VoIP.ms

[Nicholas Andre, Operations Director]

In looking for home VoIP solutions, I stumbled upon voip.ms, an online VoIP provider but with some interesting add-on functionality. Highlights:

• Local, Medford DIDs
• Hosted IVR (Press 1 for x, press 2 for x)
• Voicemail with Email notification + attached recordings
  
• Ring groups (ring multiple extensions simultaneously)
• call forwarding (pressing 3 forwards to the ops cell phone)
  
• Supports SIP clients (like phones, ATAs)
• Supports SMS with a Web API (including URL callbacks when messages are received, allowing us to accept SMS messages on the listener line)

In other words, this provides a lot of the FreePBX/Asterisk functionality in a hosted environment basically for free/per minute in a much better package than I've seen before.

So:

1. Change listener line to VoIP hosted environment with phone number swap.
2. Add an IVR ("To connect with the DJ, press 1. To file a complaint to WMFO management, press 2. To inquire about getting involved, press 3. To contact the GM, press 4.")
   
3. Allows us to support as many lines as needed (you can have six people call in and fill 6 slots on an ATA without any of them getting a busy signal: it's organized in channels and not lines)
4. A simple web app filtered by IP address on Duke would allow the talk host to engage listeners over SMS. We would probably have to do our due diligence making the system reply only (so you couldn't "start" a conversation with a phone, you could only reply) and those conversations would "time out" and disappear from the list after a set amount of inactivity with no history data accessible internally.

Worth a call to Telos support to talk about more advanced NX6 functionality.

Plus monthly hosted means no equipment to maintain.

Thanks,

Nicholas Andre

Operations Director

WMFO Medford

[Andy Sayler]

That may work. I do like the idea of sticking with a hosted solution: doing Linux, etc in house is one thing, but finding future people who know how to properly run a PBX server seems a lot bigger of a risk.

Per minute billing may be tricky, however: you'd have to ask Annie if Tufts can set that up on one of the TCU cards so it just gets billed to our TCU account.

A feature to make sure it supports: automatic forwarding to different cell phones at different times/days. That would let you set up an ops rotation where a different person is "on call" each day and dialing the "ops" number (or dialing the main number a selecting the Ops extension) automatically forwards to a specific person's cell phone for a given day, etc. Being able to fallback to a secondary person if the primary doesn't answer would be cool as well. At the very least you'd want it to support a forwarding group where all Ops team members phones get the ring when the Ops line is called and the first person to pickup gets the call.

Texting would be cool, but setting up a chat system is probably higher priority, and doesn't rely on dealing with the phone system. Might be a good jumping off point for future expansion into SMS, etc.

Also, I'm not sure if Tufts will let you transfer the 3800 number to another service. Thus, you may have to either keep the 3800 line (maybe they can forward it to another number for us) or be content with switching to a new station phone number. Keeping the 3800 number on campus has another benefit: people can call the station from the telephone box downstairs in Curtis just by dialing our extension. Comes in handy for locked-out DJs w/o a cell phone.

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[Nicholas Andre, Operations Director]

I agree. With this system you can deposit in as large increments as you like as needed (of course if you don't refill the phones shut off...). You also have the option of purchasing the DID with a "virtual channel" which gives you up to 3500 minutes/month along with the number for $6/month or something.

I roughed out an SMS system here: http://sms.axfp.org/

If you send an SMS to (617) 440-4246 your number should show up on the home page. Then you can reply to it by clicking on the link, and the chat history shows up above. If no messages are received from the phone number for 60 minutes, the number disappears (so if you perpetually send messages to someone's cell phone it will eventually fall off the list).

Also, it's free (for now) as long as you own the DID.

--Nick

Thanks,

Nicholas Andre

Operations Director

WMFO Medford

[Nicholas Andre, Operations Director]

After talking with Derek, I have a tentative plan for VoIP implementation at the studio:

The phone system will be hosted on VoIP.ms and will involve purchased local numbers. The cost per number is $1.50/month, plus 1 cent/minute for calls in the continental US. You can enable international destinations to invite call fraud.

We will have the following numbers:

• Listener Line - Gets an IVR, see below
  
• Station Access Line - Rings a separate line/flasher with phones in Studio A, B, and one in the lounge. This way people besides the DJ can respond to these requests.
• Ops on-call line - Will (depending on time condition configuration) reach the "ops person on call." We can also set up a "ring group" which will successively try all the numbers in an order.

For the listener line, they will hear "Thank you for calling the WMFO Listener line. To reach the DJ on-air, press 1. To leave a message for station management, press 2. For the music department, press 3."

1. Once you press one, you'll hear a recording "We're connecting you to the WMFO on-air DJ, who will answer your call at a break in programming." and "on-hold" music rather than perpetual ringing. We can configure as many station lines as we want and have all of the "available" lines ring simultaneously.
2. Numbers two and three will drop the listeners to voicemails configured to email the appropriate inbox with the recording.
3. We can also configure a "hidden" number which can direct the caller to a dedicated line for show guests.
   

For implementation, I can start with a proof of concept and rig it up in parallel with the current system for demonstration purposes. Interesting?

Thanks,

Nicholas Andre

Operations Director

WMFO Medford

[Andy Sayler]

Sounds like fun. I agree a demo system is probably a good place to start/evaluate before dumping the Tufts lines, etc.