Phone Number Processing

Voice over IP (VOIP) vs. Traditional TDM_Based PBX Phone System

TeleSmart utilizes Voice over IP (VoIP) or simply IP technology. The end user phone system may appear to be very similar in appearance to the digital phones used with a TDM-based (Time Division Multiplexing) PBX, at least on initial inspection. IP phones do behave in very similar ways for basic call operations. When you lift the handset, you hear dial tone. When an incoming call arrives, the phone rings. Phone users expect this behavior, which makes the introduction of IP phone technology as a replacement for traditional TDM-based telephony relatively painless for the vast majority of (non-technical) phone users. In the case of traditional TDM-based telephony, the basis of the phone user interface is rooted in the physical structure of the typical digital TDM PBX. This in turn has its roots in the analog PBX systems that preceded it.

With IP telephony, some conscious and deliberate effort has gone into replicating the traditional phone user interface. This is well illustrated by considering the idea of "phone extensions" or "phone lines" for IP phones. In an analog PBX or Key System, the number of twisted-pair cables connected to the phone determines how many lines the phone has access to. If you want more phone lines, you have to add more wires.

For an IP phone, there is no direct relationship between the physical wiring and the number of lines that an IP phone supports. IP phones based on 100-Mbps Ethernet connections can theoretically support hundreds of phone lines. How many lines an IP phone supports is instead determined solely by the design of the phone user interface, not the physical connectivity to the system equipment cabinet. The user interface might be a traditional looking one that has a dedicated physical button for each line the phone supports. Alternatively, the IP phone might simply have a touch screen. Other variations on user interface design might include the use of pull-down menus or scroll bars to select a phone line.

How Does IP Expand the Processing of Calls?

There are a number of advantages of IP telephony for the small and mid-sized offices. TeleSmart's software platform deals with the complexity of real-life network situations allowing companies to: Configure IP phones, extension lines, shared lines, overlays, intercoms, paging, call park and pickup, hunt groups, and other forms of call coverage

TeleSmart's individual component features are designed to be as modular and flexible as possible. It is often possible for TeleSmart to combine features to configure rich and flexible sets of call handling behaviors in a variety of network scenarios.

Some examples of TeleSmart® flexibility:

Other Call Tracking and Call Processing Features

Going deeper, TeleSmart provides methods and systems for tracking call transaction data from incoming telephone calls, including attempted calls that have not been completed, made to individual predetermined subscribers during a defined time period. Information, including demographic breakdowns of calls, such as time of day, day of week or location of origin, etc. is reported automatically by the system. Through the use of our Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) and Integrated Service Control Point (ISCP) platform, call transaction data for incoming calls are captured in response to terminating triggers at Service Switching Points (SSP's). The call originating phone number for each call may be used to access an existing telephone system billing database, called Customer Record Information System (CRIS), to obtain caller information, including zip code. The zip code, in turn, can be used to access a commercially available census data base to provide further demographic information. Report statistics can match these demographics with the number of calls received as collected at the ISCP. The arrangement additionally provides for identifying first time callers and the collection of data relevant to each call obtained in an interactive manner from the called subscriber.