Patent attributes
A method is presented for providing alarm notification and two-way voice communication for a hybrid data/voice system by sending an alarm from a communication device to a central station receiver via a data transmission method, associating the alarm with a telephone number operating with a voice transmission method, and initiating the two-way voice communication between the communication device and a voice receiver. In one embodiment, associating includes selecting a line number and telephone number, verifying the number's availability, and if the number is available, sending it to the communication device. In another embodiment, associating includes forwarding the alarm from the alarm forwarding service to a receiver, sending a telephone number to the communication device, contacting the telephone number from the communication device, and using a voice transmission method to create a three-way call among the alarm forwarding service, the communication device and the central station.