US Patent 7508777 Method and apparatus for co-socket telephony

A network based communication system allows a communication connection that carries voice data using packetized IP telephony protocol to be established via a wireless local area network access point by sending a user address to a remote database server. The database server converts the user address to an Internet address and informs the wireless handset of an active Internet address to be used to complete the call. In some embodiments the user address is a telephone number that can also be used to reach the user using the public switched telephone network. Other types of media are also supported like digital pictures, digital video, data conference sessions, and application sharing sessions.