2 Schools 1 Partner ACS R3.0

[jeff1411]

I work at a school and we are opening another location. We have an existing Partner ACS R3.0, Two 308EC R3.0, and Mail VS R5.0 with 4-port expansion. Is it possible to only publish one number and allow our current Partner to route calls using a Centrex transfer to the other location. We may open some more schools very soon and would like to know anyone’s thoughts on using a Centrex system vs. the Partner ACS. Can Partner ACS and Centrex systems be integrated?

Thanks

 

[TouchToneTommy]

Absolutly. If you convert your lines to Centrex you will gain the feature DID/DOD transfer, Direct Inward Dial to Direct Outward Dial Transfer. A call comes in, you (or the PMVS-R5's Auto Attendant) flash, receive a stutter dialtone from the telco, then dial the new number (or the PMVS-R5 dials it in response to a selector code) and hangup when the call starts to ring.

If your branch schools are located in the same CO as the main number, you won't have to dial the whole 7-digit number, rather dial something like "#" and the last 4-digits. This save you on message units, basically makes the call between sites free.

If you are not in the same CO, but served by the same telco, look into "Wide-Area Centrex", where the sites can be tied together through Centrex. Typically you will have to dial 9 when calling outside numbers, and 8 plus the whole 7-digit number when calling between sites.

 

[jeff1411]

Thanks for the info Tommy. If I understand you correctly using our partner with Centrex at the other locations seems to be better than an all Centrex setup. It gives us central call routing and auto attendants that is not available in a Centrex only setup.

The DID that you mentioned in the Centex system, is that the same DID that fax routing hardware can use? We are reviewing

http://www.faxback.com/products/index.html

for a central fax solution.

 

[TouchToneTommy]

You still need Centrex at the main site, because that's the telco feature that allows you to transfer calls to the other sites. At the other sites, if there are more than a couple of phones or lines, you would want to put a small phone system in there also. The DID that I am refering to is not DID in the traditional sense. The telco calls it DID to DOD transfer, meaning that a call that came in can be transferred to an outside (not necessarilly part of the Centrex group) number. This is as opposed to you placing an outbound call, flashing, and transferring it to another outbound number. You can do a 3-way call, but not disconnect from the call and have the other parties continue.

 

[Mongo5150]

Ameritech and some other providers offer remote call forwarding. It is a cheaper alternative to Centrex lines. Lots of customers are now using it for off-premise voice mail. Basically, you have a caller on... If you want to transfer the call, you hit flash, get a secondary dial tone then dial the number once it rings hang up. Sort of like the telco 3 way calling. Not all providers have it, but the ones I work with in Chicago do... Hope this helps...