Chapter 10: Activating Your DedicatedCircuit and Toll-Free Numbers

In This Chapter

• Gathering the right people to activate your circuit

• Working through a preinstallation checklist

• Recording the installation in a journal

• Connectivity, hardware, and configuration problems

• Troubleshooting connectivity issues

If you’re setting up a dedicated circuit for your toll-free numbers, the most critical time in the process is the moment you unplug your old circuits and plug in your toll-free numbers to your new carrier. During this time, you have no phone service. You won’t know if your new circuits function until your carrier activates the numbers on the circuit and you successfully transmit your first call through the new network.

There are a handful of variables that can influence how long the installation takes (and, consequently, how frustrating it can be). During the installation, all focus is on the hardware at your end, the hardware at your carrier’s end, and all the hardware in between. Your greatest allies (and, potentially, your greatest sources of frustration) during the installation are the technicians at your disposal. You must learn to love your hardware vendor and the installation technician at your carrier.

 Tip  For basic information about your toll-free options, check out Chapter 8. For introductory information about all the stuff you need to do to order your toll-free dedicated service, move to Chapter 9. This chapter walks you through a typical installation of a dedicated circuit that can be used for your toll-free lines, or strictly for outbound calling, and ensures that you have access to all the right people. This is the chapter you should read if you’re about to activate any dedicated service.

 Remember  This chapter covers installing brand-new toll-free numbers on brand-new dedicated circuits with a brand-new carrier. If you’re setting up a new dedicated circuit with a carrier and migrating existing toll-free numbers from your old carrier to the new circuit, flip back to Chapter 9 and look for information about hot cuts. Go ahead. I won’t be mad.