Multi-Tech Systems MVPFXS-16 - Manual (Page 32)

Phonebook Tips MultiVOIP FXS Quick Start Guide
32
Phonebook Tips
Preparing the phonebook for your voip system is a complex task that, at first, seems quite daunting. These
tips may make the task easier.
1.
Use Dialing Patterns, Not Complete Phone Numbers
. You will not generally enter complete phone numbers
in the voip phonebook. Instead, you’ll enter “destination patterns” that involve area codes and other digits.
If the destination pattern is a whole area code, you’ll be assigning all calls to that area code to go to a
particular voip which has a unique IP address. If your destination pattern includes an area code plus a
particular local phone exchange number, then the scope of calls sent through your voip system will be
narrowed (only calls within that local exchange will be handled by the designated voip, not all calls in that
whole area code). In general, when there are fewer digits in your destination pattern, you are asking the
voip to handle calls to more destinations.
2.
The Four Types of Phonebook Digits Used. Important!
“Destination patterns” to be entered in your phonebook will generally consist of:
(a) calling area codes,
(b) access codes,
(c) local exchange numbers, and
(d) specialized codes.
Although voip phonebook entries may look confusing at first, it’s useful to remember that all the digits in
any phonebook entry must be of one of these four types.
(a)
calling area codes
. There are different names for these around the world: “area codes,” “city codes,”
“country codes,” etc. These codes, are used when making non-local calls. They always precede the phone
number that would be dialed when making a local call.
(b)
access codes
. There are digits (PSTN access codes) that must be dialed to gain access to an operator, to
access the publicly switched ‘long-distance’ calling system(North America), to access the publicly switched
‘national’ calling system (Europe and elsewhere), or to access the publicly switched ‘international’ calling
system (worldwide).
There are digits (PBX access codes) that must be dialed by phones connected to PBX systems or key systems.
Often a “9” must be dialed on a PBX phone to gain access to the PSTN (‘to get an outside line’). Sometimes
“8” must be dialed on a PBX phone to divert calls onto a leased line or to a voip system. However,
sometimes PBX systems are ‘smart’ enough to route calls to a voip system without a special access code (so
that “9” might still be used for all calls outside of the building).
There are also digits (special access codes) that must be dialed to gain access to a particular discount long-
distance carrier or to some other closed or proprietary telephone system.
(c)
local exchange numbers
. Within any calling area there will be many local exchange numbers. A single
exchange may be used for an entire small town. In cities, an exchange may be used for a particular
neighborhood (although exchanges in cities do not always cover easily discernible areas). Organizations
like businesses, governments, schools, and universities are also commonly assigned exchange numbers for
their exclusive use. In some cases, these organizational-assigned exchanges can become non-localized
because the exchange is assigned to one facility and linked, by the organization’s private network, to other
sometimes distant locations.
(d)
specialized codes
. Some proprietary voip units assign, to sites and phone stations, numbers that are not
compatible with PSTN numbering. This can also occur in PBX or key systems. These specialized numbers
must be handled on a case-by-case basis.