, and the frequency of the call, i.e. every day, month, week, or
year) by inputting parameters using a telephone interface of a telephone
station that is connected to the AIN telephone network. In operation, a
participating user would connect to the service switch point (SSP) of the
AIN telephone network using his/her telephone station. The SSP
communicates this request to a service control point (SCP) having an
administrative application and a call scheduling application. The SCP
verifies that the requesting party is a subscriber to the call scheduling
service and cooperates with a service node (SN) to prompt the
participating user to input information indicative of the desired
scheduled calls. The call schedule information is stored in a SCP
cooperating database. When the scheduled time for a scheduled call
arrives, the SCP cooperates with the SN to notify the participating user
(e.g. by calling the subscriber's listed telephone) that the time for the
scheduled call has arrived. If prompted by the participating user, the
SCP proceeds to cooperate with the SN to place the scheduled call.