AnswerStat News

May 2004

Amcom Announces Partner Program for Emergency Notification Product

Amcom Software announced its Emergency Notification Channel Partner Program, which will enable partners to resell Amcom Emergency Notification and Response systems.  The Amcom Emergency Notification and Response product is designed to help communications centers quickly and reliably initiate, manage, and monitor notifications.  The Amcom Channel Partner Program will provide partners with technical information, training, and marketing support to promote, sell, and support this application.

"Amcom's long-term success in messaging, paging, IVR, web, and rules-based database transaction processing make us the ideal notification system provider," said Jack Collins, Amcom President and CEO.

            The Amcom system automates calling trees for any notification need including disruptions such as phone and network outages, power interruptions, staffing shortages, fire, inclement weather, and traffic slowdowns.  Moreover, it enables administrators to see which people have received the message and whether they can respond to the event.  The system automatically escalates until the right number of people respond.  Amcom Emergency Notification and Response is also ideal for everyday situations, such as staffing shortages, group messaging, meeting scheduling, and surveys or signups.  

For more information, call 800-852-8935.

1Call Introduces Enterprise Directories Module

The 1Call Division of Amtelco introduced their new 1Call enterprise directories module, adding a number of features.  1Call directories are ideal to store large amounts of related information, such as employees, physicians, and patients.   

The new enhancements include:

• Unlimited Size - Directories now feature an unlimited number of directory subjects, listings, fields, and field sizes. 

• Sophisticated Search Capabilities - The Directory Search window is always displayed, allowing operators to quickly and easily refine their searches.

• Detailed View - Each listing can have additional information, even including Web links, graphics, and animated graphics.  The color and size of the fonts can be adjusted for better readability. 

• Pictures - To enhance security, pictures can now be added to directory listings.  Pictures can be imported directly from digital cameras and other external graphic files.

• Actions - Operators now have one-key access to functions, such as Call Transfer, Dial, Change Client, Take a Message, Page, and much more.

The 1Call Enterprise Series is designed to save valuable time, increase accuracy, and improve communications by providing streamlined enterprise-wide access to information in healthcare organizations.

For more information, contact 1Call at 800-356-9148 or info@1call.com.

Bellin Health Selects IntelliCare

Bellin Health has selected the IntelliView® contact center application from IntelliCare, a provider of medical contact center services and technology, to enhance its call center capabilities.  Based in Green Bay , WI , Bellin Health is an integrated health care delivery system comprised of Bellin Hospital , Psychiatric Center , and Bellin Medical Group.

Bellin Health's call center currently handles approximately 10,000 calls per month in support of two health systems, three hospitals, 28 clinics, ten health system service initiatives, and a free community clinic.  The IntelliView technology will help Bellin Health expand its call center services, including community nurse-line and after-hours triage, and consumer-to-physician referral as well as class and event registration services. 

According to Jill Bourdelais, Team Leader of TeleHealth Services at Bellin Health, a key reason for selecting IntelliCare's technology was because it could be deployed via an application service provider (ASP) model.  "Using IntelliView via an ASP model was the ideal option for expanding our call center services without having to increase capital investment or incur additional costs," she said.

Bourdelais added that Bellin's nurses were impressed with the flexibility of IntelliView's triage call processing capabilities and real time on-line information sharing.  This allows calls to be processed more efficiently and accurately, with improved documentation as Bellin moves toward integration with its patients' EMR (Electronic Medical Record).

IntelliCare, Inc. provides services and technology for patient and provider healthcare communications.

Telescan Releases Spectrum Messenger

Telescan released their new program for interactive text messaging, called Spectrum Messenger.  It provides secure, encrypted communications across a local-area network and the Internet.  Spectrum Messenger can be used with any call-center system or as a stand-alone intra-office communication medium.

"The difference between Spectrum Messenger and other instant messaging programs is that it allows the manager to select who can send and receive messages in a secure environment," said Bob Vornberg, Telescan's Director of Product Development.  "Messenger can broadcast text messages to a defined group or to all users.  It selectively distributes document files, locally or over the Internet," he added.

Spectrum Messenger will allow call center clients to communicate directly with an agent via secure, filtered email.  Agents can reply to those messages instantly. 

For more information on Spectrum Messenger, contact Patty Anderson Director of Sales, at 800-770-7662 or email her at patty@telescan.net.

Corvis to Acquire Focal Communications

Corvis Corporation announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Chicago-based competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) Focal Communications Corporation, a nationwide provider of voice and data services.  Corvis Corporation is the parent company of Broadwing Communications.

"We believe that Focal meets all the criteria we've previously discussed for a strategic acquisition.  Clearly, Focal will help further support our growth strategy for Broadwing," said Dr. David Huber, Corvis chairman and CEO.  "Focal will help us expand our nationwide network footprint and reduce our access costs.  They will also help add valuable customers and revenue without putting undue stress on our balance sheet."

The Company said it has agreed to acquire Focal for a total consideration of $210 million.  The transaction will be comprised of approximately $101 million in equity to be issued to Focal's existing equity holders and the assumption or payment of approximately $109 million of Focal's existing debt and other long-term capital lease obligations.

Focal expects to report annual revenues of approximately $320.0 million for fiscal 2003.  As of December 31, 2003 , Focal had cash and cash equivalents of $24.9 million.

Contact Chuck Boyce, Authorized Focal Agent, at 302-777-0535 for more information.

Court Strikes Down FCC Price Controls of Telephone Networks

The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated much of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) rules that force telephone carriers to lease their networks to rivals at government-mandated prices, according to Braden Cox, Technology Counsel, Competitive Enterprise Institute.  "This decision is an important victory for consumers and free markets.  Companies will now have greater incentive to invest in infrastructure, which will in turn accelerate job growth and innovation."

"The court determined that the FCC's delegation of decision-making authority to state public utility commissioners was unlawful," he added.  "The court also upheld the FCC rules that did not mandate competitor access to broadband networks.  The court, however, did determine that the FCC had reasonably justified that unbundling of broadband would skew investment incentives in undesirable ways and that competition from cable companies provides significant competition within the broadband market.  This is the FCC's third attempt at interpreting the 1996 Telecommunications Act that has been struck down by a federal court."

Amcom Announces Console with MSAC Functionality

Amcom Software announced that it has successfully completed Nortel Networks verification testing of Amcom's Basic Operator Services System (BOSS) for Nortel DMS-100 and SL-100 switches.  The BOSS is a replacement for Meridian Services Attendant Consoles (MSAC), which were discontinued by Nortel.

In addition to providing call-handling, control, and security features, the BOSS provides agents with a set of applications including directory services, paging, messaging, and on-call scheduling.  An additional headset or handset jack is included for supervised call monitoring. 

The BOSS enables agents to perform everyday functions such as answering, parking, holding, and transferring calls.  Additional features include position busy, end-to-end signally, busy verification, and display of queued calls.  Functions for controlling lines and trunks include call forwarding, do-not-disturb, serial calls, trouble key, and trunk access control.

The console can be installed at each operator PC as a complete replacement for the MSAC console or can be connected to a Linux server, where non-call related MSAC features will be available to all agents through one BOSS device.  The connection between the BOSS and the operator workstation is Ethernet-based (not USB), providing reliability and supporting migration to full IP-based consoles and operators. 

The introduction of the BOSS console reinforces Amcom's policy of switch independence for its software solutions, ensuring that call centers can utilize Amcom CTI solutions regardless of which type of PBX switch they are using.  Amcom routinely visits the labs of the PBX partners to ensure on-going compatibility as its new software releases are introduced.

For more information about Amcom attendant consoles, call 800-852-8935.

1Call Announces Enterprise Dispatching Module

The 1Call Division of Amtelco is pleased to introduce the new 1Call enterprise dispatching module.  Prompt and accurate message processing and dispatching are vital to healthcare call centers.  The enterprise dispatching module streamlines the process, quickly and accurately getting messages delivered to physicians and staff. 

When operators save a message, they see a list of dispatch options.  They can then perform multiple dispatch methods for the message, such as paging, calling a cellular phone, and calling a home phone.  As each action is completed, it is checked off as complete, helping staff ensure they are taking the appropriate actions for each message.

Supervisors set up the dispatch lists for each physician or staff member in advance, controlling which options are displayed for each.  Operators can also enter follow-up notes, ensuring that anyone can accurately dispatch the message.

A new dispatch search screen allows operators to quickly locate messages, on-call schedules, status settings, and follow-up tasks.  Using this, operators see detailed information about each.  This saves time and reduces errors by instantly showing operators what tasks need to be completed.

For more information, contact 1Call at 800-356-9148 or info@1call.com

Economists Urge President to Support Investment in Telecommunications

Recently, a group of economists and policy analysts wrote to President Bush urging his support for investment in new telecommunication technologies.  Citing the President's announced commitment to the spread of broadband nationally, the letter's signatories advised him to stop the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from continuing to fight for burdensome regulations that the federal courts have consistently ruled against.  The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals most recently struck down the FCC's rules in March.

The letter points out the essential flaw in the FCC "unbundling" regulations, which forces owners of networks to make their facilities available to competitors on government-mandated terms.  "Businesses now taking advantage of current FCC rules characterize themselves as free-market ‘competitors,' but they would be more accurately labeled as resellers of telecommunication services created and provided by others.  They exploit the FCC's rules to obtain forced access to all the necessary facilities, which have been created by other companies."

The signers advocate a more open market: "The communications industry is at a historical turning point.  New broadband networks are the future in voice and data communications.  As broadband becomes ever more available and affordable, we can expect rapid growth in new products and technologies, creating gains in jobs and productivity that will benefit all Americans.  We ask that this Administration focus on the gains to the American economy and the American consumer from encouraging new investment in broadband, rather than on defending the current regulatory regime."

CEI is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government.

ATA Takes DNC to the Supreme Court

The Board of Directors for the American Teleservices Association (ATA) announced that it would challenge the recent decision by a federal appeals court regarding the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry by seeking review by the United States Supreme Court.

"The ATA will continue its fight for the protection of commercial free speech guaranteed under the First Amendment," said Tim Searcy, Executive Director of the ATA.  "We believe that the rights to free speech are being unduly trampled under the guise of consumer protection, and now we'll take our appeal to the highest level."

On February 17th, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the National Do Not Call Registry.  The Appeals Court decision overturned the September ruling of the U.S. District Court of Colorado, which found that the regulations relating to the DNC registry were unconstitutional.  The district court had found that the rules violated free speech protections by barring calls from businesses but not charities and political calls.

According to Searcy, the ATA would like to see regulations that allow consumers to control incoming calls through company-specific ‘do-not-call' lists that require individual companies to refrain from calling consumers who indicate that they do not wish to receive calls.

CallCenterJobs.com Expands Partnership with TelePlaza.com

CallCenterJobs.com announced today that it has renewed and expanded its partnership with TelePlaza.com to provide TelePlaza visitors with job openings available throughout the call center, customer service, help desk, and telesales industry.  CallCenterJobs.com will deliver TelePlaza.com industry content for visitors relative to specific Metro Areas.

TelePlaza.com organizes and categorizes online call center information, providing more than 850 links to industry-related websites including software or outsourcing suppliers, associations, publications, consultants, conferences, white papers, and press releases.  

"Having a presence on TelePlaza.com has helped us attract passive job seekers that do not visit the national career sites each month," explained Jim Moylan, Marketing Director for CallCenterJobs.com.  "Over the past year, 21 percent of the resumes we have added to the database have originated from TelePlaza.com.  The passive job seeker is one reason why CallCenterJobs.com employers like the site."

The expanded partnership will enable TelePlaza.com to provide CallCenterJobs.com visitors with industry information in specific metropolitan areas.  Both websites are sources for locating information and jobs related to the call center, customer service, and telemarketing marketplace.  TelePlaza.com hosted more than 21,000 visitors and CallCenterJobs.com handled more than 82,000 visitors in January 2004.

Graybar to Carry Quintum VoIP Equipment

Quintum Technologies, Inc., a manufacturer of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) equipment, signed a distribution agreement with Graybar, North America 's largest wholesale distributor of telecommunications, networking, and electrical equipment.  This will expand Graybar's product and service offerings in the VoIP communications arena, and provide Quintum with a new sales channel.  The complete Quintum product line is available from Graybar immediately.

Graybar's customers are rapidly adopting VoIP technologies.  Graybar's resellers are certified communications and data contractors who install VoIP systems.  "Graybar recognizes the growing importance of convergence in today's business environment," said Al E. Eddings, Vice President, comm-data products, Graybar.  "Quintum's unique Tenor switch solutions, which support a host of new VoIP applications, will provide our customers with a cost effective platform that installs easier into their customers' existing networks than traditional VoIP gateways."

"We are pleased to be working with one of the premier distributors of communications products," said Charles Rutledge, Vice President of Marketing for Quintum.  Quintum's products include the award-winning Tenor MultiPath Switches, the Tenor Call Routing Server, and the Tenor Call Relay.  Quintum's Tenor product line offers a wide range of features.

1Call Introduces Enterprise On-Call Scheduling Module

The 1Call Division of Amtelco introduced the new 1Call enterprise on-call scheduling module, adding several enhancements.  New enhancements include:

• On-Call Calendar Views - New calendars make it easier for users and operators to see at a glance who is on-call.  In addition, other information is displayed including a list of all on-call schedules; a monthly calendar showing days with complete, partial, and empty schedules; and a list of resource names.

• Drag-and-Drop Scheduling - Users can enter schedules by simply dragging the designated resource name onto the desired time slot. 

• On-Call Schedule Shifts - Specific times can now be entered for shifts such as times for first, second, and third shifts, as well as any other special shifts, such as holidays.  With this feature, the user selects a shift and the times are automatically entered, saving time and ensuring accuracy. 

• Recurring Schedules - Users can enter recurring daily, weekly, and monthly schedules without copying or manually entering them. 

• On-Call Time Zones - Time zones can now be linked with schedules, helping manage schedules for resources across the country.

For more information, contact 1Call at 800-356-9148 or info@1call.com.

Niche Job Board Community Welcomes TelecomCareers.Net

NicheBoards.com, welcomed a new member, TelecomCareers.Net, to its online community.  TelecomCareers.Net boasts that it has over 190,000 registered telecommunications applicants.  TelecomCareers.Net has also developed partnerships or affiliations with other organizations, including TelephonyOnline.com, USTA.org (Unites States Telecom Association), Wirelessreview.com, and Itjobs.net.  They also cross post their positions to TopUSAJobs.com and Computerwork.com.

"We have quite a story to tell," said Dennis Watzke, Senior Vice President and COO of TelecomCareeers.Net.  "We fired out of the gates in early 1999 and we never looked back.  The company hit a little turbulence in late 2001 with the bursting of the Internet Bubble, 9/11, and the downturn of the economy along with the telecommunications industry.  The amazing thing is we have been profitable since day one and things are starting to move again."

NicheBoards.com is a marketing and share-group alliance of leading, non-competing niche job boards.  The mission is to provide employers and recruiters with cost effective solutions to hire the most qualified candidates across a spectrum of professions and industries.  NicheBoards.com comprises many niche boards, including Call Center : CallCenterJobs.com, Hispanic/Bilingual: LatPro.com, Human Resources: Jobs4HR.com, Systems/IT Professionals: Computerwork.com, Marketing/Sales: MarketingJobs.com, and Telecom/Wireless: TelecomCareers.net.

Teleflip Launches Free Email to Cell Phones

The patent-pending Teleflip™ service allows anyone to send email to any cell phone without having to actually know the address.  Before the service launched, sending email to a cell phone meant having to know the address for that phone.

 Teleflip™ takes the guesswork out of addressing emails to mobile phones by providing one unique domain that anyone can use to contact any mobile phone, any time.  Simply address an email to anycellnumber@teleflip.com and the message will arrive in within just a few seconds.  The service is free to the user, you don't have to sign up, and there's nothing to register for.  It simply "works."

At the company's website cell phone users who have recently changed service providers can submit their new provider information.  The site also allows users to test whether their cell phones currently accept text messages.

While in beta test, the Teleflip™ service has attracted thousands of users.  While some fear that such a simple and useful service might fall victim to spam attacks, the company insists that every precaution to prevent spam has been taken.

Meta Group Urges Caution with VoIP

While considered by many organizations to be a viable alternative to popular WAN applications, current voice over IP (VoIP) telephony products and implementations demonstrate an alarming lack of protective security measures.  Consequently, enterprises using the technology may be vulnerable to privacy violation, fraud, and malicious attacks, warns Meta Group, Inc.

As voice over the Internet gains popularity as a cost-saving communication application, early IP telephony deployments are still basic and focused more on voice quality and interoperability issues while remaining, in most cases, interconnected to the public switched telephone network.  Although current telephony implementations require security measures to deter basic toll fraud and voicemail intrusion, these systems are not connected with the corporate data infrastructure and are thereby detached from corporate security.  For this reason, organizations must include all IP telephony implementations in overall corporate security initiatives.

"Organizations that adopt voice over IP without a cross-discipline security review are at risk for lost revenue and productivity, including data theft," said Elisabeth Ussher, a vice president at Meta Group.  "Enterprises must consider security in the initial IP telephony design and must adopt holistic security policies."

Meta Group provides information technology research, advisory services, and strategic consulting.

Quintum's Tenor® Monitor™ Delivers Visibility into Alarms and Call Events

Quintum Technologies announced the Tenor Monitor, a new VoIP network management solution that monitors alarms, call events, and Call Detail Records on Tenor-equipped VoIP networks.  By providing graphical visibility into conditions on the network, Tenor Monitor makes it easy for network managers to maintain optimum voice quality while reducing network ownership costs.

Quintum's Tenor Monitor greatly simplifies VoIP network monitoring and can monitor up to 10,000 calls, including attributes such as start times, duration, and disconnect times.  It provides users with full control over monitoring parameters such as refresh times and record buffer size.  It also allows users to pre-schedule monitoring activities and to view "snapshots" of all active alarms at any point in time.

Data can be placed into a choice of statistical line charts and tables, with multi-column sorting capability.  Records are color-coded, enabling network managers to easily determine the criticality of the alarm, call state, and disconnected cause code. Tenor Monitor is included free of charge on Quintum's new Tenor DX MultiPath Switch products. 

Quintum specializes in voice-over-IP technologies.  For more information call 877-773-2547.