AT&T IP Flexible Reach Customer Portal: Group Administrator Support

About Inbound Call Features

Grant a User Access to Inbound Call Features

Overview

Inbound call features enable users to manage calls they receive in various ways. For example, using Anonymous Call Rejection, a user can reject calls that don't have caller ID. Call Forwarding features enable a user to automatically forward calls to a different number.

For some features you specify selective criteria that help define when and how the features are activated.

You specify selective criteria rules that evaluate an incoming call to determine whether and how to use a feature. Using selective criteria rules in these features is optional. If you don't define any selective criteria rules, the feature will apply for every call.

As part of managing group user access to the AT&T IP Flexible Reach Customer Portal, you grant users rights to use individual inbound call features, and customize many features.

This section outlines the inbound call features and explains what they do.

Anonymous Call Rejection

The Anonymous Call Rejection feature enables a user to reject calls that don't have caller ID attached. If the caller isn't identified, the user can reject the call. When this feature is activated, Anonymous Call Rejection instantly rejects all anonymous calls, preventing the caller from even leaving a message. This feature also appears as a sub-option of the Call Acceptance, Call Rejection, Sequential Ring, and Simultaneous Ring features.

Anonymous Call Rejection doesn't have selective criteria.

For more information, see Anonymous Call Rejection.

Call Acceptance

The Call Acceptance feature enables a user to define criteria that permit certain incoming calls to ring through. All other calls are blocked, and the caller is informed that the user doesn't want to receive the call.

Call acceptance has selective criteria.

For more information, see Call Acceptance.

Call Forwarding – Always

The Call Forwarding – Always feature enables a user to redirect all incoming calls to another phone number.

Call Forwarding – Always doesn't have selective criteria.

For more information, see Call Forwarding – Always.

Call Forwarding – Busy

The Call Forwarding – Busy feature enables a user to redirect calls to another number when an incoming call encounters a busy condition. The line is considered to be busy when there are too many active calls coming through at once, or when Call Acceptance or Call Rejection is in use.

Call Forwarding – Busy doesn't have selective criteria.

For more information, see Call Forwarding – Busy.

Call Forwarding – No Answer

The Call Forwarding – No Answer feature enables a user to redirect calls to another number when an incoming call isn't answered within a specified number of rings. You (the administrator) or the user must specify the forwarding number and the number of rings before forwarding.

Call Forwarding – No Answer doesn't have selective criteria.

For more information, see Call Forwarding – No Answer.

Call Forwarding – Not Reachable

The Call Forwarding – Not Reachable feature enables a user to set an alternate phone number (for example, a wireless number) where calls are redirected when the user's IP Flexible Reach telephone number is unreachable.

Call Forwarding – Not Reachable doesn't have selective criteria.

For more information, see Call Forwarding – Not Reachable.

Call Forwarding – Selective

The Call Forwarding – Selective feature enables a user to define criteria that redirect certain incoming calls to another number. If an incoming call meets specified criteria, the call is redirected to the specified number.

Call Forwarding – Selective has selective criteria.

For more information, see Call Forwarding – Selective.

Call Rejection

The Call Rejection feature enables a user to define criteria that reject certain incoming calls. If an incoming call meets specified criteria, the call is blocked, and the caller is informed that the user doesn't want to receive the call.

Call Rejection has selective criteria.

For more information, see Call Rejection.

Intercept Announcement

With the Intercept Announcement feature, an incoming caller hears a recorded announcement instead of being connected to the called number. The announcement can be standard or custom. Announcements can be active at the enterprise or group level, or for individual users' numbers.

If enabled, Intercept Announcement overrides all other active features and selective criteria.

For more information, see Intercept Announcement.

Max DID Policing

The Max DID Policing feature enables the organization to limit the number of concurrent calls that come in to a specific phone number.

Max DID Policing doesn't have selective criteria.

For more information, see Max DID Policing.

Sequential Ring

The Sequential Ring feature enables users to define a “find-me” list of phone numbers that are alerted sequentially when incoming calls match a user's specified criteria. (If the user can't be reached at the first number, the service rings the second number. If the user can't be reached at the second number, the service rings the third number, and so on.) While the service searches for the user, the caller hears a greeting, followed by periodic announcements.

Sequential Ring has selective criteria.

Note: A user can't use Sequential Ring and Simultaneous Ring at the same time. If both features are set to Active, Sequential Ring takes precedence.

For more information, see Sequential Ring.

Simultaneous Ring

The Simultaneous Ring feature enables users to have up to 10 phone numbers ring simultaneously when calls are received on the user's IP Flexible Reach phone number. The first phone to be answered is connected.

Simultaneous Ring has selective criteria.

Note: A user can't use Simultaneous Ring and Sequential Ring at the same time. If both features are set to Active, Sequential Ring takes precedence.

For more information, see Simultaneous Ring.

Grant a User Access to Inbound Call Features

You can grant a user access to any or all inbound call features. (Note that Max DID Policing is available only to Enterprise and Group Administrators.)

Go to the User Details page, and click the Features tab:

To enable access, in the feature's Available for User column, select Yes.
To block access, in the feature's Available for User column, select No.

To grant a user access to individual features

This overview shows you how to assign access to inbound call features. For instructions on how to assign a specific feature and set its selective criteria, see the help topic for that particular feature.

From any page in the Customer Portal, click USER MANAGEMENT. The Users List page appears.
Click a user's name. The User Details page appears with the Inbound Features tab selected (or click the Inbound Features tab).
Click Edit. The Available for User column opens in edit mode.
For each feature that you want to grant access to this user, under Available for User, select Yes.
At the bottom of the page, click Save. A message confirms the change.

Caution: If you revoke and then restore a user's access to a feature, all settings created through the edit process, including saved criteria, will be lost.

About Selective Criteria

Selective criteria are rules that control the behavior of an inbound call feature. You can customize some features using selective criteria. Selective criteria vary from one call feature to another, but you follow the same procedure to set them.

Note: The following inbound call features have simple settings and no selective criteria:

Anonymous Call Rejection
Call Forwarding – Always
Call Forwarding – Busy
Call Forwarding – No Answer
Call Forwarding – Not Reachable
Max DID Policing

Note: If the Intercept Announcement feature is active, it overrides all selective criteria rules.

To set selective criteria

This procedure gives you an overview of how to set selective criteria for inbound call features. For instructions on setting specific selective criteria, see the help topic for the particular inbound call feature.

From any page in the Customer Portal, in the main menu bar, click USER MANAGEMENT. The Users List page appears.
Click a user's name. The User Details page appears.
On the Inbound Features tab of the User Details page, click the name of a feature. The feature's Settings page appears.
To the upper-right of the For calls matching section, click Add Criteria. The Add Criteria page appears.
Complete the Add Criteria page.
When you've finished setting criteria, click Add. A success message appears, along with the new criteria.
To create an exception to the rule you've just created, click the Back to [feature name] link to go back to the feature's Settings page.
In the Regardless of above settings… section, click Add Criteria and create your exception.

Inbound Call Feature Precedence

One feature's settings might override those of another feature, even if both are set and Active.

Intercept Announcement always unconditionally overrides other features, even if those features are active.

Call Forwarding - Always redirects all incoming calls and takes precedence over most other Call Forwarding features.

Exceptions:

Call Forwarding - Selective takes precedence for incoming calls that match the defined selective criteria.
Intercept Announcement overrides all other active features.

In most cases, defining selective criteria for a feature like Call Rejection or Call Acceptance gives precedence to that feature for any calls that match the defined criteria.