800 Service/Distinctive ring 1

[esskay]

I have four lines coming into a Merlin Legend 7.0 (Rel 10) with Merlin Messaging 2.5. I want to add 800 service for my customers to call sales, but not to get to support. Because of wiring constraints, I can't add additional phone lines. The phone company can give me 800 service with distinctive ring (Identicall?) on all my lines. What I'd like to do is detect the distinctive ring, then route the message to a different autoattendant, one that doesn't have the option for Support. I'd also like, if possible to let anyone picking up the call (we use coverage and pick up groups) to know that the source is an 800 number.

This is important, because we have unlimited outbound calling, but must pay per minute for 800 service.

Can it be done? And, if so, how? I not, is there another method to restrict inbound 800-line abuse you could suggest?

 

[merlinman]

The Legend does not recognize distinctive ring from the central office.

You need more lines to seperate these calls.

Certainly, the Legend can do ALL KINDS OF THINGS with Calling groups, but you have to send the calls to these groups from seperate lines.

-OR-

If you had D-I-D then other things could be done.

 

[esskay]

Thanks for the response. I looked at the Merlin manual for a while, and couldn't find anything on distinctive ringing.

But I found a Comswitch 5500 line splitter which is supposed to recognize Distinctive Ring. Since I have plenty of extra line ports, I am going to try to split the 4th voice line into the two lines. The regular ring will go into the 4th port (e.g. 804) on my switch, and the 800 distinctive ring will go into another port (say 805).

Once I do that, then how do I program the 805 port to go Merlin Messaging for a different announcement?

 

[TouchToneTommy]

If you do that, take the line out of the outgoing pool, or your users will get dead air if an incoming 800 call is in progress and they hit that trunk when dialing 9.

 

[esskay]

Is that because the phone system cannot determine if the line has been taken by the other port(i.e. no voltage is detected)?

 

[TouchToneTommy]

Yup

 

[esskay]

Thanks

Based on your advice, I'll share the relatively unused fax line (outside of the Merlin) and then route one line into the Merlin.

Now can someone tell me how to create the second Announcement with appropriate changes to the Legend's system programming?

 

[TouchToneTommy]

Just assign the line to the voice mail calling group as before, create the 2nd auto attendant, and one of the options in that auto attendant menu will be line assignment.