Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/925,386

METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR ROUTING VOICE CALL TRAFFIC

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Oct 24, 2024
Examiner
HUYNH, CHUCK
Art Unit
2644
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
T-Mobile USA Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
72%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 8m
Est. Remaining
86%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 72% — above average
72%
Career Allowance Rate
350 granted / 488 resolved
+9.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+13.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 6m
Avg Prosecution
21 currently pending
Career history
522
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.5%
-35.5% vs TC avg
§103
62.1%
+22.1% vs TC avg
§102
27.6%
-12.4% vs TC avg
§112
4.4%
-35.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 488 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Information Disclosure Statement IDS(es) submitted on 10/24/2024 has/have been considered. Oath/Declaration Oath/Declaration filed on 10/24/2024 has been acknowledged. Drawings Drawing(s) submitted on 10/24/2024 have been acknowledged. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-3, 5-7, 10-13, and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yau et al. (US 2024/0098579; effective filing date: 2/17/2023; hereinafter Yau). Regarding claims 1, 11, 19 and 20 Yau discloses a method and system for: receiving, by a mobile network operator (MNO) network, a call request from a wireless device ([0104]: subscriber making call from a visiting network); determining the call request originated outside of the MNO ([0104]: subscriber making call from a visiting network); and in response to the call request originating outside of the MNO, routing, by the MNO network, the call request through an established default bearer ([0105]: subscriber making call from a visiting network and routing call accordingly through a default bearer, like a proxy CSCF: [0107]). Regarding claims 2 and 12, Yau discloses wherein the call request originated on a roaming network ([0104]: subscriber making call from a visiting network). Regarding claims 3 and 13, Yau discloses wherein the call request is routed through the established default bearer rather than a dedicated bearer ([0105]: subscriber making call from a visiting network and routing call accordingly through a default bearer, like a proxy CSCF: [0107]). Regarding claims 5 and 15, Yau discloses further comprising re-routing the call request through a dedicated bearer based on a subscriber request ([0061]-[0064]: setting up dedicated bearer). Regarding claims 6 and 16, Yau discloses wherein the routing through the established default bearer comprises using a call session control function (CSCF) ([0107]: proxy CSCF). Regarding claim 7 Yau discloses wherein the call request is for a voice over LTE (VoLTE) communication (Abstract: VoLTE). Regarding claims 10 and 17, Yau discloses wherein the established default bearer is a packet data network (PDN)/packet data unit (PDU) providing end-to-end user plane connectivity between the wireless device and a data network ([104]-[015]: use of PDN gateway). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claim(s) 4, 8, 9, 14, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yau in view of Rahman (US 2023/0007128; hereinafter Rahman). Regarding claims 4 and 14, Yau discloses all the particulars of the claim except for the limitation of wherein the dedicated bearer has a guaranteed bit rate (GBR). However, Rahman does disclose the limitation of wherein the dedicated bearer has a guaranteed bit rate (GBR) ([0025]: dedicated bearer with GBR). It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of invention to incorporate Rahman’s disclosure to provide successful voice calls over control plane. Regarding claim 8, Yau discloses all the particulars of the claim escept for the method of claim 1, wherein the call request is for a voice over New Radio (VoNR) communication. However, Rahman does disclose the limitation of wherein the call request is for a voice over New Radio (VoNR) communication ([0002]: placing a call using VoLTE or VoNR using default bearer). It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of invention to incorporate Rahman’s disclosure to provide successful voice calls over control plane. Regarding claims 9 and 18, Yau discloses all the particulars of the claim except for wherein the established default bearer does not have a GBR. However, Rahman does disclose the limitation of wherein the established default bearer does not have a GBR ([0024]: default bearer is a non-GBR). It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of invention to incorporate Rahman’s disclosure to provide successful voice calls over control plane. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHUCK HUYNH whose telephone number is (571)272-7866. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10am - 6pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kathy Wang-Hurst can be reached at 571-270-5371. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /CHUCK HUYNH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 24, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
72%
Grant Probability
86%
With Interview (+13.9%)
3y 6m (~1y 8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 488 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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