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CTI Standards
The key question in CTI is: Which hardware and protocol standards should be used to connect to the PABX or Centrex exchange? So far, a number of solutions have arisen and it could be some time before a technology develops into one with sufficient functionality and extensibility - and support from PABX manufacturers - to become a widely accepted standard.
The most developed and promising technical standard for connecting computer systems to PABXs is CSTA (Computer Supported Telecommunications Applications) from the European Computer Manufacturers' Association. A complete CTI implementation, for instance using CSTA, will typically involve:
- A CSTA interface to a suitably configured PABX.
- A server computer connecting to both that interface, and to other computers - such as those on the desktops of the operators, and probably a database server - via a LAN.
- Appropriate software in that server, for instance based on Nortel's TSAPI Application Programming Interface which connects via CSTA to the PABX and makes its facilities available to user programs on the server and via client-server exchanges over the LAN.
- Appropriate software in the operators' desktop computers, and perhaps on other machines for querying and updating databases.
For incoming calls, there is great potential for service improvement by connecting callers quickly to the most appropriate operator, and for supporting that operator with all the pertinent information. However CTI assumes that the PABX can automatically determine something about the caller which will assist in this process. Alternatively, if it is sufficient or preferable to route all calls to the next available operator, and for the operator to ask the caller's name, account number or purpose of call, then there is no need for CTI.
For outgoing calls, CTI can simultaneously dial the appropriate number and bring up the recipient's pertinent account details on the operator's computer screen. This could be achieved with standard computer programming and a straightforward 'third party CTI' interface to a single outgoing telephone line, or local line of a PABX. The disadvantage would be that operator time would be lost while calls were being made and the telephone rang.
Predictive dialing systems dial more numbers than there are available operators on the basis that only a proportion of the calls will be answered. This can keep operators busy, but can also lead to customers (or potential customers) answering the phone to hear a recorded message from the predictive dialer asking them to hold on, because the call is important (typically without identifying the nature of the call), or the predictive dialer can terminate calls which are ringing, if it seems no operator will be available to answer it. Both experiences are negative for the people being called, and the long-term consequences of that poor regard for customers are too easily forgotten in the drive for efficiency and sophisticated technical solutions.
Number Portability
The telephone network is founded on a one-to-one relationship between the telephone number, the physical location of the telephone, and therefore the relationship between the customer and the physical telephone and its number.
It is common for exchanges to be able to treat any one of the lines as any number in their number range, for instance 459 xxxx. This does not allow a line on another exchange, in the same area, in an adjoining area or perhaps in a different city, to be associated with that number. It certainly does not allow a customer to keep their original number if they choose to use a completely different kind of telephone service - such as via an HFC (Hybrid Fiber Coaxial) cable system - operated by a competing carrier.
Similarly, when there are competing GSM mobile phone networks, each network has a unique number range, so a customer who chooses to change to another carrier must accept that their phone number with the new carrier will be different.
The technical problems of achieving such number portability, whilst keeping the telephone system reliable and efficient - instead of resembling a tangled, patched up, octopus - are extremely daunting.
Nonetheless, it is a simple customer requirement, of both residential and business customers, to be able to keep their telephone number when they chose an alternative carrier. Effective telecommunications competition is an important priority for many countries, and lack of number portability is one of the most significant barriers to achieving it.
The direct association between telephone numbers and customers makes certain aspects of usage easier: an eight to ten digit number is all that needs to be remembered and dialed for the majority of calls, and telephones do not have enough space for alphanumeric keyboards which could accept a command to dial a particular person by name. In contrast, the Internet's protocols were designed with a clear separation between a physical, numeric IP address, and the DNS (Domain Name System) name for that computer. However the telephone has grown from earlier roots - which ironically did once involve the operator manually connecting the caller to the particular person whose name they requested verbally!
The existing telephone network is very complex and highly reliable. It is based on much less flexible hardware and software than the Internet, and any change to it must be fully tested to ensure the service remains reliable and secure. Carriers must ensure that calls do not fail, or worse still go to unintended destinations.
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