Access Number Features

From Net2MAX

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Usage Examples 2.1 Receiving Incoming Calls 2.2 Making Outgoing Calls 2.3 Initiating Call Backs 3 Major Advantages 3.1 User Defined Call Rates 3.2 Built by User Community 3.3 Verified Personal Numbers 3.4 Internet Phone Integration 3.5 On-Demand Call Back 4 Other Advantages 4.1 Automatic Fax Detection 4.2 Unified Number Service 4.3 Realtime Modification 4.4 Short Code 4.5 International Access Number 5 Demonstration 5.1 Voice Demo 5.2 Fax Demo 5.3 Demo Notes

World's First Toll-Free Network with User Defined Call Rates

World's First Toll-Free Network that is Built by User Community

World's First Toll-Free Network with Verified Personal Numbers

1 Introduction

Traditional toll-free phone numbers (e.g. 138813 in Australia) are very expensive and restricted, making them out of the reach of most organisations and individuals.

Access Number Function provides a worldwide network of toll-free phone numbers for your callers to contact you at the cost of a local call.

They can call from any phone (public phones, mobile phones, home phones, internet phones, fax machines etc.) to your

1. Normal Phones     (landline or mobile)
2. Internet Phones     (software or hardware)
3. Web PABX     (automatic voice response system)
4. Fax Machines     (fax deliver to member email box)

without having to pay long distance call charges.

Access Number is a very cost effective and fast way of gaining global presence rapidly and cheaply, by allowing people worldwide to contact you for the cost of a local call.

2 Usage Examples

With Access Numbers global scale toll-free calls are now accessible to anyone - from small businesses to teenagers. The following are examples of using the Access Number Function for:

1. receiving incoming calls by a small business
2. making outgoing calls by a teenager
3. initiating call backs by a traveller

2.1 Receiving Incoming Calls

Having a worldwide network of access numbers expands a business’s reach by offering its remote customers the ability to contact it without having to pay long distance call charges. This is particularly important for web-enabled businesses, since their web sites are accessible by people near and far – anywhere around the world.

A small business in Sydney Australia with a phone number +61 2 90112121 can now receive voice and fax toll-free calls from all around Australia from its customers using that SAME number. Customers simply ring 138813 (the Net2MAX Access Number in Australia) and then enter the small business's phone number 61290112121. Their call will then be transferred to the small business.

This also applies to callers overseas, people in Tokyo, Japan can ring their local Access Number +81 3 45802163 and reach +61 2 90112121 in Sydney, Australia without paying long distance call charges.

The normal phone number +61 2 90112121 becomes effectively becomes a worldwide toll-free number.

2.2 Making Outgoing Calls

The global network of Access Numbers is also useful for members to make outgoing calls from any network to any network. Net2MAX members can dial into any Access Number worldwide, using any phone, to make calls to any other phones (either normal or Internet phones) in the world.

A teenager in Sydney using standard landline or mobile network can ring 138813 through any phone network (public phone, mobile phone, VoIP phone, landline phone etc.) to call people on normally inaccessible Internet phone networks (e.g. Skype).

2.3 Initiating Call Backs

Mobile roaming is very expensive for making calls. Access Number allows members to bypass those roaming fees with a call back feature worldwide. Travelling members just make a free call to the nearest Access Number and hang up. The Access Number will then call them back on their phones and ask them to enter the destination phone numbers to call, so they can then enter the real phone number they wanted to call.

All calls to the Access Number to initiate the Call Backs are free, they are just used to detect the member's calling phone number - the calls are never officially "answered".

Once the incoming number is detected, Access Number will then use its own call rates or the member's preferred VoIP provider call rates to call BOTH the member and the public that the member wants to speak to.

Access Numbers allow the members to use their preferred phone rates from any phone carrier in any country of their choice - independent of which carrier their phone is actually on and where they are located in the world.

A traveller from Sydney does not need to waste time and money buying phone cards any more. She just call 138813 wherever she is in Australia and hang up. Access Number will call her back using her preferred phone call provider and make a call out for her to her desired number - again using her a preferred phone call provider.

3 Major Advantages

Some of the unique features that allows the Access Number Function to offer lower costs and more coverage than others are discussed in this section.

3.1 User Defined Call Rates

Net2MAX will NOT always have the best phone call rates in the market.

By using the Web Dialler to make its calls, Access Number allows Members to define their own call rates by using external phone networks of their choice to make calls from Access Number instead using Net2MAX's built-in call rates.

With User Defined Call Rates, calls made by the Access Number Function are always at the LOWEST price possible, since the users can freely mix and match the best call rates from different phone service provider around the world for different call destinations.

3.2 Built by User Community

Besides Net2MAX's own expanding Access Number deployment (see Access Number List), members can also take advantage of each others presence around the world.

Members can easily make Access Number functionality available to other member on any phone lines or phone numbers they own, via the Web PABX Function - either for free or by charging a small connection fee (using Chargeable Call Function).

An Access Number network built by the user community is much bigger than any that a single company can built. Net2MAX members provide local call service to each other wherever they are.

3.3 Verified Personal Numbers

Members can define a list of a phone numbers that they own personally. Once they have verified that they really own those phone numbers, they can use them as origination or destination numbers within the Access Number network worldwide.

When a member calls into an Access Number from a phone with a "Verified Origination Number", no further identification (like entry of a PIN) is required. The Access Number Function trusts that it is the member who is making the call from that Verified Origination Number and the member can then access those online services which normally would require identification.

When a non-member calls into an Access Number and then enter a "Verified Destination Number" of the member, the non-member will be transferred to the member automatically. All subsequence costs incurred in the call (like ringing the member's mobile phone) are borne by the member. The Verified Destination Numbers thus functions like global personal toll-free numbers for the member.

3.4 Internet Phone Integration

Besides using Internet Phone (VoIP) as the voice transport internally to save call costs, the Access Number also has the ability to make and receive calls directly with external VoIP networks.

For receiving VoIP calls, members can insert their Verified Destination Numbers into the global e164.name ENUM database. Any VoIP provider with ENUM support can query the e164.name and all its customers can make calls to the Net2MAX Member's Verified Destination Numbers for free.

For making VoIP calls, members can make use of the Web Dialler in order to make calls to other VoIP networks. For example, the member can define in Web Dialler that short cut 123 equals johnsmith@skype.com, everytime the member calls into an Access Number and enters 123, he will be transferred to johnsmith@skype.com

3.5 On-Demand Call Back

For people on expensive call rates (e.g. those with mobile phones or are far away from the nearest Access Number), Access Number's Call Back feature allows them to call Access Numbers worldwide for FREE - Access Number will detect their phone number WITHOUT answering the call and then call them back using any carrier of their choice via the Web Dialler Function.

While the Net2MAX Access Number Function is expanding its list of dedicated call back numbers around the world, it will not match the coverage of the other Access Numbers e.g. City Access Numbers.

On-Demand Call Back allows a member to dynamically enable Call Back just for herself when calling into those other Access Numbers. When the member calls in with a Verified Origination Number, the normal Access Number will NOT answer the call, but instead calls the member back.

An important advanced feature of On-Demand Call Back is that the member can define a DIFFERENT call back phone number to the phone number that was used to ring into Access Number to initiate the Call Back. This allow Call Back to set up phone calls between phones that are NOT used to initiate that Call Back. With this feature, phones that are NOT owned by the member can also benefit from Call Back.

4 Other Advantages

Some of cool features that compliments Access Number Function's major advantages above are discussed in this section.

4.1 Automatic Fax Detection

Most Access Numbers have dual voice and fax capability. Members can set up "Fax PABX" feature for their Access Number to allow those Access Numbers to receive fax (in additional to voice calls) on behalf of them.

Working with the Fax to Email Function, when set fax detection will be done when a call is first answered and when a sending fax machine is detected, Access Number becomes a fax machine itself to receive the fax in PDF format and then forward to the member's email box.

Access Number is a very cheap way for individuals and small organisation to acquire a worldwide fax network instantly.

4.2 Unified Number Service

Callers do not have to use different phone numbers to contact Net2MAX Members' different types of phones. They only have to remember one number and the type of destination phone device behind that number is transparent to them.

The standard international dialling format (with country code and area code preceding the phone number) of the member's EXISTING phone number is used to contact all phones types (Normal Phone, Internet Phone, Web PABX, Fax Machine).

For example, when a caller enters 61290112121, he could be connected to a normal phone (plugged into that phone line), an Internet phone (assigned to that phone number), a Fax Machine (to receive a fax on that number) or a Web PABX (for advanced call processing on that number) of the member.

4.3 Realtime Modification

Unlike traditional toll-free numbers (which are very expensive and difficult to configure), at any time, the member can use the Instant Command Function to quickly change the "target" phone number for incoming call to the Access Number via the WEB, via SMS, via Instant Message, via email etc.

This is very useful for travellers who are moving around and constantly changing phone numbers. People can just ring them and they’ll be connected through to whatever phone number the traveller selects at any time.

4.4 Short Code

A phone number that’s short and easy to remember is extremely important for both the callers (so they can remember it easily) and yourself (so you can give it out easily).

Where possible Net2MAX always attempts to use Short Codes as the National Access Numbers, so to make them easiest to use (e.g. the 6-digit 138813 for Australia).

4.5 International Access Number

While most people will make use of the National Access Numbers, a single International Access Number for the whole world across all countries can be very useful a world with limit boundaries.

Net2MAX has it own unique worldwide number: +800 4455 1234. It can be in an increasing number of countries.

People across all the covered countries have the option of using the same Access Number. A single toll-free number is especially useful for short duration advertisements covering multiple countries on satellite TV or on the Internet.

5 Demonstration

Although it is not necessary, it is recommended that you read through the Access Number Usage Instructions first before proceeding with the demonstration.

5.1 Voice Demo

Using any land-line or mobile phone:

1. Ring into one of the phone number on the Access Number List. For example, if you are in Australia, dial 138813.
2. Select your preferred language. For example, 1 for English.
3. Enter the demonstration phone number 61290112121 followed by #.

The call will be answered with a voice menu offering you 4 options:

1. Voice Echo Test - press 1, then you are given 2 options: press 1 for voice delay test (which echoes what you say immediately back to you) and press 2 for voice quality test (which records your voice and play back later when you finished).
2. Key Pad Input Text - press 2, then you can press any digits on your phone to see whether they get picked up by the system.
3. Audio Conference - press 3, a few people should do this together (that is all ring 61290112121 and then all join the audio conference by pressing 3) to experience the power of multi-party audio conference.
4. Voice Recording - press 4, record a voice message and then you can listen to it by going to 61290112121's Online Conference at http://conference.net2max.com/61290112121 The voice message is stored under

5.2 Fax Demo

Using any fax machine:

1. Ring into one of the phone number on the Access Number List with facsimile support. For example, if you are in Australia, dial 138813.
2. Select your preferred language. For example, 1 for English.
3. Enter the demonstration phone number 61290112121 followed by #.

The call will be answered with automatic fax detection:

1. Press the "SEND" button on your fax machine.
2. Go to 61290112121's Online Conference at http://conference.net2max.com/61290112121 and look under the Control Panel -> File tab for the fax you just sent.

5.3 Demo Notes

1. The voice prompts you hear in Access Number demonstration above is created by Net2MAX's computer speech engine inside the Web PABX Function. This feature saves Net2MAX Members time and money in finding and paying for a live human to create voice prompts continuously.
   
   
2. The Destination Number 61290112121 we use in this demonstration is based in Sydney Australia. You can access it worldwide using normal land-line and mobile phones. (Note: if you or your service provider is using VoIP, the quality of your Internet link will affect the quality of your voice or fax experience).
   
   
3. Traditional IDD calls from overseas cannot dial some special numbers in a country (like those phone numbers that start with 1xxx), but Access Number can dial those numbers from overseas in a lot cases using Web Dialler. For example, entering 611300130118 as the Destination Number inside Access Number from overseas is like someone dialling 1300130118 locally in Australia.