Subject: Re: [VoiceOps] Unique DIDs vs. Custom extensions

From: Jay Ashworth <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 2015 11:32:41 -0400 (EDT)

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Alex Balashov" <[email-masked]>

> On 09/15/2015 11:58 AM, Rafael Possamai wrote:
> 
> > WIth that in mind, to me it looks like a big waste of DIDs, and I could
> > use custom extensions instead, with a single DID for everyone. Each
> > end-user is assigned a 5 digit code (an extension pretty much) and gets
> > re-routed accordingly. I believe using Asterisk and/or FreePBX I could
> > still collected all the data that is needed.
> 
> So, you'd be okay with a two-stage process where the caller has to
> enter an extension from an IVR?

Indeed: the issue here is caller cognitive load, and hence it's a business
decision, not a technical one.  If the business case calls for "phone 
numbers", nothing is ever a substitute for DIDs.  

And DIDs are generally *cheap*, especially in blocks that large.

Cheers,
-- jra
-- 
Jay R. Ashworth                  Baylink                       [email-masked]
Designer                     The Things I Think                       RFC 2100
Ashworth & Associates       http://www.bcp38.info          2000 Land Rover DII
St Petersburg FL USA      BCP38: Ask For It By Name!           +1 727 647 1274
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---

From: Jay Ashworth <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 2015 11:35:22 -0400 (EDT)

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jared Smith" <[email-masked]>

> I helped consult on a similar system eight or nine years ago -- at the
> time, my client used Asterisk with PRI channels instead of SIP channels,
> because of the ability to do a two-B-channel transfer and cut himself out
> of the middle of the call after the connecting the caller to the called
> party. Asterisk can initiate the two-B-channel transfer, but as far as I
> know doesn't yet do anything with the message coming back down the PRI
> letting it know when the call has terminated. (Well, that's not entirely
> true -- Asterisk logs an error message, so I assume it wouldn't be too
> hard to actually connect that up to some sort of better logging to be able
> to determine the call duration.)

2BCT is great stuff, if your carrier will give it to you: you don't pay
for the minutes except when they're on your trunks -- and if they're local
trunks, they may still be free cause they're incoming.

Cheers,
-- jra