CounterPath Awarded Patent Overseeing Routing of Mobile Voice Calls

Patent Further Positions CounterPath as Leader in Unified Communication Solutions

VANCOUVER, Dec. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - CounterPath (NASDAQ: CPAH) (TSX: CCV), a leading developer of award-winning desktop, tablet and mobile VoIP software products and solutions, today announced it has been awarded patent # US 8,335,187 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Titled 'Routing Mobile Voice Calls,' this patent outlines the process by which a Network Convergence Gateway (NCG) detects and monitors a mobile subscriber's location and automatically routes calls to either a packet-based (IP) endpoint or the traditional circuit switched entity.

The primary benefit of this patent is it enables CounterPath to develop communications solutions that provide the end-user the most convenient and cost-effective experience possible.  Essentially, this process exclusively establishes a set of rules for NCGs to follow, based on a variety of pre-determined parameters such as location and strength of data service (3G, 4G or Wi-Fi).  These parameters are completely customizable based on the needs established by the business or end-user.

"The mobile number has become the primary method of how end-users interact with family, friends and colleagues, by being a reliable mechanism that enables a person to stay connected with one number, regardless of location," said Donovan Jones, President and CEO, CounterPath. "This patent also adds to CounterPath's intellectual property value by protecting our partners and customers in the quickly growing Mobile VoIP and OTT markets."

Examples of how this patent may be applied:

• An individual is at home and takes a traditional circuit switched call on their smartphone. They leave home and head into their work place, at which point the NCG recognises the phone has entered a "known Wi-Fi zone" and associates the registration of CounterPath's Bria mobile app with the mobile number.  At that point, the NCG will route all incoming calls to their cell phone number via the Bria IP endpoint on their smartphone.
• An employee leaves Vancouver for San Francisco.  When they land, their phone (via the NCG) recognises a country shift, and routes calls to the Bria IP endpoint over the data channel instead of the circuit switched channel so that the user avoids costly voice roaming fees. To completely avoid any roaming costs, the user can also choose to alter their settings to Wi-Fi only.
• The same person then departs San Francisco and heads to London.  While that person is in transit, the NCG realizes they are no longer on the network and routes all incoming calls to voicemail.  When they land in the UK, a time zone change is recognized by the NCG, and it applies rules to route calls to either the Bria IP endpoint or voicemail depending on when the person is likely to be asleep in London.

"CounterPath now has intellectual property rights that cover how mobile calls are routed to either packet-based or circuit switched endpoints," said Michael Doyle, Vice President of Technology at CounterPath. "This intelligent routing and endpoint association patent enables people to stay connected regardless of location while avoiding costly minutes or roaming charges. This solution will make people's work-life easier by seamlessly routing calls to the appropriate device and service based on their location, habits and calling patterns."

This patent is part of CounterPath's expanding patent portfolio highlighting the company's ongoing commitment to innovation and superior products and solutions such as CounterPath's Network Convergence Gateway (NCG). CounterPath now has 16 patents issued and 7 additional applications pending.

CounterPath is a global leader in softphone technology with millions of endpoints sold. With the largest list of interoperability with IP PBX's and softswitches, Bria is built toward industry standards with proven multimedia technology that provides a high-quality, unified communications experience and voice and video calls over fixed, mobile and Wi-Fi broadband networks. Bria's ability to switch seamlessly between mobile and Wi-Fi networks gives businesses new options for "always on" connectivity while realizing cost savings through free Wi-Fi networks.

About CounterPath

CounterPath's standards based VoIP softphones are changing the face of telecommunications. The BYOD VoIP favorite, Bria softphone for mobile devices and desktop, together with the company's easy-to-use client management, provisioning and configuration server enables enterprises, service providers, and OEMs around the globe to offer a seamless and unified communications experience across both fixed and mobile networks.  Standards-based, cost-effective and reliable, CounterPath's award-winning solutions power voice, video, messaging, and presence that empower customers such as Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, Verizon, BT, Mobilkom Austria, NTT, Rogers, Avaya, BroadSoft, Cisco Systems, GENBAND, Metaswitch Networks, Mitel and NEC.

For more information about CounterPath's Bria softphone applications and gateway solutions, visit: www.counterpath.com/products.

SOURCE CounterPath Corporation