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 Fred offers the definition of common phone system capabilities
Simplified Feature Guide
Definitions for features commonly available on most
Electronic and Digital Telephone Systems
(If the feature or capability you want to learn about is not on this list please let us know and we will try to get an explanation / definition for you)
Account Codes: A four to seven digit number that can be "punched in" before, during, or after incoming or outgoing calls to help identify or categorize that call. Example #1: "Bob handles both customer service and sales for his company. At the beginning of each call he punches in 1234 for sales calls or 5678 for customer service calls. Example #2 Sally an attorney handles 50 different accounts and bills for her time in 30-minute increments. She has a specific 5-digit code for each of her clients. Whenever she begins a call she punches in the account code associated with this client. Her bookkeeper use this information to accurately bill each client A printer alone or in combination with a call accounting system tracks these calls SEE ALSO Forced and verifiable account codes and Call Accounting
Allow and disallow list: This is part of the toll restriction. This is productivity and cost control tool, it gives management the ability to decide which numbers it wants an employee to have access to dialing or not dialing. Example #1. ABC company does not want anyone outside sales and collections to be making phone calls to anyone except the home office in New York and the regional office in Chicago so it restricts all phone (except sales management and collections) so the can only call those 2 numbers Example #2. XYZ company likes its people to be active on the phones but doesn't want anyone except management calling the other 2 offices in Chicago and New York. They therefore allow all calls but block the phone numbers for the New York and Chicago offices. This feature can also be used along with a most general toll restriction capabilities to BLOCK 900 CALLS
Automated Attendant: This is the hated "machine" that answers calls in many businesses and asks you to dial 1 for Sales 2 for Customer Service etc. In a great number of cases it is attached to or part of a Voice Mail system. Largely do misuse its purpose of allowing a caller to get around in the offices as if they were actually there gets overlooked. When set up properly (and creatively) this feature can be useful to almost any business
Automatic Call Distribution (ACD): Takes an incoming call or calls and sends them to a station or group of stations (Sales, Customer Service, Dispatch etc.) in a pre-determined order. If no one (station) is available to take the call, it then puts the call on hold and upon the freeing up of someone - I.e. a station - it automatically transfers it to that person or station. In many cases (not all) this feature requires a separate component or some cases external unit designed to work with your existing telephone system
Automatic Line Selection: When you pick up the phone it gives you the first available line. This eliminates the need to hit a line button when you make an outgoing call. On some systems this feature may also apply to grabbing any incoming call that is ringing at the time you pick up the telephone
Background Music: A feature that allows you to have music playing out of the telephones in your office. This is not to be confused with Music-On-Hold which plays music to incoming callers whenever you put them on hold.
Blocking Non Blocking Architecture: This really doesn't apply to most systems that were manufactured after (about) 1990 On some older systems if there were too many people on the phone you could not make an outgoing call even though a line was available. Example: Company A has 10 people and 4 lines, 6 of those people are using the intercom, and 3 are on a call. The 10th person tries to make an outgoing cal and is unable to because the system simply can't handle another person using it! Most systems made after 1990 were designed with Non Blocking Architecture, which means everyone, can use the phone as long as there are lines available
Busy Busting or Repeat Dialing: When you make an outside call and get a busy signal this feature will keep calling the busy number until it get through. The down side to this feature is that it can unproductively tie up lines for hours. The is especially true when a wrong number is dialed or the number dialed is in need of repair (Very common during storms floods etc.) Also on some systems it can easily be forgotten about
Busy Lamp Field (BLF) SEE Direct station selection (DSS)
Call Accounting Systems: These devices automatically take information routed to it (mostly related to length of an incoming or out going call) and organize it for you. You can then have it print out reports on specific topics such as calls made using account code 1234, or call made from extension 301 or the 20 most expensive calls made during the last 30 days etc.
Caller ID: Requires a display feature of some kind shows the number of the person calling. Increasingly it also shows the name of the person or company that phone number is registered to.
Call Forward: (also call follow me) This is mostly an internal feature that allows you to route your call to another extension. Example: Tony is going to be in Patty's office for an hour or so reviewing safety procedures. He forwards his telephones to anyone e trying to call him will get automatically transferred to Patty's office SEE External call forwarding
Call Pick Up: Generally involves dialing a code that will permit you to pick up either a ringing call or a call that was put on hold at another extension: Example #1: Everyone is out to lunch an Nick hears the operators phone ringing. Nick picks up his phone hits the intercom button plus *63 and answers the call. Example #2 Nick needs information available only on the computer in Accounting, which is on the other side of the office. Nick transfers the call into a call pick up bin (basically a form of hold), goes to Accounting hits intercom (or a designated call pick up key) plus the generally 2 number (25, 33, 66 etc.) code associated with that bin and picks up the call. This feature is actually pretty handy and much easier to us than it sounds
Class of Service: This is another aspect of toll restriction. It allows you to define specific parameters for the outgoing call privileges or need of different departments or groups of workers For Example: Lou and Sally Intl. has decided that that Bookkeeping and the warehouse need access only to local calls They are therefore assigned to Class 01. Sales and Customer Service need access to local calls and any call within the 3 State area. They are assigned to Class 02. Purchasing Collections as well as upper management should be free to call anywhere and are therefore assigned to Class 03
Conference: (Also known as Add on Conference or Multi-line Conference) The ability to having a telephone conversation with 2 or more people.
Delayed Ringing. SEE Flexible Ringing
Direct Station Selection (DSS): This allows you to both view the activity status of another station (Hank in sales is either using the phone or he not using it or he has phone on Do Not Disturb DND -SEE Below-) and one touch a key to intercom or transfer a call to another station. A Busy Lamp Field is similar to Direct Station Selection except that you can view only (not one touch intercom) another station
Distinctive Ringing: Allows you to program lines so that audibly determine which line is ringing. Example; Calls to Sales are set up for " 2 rings PAUSE, 2 rings PAUSE" All other calls are set up for " 4 rings PAUSE, 4 rings PAUSE. Allow options used manufactures use include varieties in pitch, tone and loudness.
Direct Inward System Access (DISA): The allows an employee who is working outside the office to make call using the using the lower costs of your long distance service as opposed to the higher costs that may be charged by a Payphone or calling card. Example: Lisa just left a meeting downtown and receives a page to call one of her clients in New York. Lisa makes a local call to the office and then using the DISA feature calls her New York client. (In most systems this can be done without bothering the receptionist or company operator) The company long distance carrier charges only .14 per minute as opposed to Lisa's company calling card at .75 per minute or the Payphone at 1.40 per minute.
Do Not Disturb (DND): This feature basically is used to let everyone else in the office know that you are busy or otherwise want to be left alone. For individuals using an Automatic Call Distribution System (ACD) the DND feature is used to tell the system calls should not be routed to your extension (you may be doing paperwork from the last call or away from your desk for some reason, such as lunch)
DTMF Dial Pulse Trunks: This simply means that the phone system is capable of working with either type Touch Tone or Rotary lines supplied by your local phone company
Equal Access: All local phone companies in the United States are required to provide you with 1+ dialing to the pre selected long distance carrier of your choice.
External Call Forwarding: This allows you to forward your calls anyplace outside of the phone system. This includes your home, your portable phone, the office you'll be spending the day at etc.
Exclusive Hold: Putting a call on hold so that it can be picked up only at the station that initiated the hold. Prevents someone from picking up your on hold call by accident or mistaking it for an incoming call.
Fax Discrimination: Generally an external device that determines whether an incoming call is a voice call or a fax call. If it is a fax call it routes the call to the fax machine, if it’s a voice call it routes it into the telephone system. Many external fax discrimination devices also have a transfer code for use when the person faxing has placed the call using the fax machine handset
Fax Management (Facsimile Adapter etc.): Many systems allow you to set up the fax machine as station of the phone system. This allows you to share your fax line with your phone system and it some cases allows you to transfer an incoming call to the fax. Example: Mary calls Todd using the phone portion of her fax from her fax machine because she wants to speak to him before she sends the fax. She calls Todd and after she has her discussion with him he transfer her to his fax machine using the fax management feature.
Flash: Generally a specific feature button on the telephone that can have many uses some of which include acting as a substitute transfer key, automatically hanging up one call then accessing another line to make another one and easily switching to another call when that line has call waiting. On single line phones used in multi-line systems the Flash key is the gateway to using just about every feature in the system including system hold.
Flexible Ringing: Allows you to customize the ringing of incoming lines: Example #1 Lines 1 and 2 are for sales and ring at extensions 301 through 307 all other lines ring at extensions 308 through 320 Example #2 If after 4 rings incoming calls are not picked up by the operator at extension 300 the phones at extensions 301 through 305 will ring. This is also known as Delayed Ringing or in some cases Ringing Preference
Forced and Verifiable Account Codes: Depending on how its set up this feature makes for mandatory addition of any one of a number of pre programmed account codes, usually (but not always) before you make an out going call. This forces the user to provide management with information it needs for call tracking or billing purposes.
Hands-free Operation or Full speakerphone: The ability to hear and speak to someone on an outside call without picking up the telephone handset
Hands-free On Intercom Only (HFAI): The ability to have a conversation without lifting the handset only when using the intercom and not on outside calls.
Hold: Hold
Hotline: This is a special connection between two extensions ( although sometimes more than that) whereby whenever one extension goes off hook ( lifts up the handset) they are instantly voice intercom'd directly to another station (or sometimes to a page speaker). EX; Jenny in Purchasing has a Hotline phone set up directly to Sid in the Warehouse
Hunting -Group Hunting, Line Hunting, Hunt Groups: Anytime a call is able to try several different places to get through it its known as Hunting. For instance when you have a main phone number and several other numbers that an incoming call can go to if the main number is busy, that is known as a Hunting sequence or Line Hunting and the those lines together are known as a Hunt Group. (In some places there also known as Rollover Lines) Your local phone company almost always provides this type of hunting. Within some phone systems you can put several extensions together for maybe the Service Department, so that while the operator /receptionist transfers the call to only ONE EXTENSION NUMBER yet that call will actually hunt over those several extensions to find the individual service person not on the phone This is known as Group Hunting
KSU - Key Service Unit: For the most part KSU's on a phone system are similar to the mainframe on a computer. . It is the brain of the telephone system in the same way workstations is dependent on the main frame to operate, so too are phones on almost all business telephone systems. Most KSU's consist of 5 basic types of cards:
Station Cards: Printed circuit cards or modules in the KSU or Control unit that hook directly into the telephones
Trunk Cards: Printed circuit cards or modules in the KSU or Control unit that hook into the your lines (phone numbers) from the telephone company
Central Processing Units (CPU): This printed circuit card or module contains all the features and capabilities of the system, plus help all the other cards work together. It is for the most part the “brain” of the phone system.
Tone Cards: Provides internal dial tone and in many cases work with the trunk cards to help the system make outgoing calls.
Auxiliary (AUX) Cards: These generally are designed to work with specialty lines (like T-1 circuits- see below) from the phone company or your long distance carrier
Last Number Redial: Redials the last number made from that station or in some cases using that specific line.
Manuel Signaling: The use of a specially designated button on the telephone to electronically signal another individual station EX: Mary has a manual signaling button set up on her phone to her boss Harvey for whenever Harvey had another phone call. Her Manual signal key does not work for her when she is taking calls for Richard during his secretary Cindy's break for lunch. She would need a separate additional manual signaling button to do that.
Music/ Message on Hold: Allows an outside caller to hear something other than silence when put on hold. Message on hold is great way to provide information and advertise to a basically captive audience that is (usually) somewhat in the information provided. Music on Hold requires a music source usually a radio. Message on Hold requires either an analogue tape source (tape recorder) or digital microchip oriented tape source, the latter of which while more expensive can run literally forever with almost no degradation in sound quality. Note: Re-broadcasting music without written permission is a violation of Federal Copyright laws.
Message Waiting: Gives you the ability to visually (usually by lighting a designated message waiting light) that you need to speak with them. On most systems you can press a button on your telephone or dial a feature code (intercom * 33 etc.) and be directly connected to the person who initiated the message wait signal.
Mute: Allows you to continue listening to a caller while speaking to someone else that is in the office with you. The caller is unable to any separate conversation and in most cases will not even know they have lost your undivided attention. On most systems this feature is available on speakerphone only, although on some it may also be available on the handset.
Night Ring: Night Mode An alternate ringing sequence for that is generally activated after business hours or when the receptionist goes to lunch. Night Mode often adds tighter outgoing Toll Restriction programming as well as a change of Line Ringing
Off Premise Extension (OPX)” Basically a dedicated intercom link between 2 offices - or more commonly 2 buildings. The originating site - which usually requires special equipment to be added to the control unit (KSU) - is able to transfer calls and otherwise intercom the destination or receiving site. The receiving site can have full access to the originating sites intercom and can even make outgoing call over the originating sites telephone lines. It cannot however transfer calls to the originating site. For that you need a TIE line. OPX circuits usually need to be set up by and leased from your local phone company
Paging internal / External /All Call/ Zone Internal: Paging is the capability to speak to everyone over multiple telephone sets and/or sometimes an external paging system. This is generally an intercom related function. External paging allows you to address paging in areas where you have and external device such as a speaker or paging horn All Call Page is the ability to address both. Zone Paging is the ability to reach a selected area of the office normally without disturbing others who don't need to hear the page being made; EX; Zone 3 addresses only the telephones in Purchasing and the 2 paging horns in the Warehouse
Private Line (B1 Line): Any dedicated line that is not in any way part of a Hunt or Rollover Group
Power Failure Transfer: If your office electricity goes off this feature keeps at least one phone in the system working by using the power provided over your incoming phone lines by your local telephone company
Privacy, Privacy Release: Privacy ensures that while you are on the telephone line no one can break in. Privacy Release turns off this function, in most cases to more easily let another extension in for purposes of establishing a conference
Save: This is sort of a cross between a redial button and a speed dial key. Like a redial feature you can keep a specific number for future use after you have manually out-dialed the number and without going through any extensive programming procedures. Like a speed dial key it holds the number in memory until it is replaced EX: Cindy is setting up a surprise party for her boss. All day she has been making periodic calls to a caterer downtown. It’s not worth wasting a speed dial key on the caterer whom she may never call again. The redial key doesn't help because she is making other calls in between so she uses her Save Button.
Speed Dial or Auto Dial: Allows you to store a list of frequently dialed telephone numbers. On most systems there are two types of Speed Dial, System Speed Dial in which numbers are stored for use by all phones and Personal Speed Dial in which numbers are store for us by an individual phone only.
TIE LINES: This is a dedicated line between two offices similar to an OPX line except that with this type of circuit both offices can intercom and make out going call through the others office. TIE LINES essentially allow two offices (and two phone systems) in different locations to operate as one telephone system. Generally requires special software and/or hardware on both systems to operate.
T-1: A single line provided by the local phone company, Long Distance Company or both. This single circuit can deliver up to 24 lines or circuits at a time. It also requires either special circuit cards or a separate translation device known as a local and log distance calls. A Fractional T-1 is very similar except that it contains often as few as 8 lines or circuits
Transfer: The ability to send a call from one place to another.
Voice Mail: Probably one of the most misunderstood communication devices ever made. In its most basic form it is a giant answering machine that callers or others can leave messages for many different people. IT DOES NOT ANSWER THE TELEPHONE!! Most voice mails however do have an Automated Attendant built in that can be set up to answer the phones and this is the thing that –when set up improperly- most people HATE! Many businesses's (including ours we think) use voicemails very successfully without ever having incoming calls " picked up by a machine"
IP Telephony: Anything related to have phone calls or information sent over the Internet.
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