Troubleshooting switched outbound calls
Validating your long-distance carrier
Calling out over another long-distance carrier
Using another local carrier for outbound calls
Troubleshooting switched toll-free calls
Validating your ring-to number
Confirming the RespOrg
Understanding outlying area issues with toll-free numbers
Troubleshooting international toll-free numbers
Thoroughly troubleshooting any problem before you call your carrier or hardware vendor greatly reduces the time repairing issues takes. You might already have a general indication as to the source of the problem by simply comparing the types of calls affected, but the tests in this chapter allow you to pinpoint the source of the problem.
The tests in this chapter are the same ones your carrier uses, or asks you to try, when you call to open a trouble ticket. Your carrier can quickly bring the troubleshooting process to greater focus when you have already eliminated most of the variables and isolated the source of the problem. This chapter covers switched troubleshooting on both outbound and inbound toll-free calls. You will probably refer to this chapter several times a year, so keep a bookmark here.
Remember If the problem affects different types of calls, it’s always best to open your trouble ticket as a switched outbound call. A single problem in the switched network affects all calls that pass through the affected switch or area of your carrier’s network, including toll-free calls and calls that originate or terminate on your dedicated circuit. By opening the ticket as anything but a switched outbound issue, you can delay the repair process by temporarily diverting your network’s attention to your circuit or your toll-free number.
Tip Troubleshooting an outbound call doesn’t require many steps, but each step is very important. After you become comfortable with the entire troubleshooting process, from comparing the call types to using the tests to isolate or bypass the individual variables, you can identify problems in a few seconds.