Toll free understanding/terms

[turtlezzz]

Just curious on tollfree numbers. previous company i worked for had toll free pointing to 10 digit numbers (proper name?) and current company has 4 digit dnis sent to us.....but going through same vendor...I am just trying to understatnd different setups and terminologies.....thanks much

 

[ISDNman]

ISDN PRI, T1 E&M, and analog DID trunks all have "DID numbers" that are not associated with specific channels.

The terminating equipment receives the numbers and then uses them to route the call.

When the trunks are ordered the number of digits is specified. Generally, you can get from 3 to 10 digits

 

[Dexman]

Toll free numbers come in 2 main "flavors" (switched and dedicated). Switched toll-free numbers are translated to a regular 10 digit telephone number and sent to the end user's regular POTs lines.

Dedicated toll-free numbers terminate to a customer via any one of the the dedicated circuits types mentioned above by ISDNman. ISDN, T1E&M, Loop-start & Ground-start are the most commonly used signaling methods.

With ISDN, T1E&M and ground-start signaling DNIS digits can be used so that the CPE will direct a call to a specific extension.

 

[tiver43809]

Another thing about DNIS is the customer can then report on the numbers to see what numbers are being called more often. It really helps them in marketing.
Thanks
Terry

 

[SYQUEST]

One point of correction for Dexman:

Ground-start lines/trunks do not have DNIS. They only provide ring voltage for incoming call indication like Loop-start.

The original Incoming WATS was a dedicated line group right out of a Class 4 Tandem Switch. Then it moved to the Class 5 End Office for a time with dedicated NXX WATS codes, which may still exist in some offices.

Hope this helps!

....JIM....