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ALLOWED LISTS
Do some of your employees with call restrictions need to call numbers within a specific
area code or exchange code?
Allowed lists add a group of permitted numbers to the calling range of an outward-
or toll-restricted voice terminal. Permitted numbers consist of an area code and/or
exchange code (the first three digits of a 7-digit telephone number) or an emergen-
cy number such as 911.
For example, a New York City customer service representative with a toll-restricted
voice terminal might need to speak with customers in northern New Jersey (area code
201). This person should have area code 201 in his or her allowed list. A clerk in
Houston with an outward-restricted voice terminal might need to call several local
vendors and the company's headquarters in Chicago. The clerk's allowed list would
include the first three digits of the local vendors' telephone numbers and the area
code and first three digits of the firm's Chicago telephone number.
AUTOMATIC ROUTE SELECTION (ARS)
Would you like to be sure your employees place long distance calls through the most
cost-efficient route?
Automatic Route Selection (ARS) allows you to specify which of your line pools pro-
vide the lowest cost and which of your dialing methods is most efficient for particular
types of calls. For example, you may have several WATS line pools that provide the
most economical means of making calls to different areas of the country. For cer-
tain types of long distance calls, you may also use an alternate long distance
telephone company, whose lines are accessible through your main pool. When ARS
is activated, the system automatically selects the available line pool that contains
the preferred lines for a call to that area code or exchange. The caller does not have
to dial the number of a pool to make an outside call. He or she just has to:
Touch a Pool Access button.
Lift the handset.
Dial the outside number.
To get the maximum benefit from ARS, it is important to consider the calling patterns
of people in your business and the relative costs of calls placed on different lines
in your system. If people in your business place calls through different types of lines
(e.g., local lines, in-state WATS lines, cross-country WATS lines, or an alternate long
distance telephone company service) to different areas of the country, you can
designate which type of line you want ARS to choose for different area codes and
exchanges. For example, if you want employees to use the Cross-Country Band 5
WATS lines to call San Francisco, then you can program ARS to route all calls to area
code 415 through the Band 5 WATS line pool. If you also want employees to be able
to call San Francisco through an alternate long distance telephone company ser-
vice when all Band 5 WATS lines are busy, then you can program the alternate ser-
vice as your second choice for routing long distance calls to area code 415.
You can design the most efficient call routing system for your business. Once you
program ARS, MERLIN will automatically place each call through the most
economical available line.
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