Agent interworking protocol and call processing architecture for a communications system

A call processing architecture treats a call connection as having two halves an originating half and a terminating half. An agent is associated with each call half, the originating agent being assigned by a switching center of a telecommunications system to establish the originating half of a call. The originating agent interacts with a translator and router to process the dated digits for a call to route the call to a terminating agent, the terminating agent establishing the terminating half of the call to complete the call connection. An agent interworking protocol (AIP) provides a generic superset protocol containing the common elements and unique elements for all call types so that an originating agent converts its call messages to the AIP and is connected to a terminating agent via an AIP connector, the terminating agent converting the AIP formatted call messages to the native protocol of the terminating agent. Agents for different call types are each able to convert call messages to or translate call messages from the agents's unique protocol to the AIP format and each type of agent does not need to know the type of agent being connected to as communication with other agents is via the AIP.