The Calling Plan service allows the administrator to restrict the type of calls users can make and receive. Useful applications are:

• Blocking international calls from stations that do not need this feature. And allowing international calls to users who require this feature.
• Blocking outside calls to the conference room if needed for privacy and interruptions.

Description

The Calling Plan service allows the administrator to control the type of calls made, received, transferred, and forwarded by users in a group. The restrictions are applied by means of sets of call screening templates assigned to groups, departments, or single users. The templates specify various screening methods that should be applied to calls according to the call type or the digits dialed. The administrator can define different screening templates for outgoing, incoming, and redirected calls. The following sub-sections describe these capabilities in more detail.

Call Topology

The administrator can define different screening templates for the following:

• Outgoing calls - The outgoing call screening template allows the administrator to define how calls originated by users should be restricted.
• Forwarding/transferring calls - The forwarding/transferring call screening template allows the administrator to define how calls that are redirected by the user services should be restricted.
• Being forwarded/transferred - This call screening template allows for preventing users from being forwarded or transferred to external parties so to offer Originating Fully Restricted functionality. When an outgoing call is denied based on this call screening template, the user receives the applicable OCP treatment.
• Incoming calls - The incoming call screening template allows the administrator to define how calls received by users should be restricted. The call screening templates apply independently to different legs of the call. For instance, when a call is transferred by the user, both the incoming and transferred call screening templates are applied to the call sequentially.

Call Types

The Incoming Call Screening template can screen the following call types:

• Calls from within the group - When this option is checked, users are allowed to receive calls from other members of the group.
• Collect calls - When this option is checked, users are allowed to receive collect calls. When an incoming collect call is blocked, the caller is played an announcement stating the called party is not authorized to receive collect calls.
• Calls from outside the group - The "calls from outside group" screening criterion of the ICP service provides a distinction between:

- Allow calls from outside of the group.
- Partial - Allow calls from outside of the group only if transferred by a group user.
- Block calls from outside of the group.

For a user, setting the "call from outside group" option to N disallows incoming calls from callers outside of the group, independently of how the call got to the user. When an incoming call is denied by this new attribute, the caller receives the standard denial announcement.

NOTE: In enterprise scenarios, the "Calls from within the group" and "Calls from outside the group" screening criteria refer only to calls from outside the enterprise. Calls from outside the group but within the same enterprise do not trigger the "Calls from within the group" and "Calls from outside the group" screening criteria. The outgoing call screening template can screen the following call types:

• Group - Calls from within the user's business group
• Local - Calls within the same geographic region
• Toll free - Free calls to numbers beginning with 1, usually followed by 800, 877, or 888
• Toll - Chargeable calls within the same geographic region
• International - Chargeable calls to other countries
• Operator assisted - Calls made with the chargeable assistance of an operator
• Chargeable directory assistance - Chargeable calls made to Directory Assistance such as 411 or 555-1212
• Special services I - Calls to 700 numbers. These calls may or may not be chargeable
• Special services II - (Reserved for system administrator's discretion)
• Premium services I - Chargeable calls to 900 numbers
• Premium services II - Chargeable calls to 976 numbers
• Casual - 1010XXX chargeable calls, such as 1010321
• URL - Chargeable calls made to an e-mail address instead of a phone number
• Unknown - Calls to unknown call types

The same call types can be screened by the forward/transfer and the call screening templates being forwarded or transferred.

How To:

Go to the enterprise, group, departments, or user under the Web Portal. Click Calling plans. And make the proper changes. Click or Apply to save the changes. For help with Operator, 411 (directory Assistance) and 511 (traffic updates), Click here. 

Tech Notes:

• When creating a new department or user calling plan template, the default values for all configurable items are inherited from the layer above, which can be refined as required.
• By default call forwarding to an international number is disabled to prevent unwanted access to this service.