Set Up A Dialer To Test All Ivr-lines

[Guest lorer]

We accept calls from 23 incoming lines, all on FCTs (fixed cellular terminals), picked up by IVR - Voiceguide.

FCTs are unreliable devices (or GSM technology in general) and often fail. When one of the FCTs fail, it blocks the lines behind, too, from taking calls, and we don't receive ANY calls. Hence we need to test the GSM lines from time to time, to find out which of the 23 lines is not responding.

A test constitutes of

a. call each GSM number one by one,

b. wait till the number rings.

If the number just "rings" or is busy, then it's OK. But if it's out of reach, i.e. the standard carrier message "the number you have called cannot be reached at this time" is heard, then it needs our intervention: simply power off the FCT and power it back on.

Can we set up a VG-Dialer script to do this automatically for all the lines??

A nice-to-have & extra requirement: We just need to test if it rings or not. We don't want the IVR to pick up VG-dialer's call, because then the automated test call would cost to us.

Anybody have similar experiences ?

Thanks in advance for responses.

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[SupportTeam]

What FCTs (fixed cellular terminals) are you using? Please advise make, model and web site.

 

Is it even possible to have them reset using a program running on a PC?

 

You should perhaps ask the manufacturer of the FCT to see if they have any fixes for their product...

 

Do you have any alternative (more reliable) FCTs you can try using?

[Guest lorer]

The FCTs are standard Ericsson F250m. I don't think we can do much with them: they're simple devices with just an analog phone line output and an AC input.

The failure is just as often GSM related or event something stupid, like an unpaid phone bill.

My question was related to VG-Dialer: whether we can set up a VG-Dialer script that dials each number (that's answered by the IVR) one-by-one. This does not need to be scheduled, nor does it need to be automatically started when lines are stuck or something. We'll simply start it manually when we feel the need for it.

Currently we do this test totally manually: I ask one of the call center agents call each number on her cell phone.

Thanks.

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[SupportTeam]

When the Ericsson F250m stops working what does the caller who calls that device hears? Would it be a busy tone or some sort of a disconnect tone? Dose the Telco perhaps play some sort of a 'tri-tone'/SIT-tone? Or does it just play a recorded message saying that 'this number could not be reached'?

 

As you are using Analog lines then the determination of whether the call has been answered or not is really determined by the Dialogic card listening to what is happening on the phone line (with digital lines the telco sends a separate 'connected' signal, so you know without any doubt if a call is answered).

 

 

For you scenario the best approach would be to set up an XML "OutDial" file which would list all the numbers to be called.

 

Have the OutDial file set up to call each of the mobile telephone numbers which the Ericsson F250m devices should answer, and specify the "OnNotConnected" field to be a VB Script of your choice which does the alerting if a call was not answered.

 

This "OnNotConnected" will then be ran by VG when a call is not answered.

 

If however a phone company does not play any 'tri-tone'/SIT-tone (which it should) before playing any announcements that 'this call could not be connected' then the Dialogic card could think that the call was answered by an answering machine...

 

The way work with this situation is to have the answering machine script to send a series of DTMF tones - which your main script which answers calls from the Ericsson F250m device will recognize and then reply to with another DTMF tone(s). If the answering machine script hears the correct reply then all is OK, else it too will raise the alarm.

 

So your OutDial file should be series of entries like this:

 

<OutDialEntry>

<PhoneNumber>5551234</PhoneNumber>

<OnAnswer>C:\YourDtmfSendingScript.vgs</OnAnswer>

<OnAnswerMachine>C:\YourDtmfSendingScript.vgs</OnAnswerMachine>

<CallRetries>0</CallRetries>

<OnNotConnected>C:\YourAlertMessageSCript.vbs</OnNotConnected>

</OutDialEntry>

 

And just copy your file to OutDial_New.xml in VoiceGuide's \data\ subdirectory whenever you want to make the test. VG will read in the file and queue the calls to be made (you can automate this scheduling as well...)

 

 

Another way of approaching this to design the "YourDtmfSendingScript.vgs" to save the record of a successful call to some results file, and then some time after starting the test just check the results file to see what phone numbers have not yet answered... but you may get false alerts during times of high system load...