VoIP New Telephone System Information

New Services & Features

 

 

MeetMe Conference

The new VoIP phone system has a MeetMe Conference feature at x2070. This conference feature can be accessed from any telephone - and attendees can call in directly using the provided PIN for privacy of conferences.  MeetMe facility supports an arbitrarily large number of conference calls.

Please contact operator@physics.ucsb.edu if you do not have a PIN assigned to you and would like to use this service.

Softphones

This is software which runs on your computer and acts as a fully functioning phone.  There are many different softphones available to choose from.  We are currently recommending one called X-Lite from Xten because it is reliable, ability to work on Windows, MacOS, Linux and is free.

Your Softphone can be accessed from anywhere there is an Internet connection.

A Radio Shack Multimedia Headset or Logitech USB headset seems to work with the softphone without problems.

Email notification of VoiceMail


When someone leaves you a voice mail, you will receive an email message notifying you of the message. This message will include the phone number of the sender, the length of the message, and an attachment containing the message as a .WAV file. However, reading and deleting this email does not clear the voice mail from your new voice mailbox. If you do not want to get email notifications for voice mail, contact us at operator@physics.ucsb.edu to let us know. You can also choose to receive the notification without the .WAV file.

FAX Integration

The Departmenthas eliminated analog FAX machines and FAX lines as a cost-saving measure. Fortunately, the new VoIP system integrates incoming and outgoing FAX in a more useful and flexible way:

Incoming FAX-to-Email

Your individual VoIP phone number (DID) can also be used to receive faxes as a PDF attachment to a personal email message directed to your email account. Our VoIP system automatically detects incoming FAXes on your number and processes them without any intervention (your phone will not ring and you will not hear any beeping).

In the rare instance that an incoming FAX to your personal number is not detected automatically by the system, and you receive an incoming fax on your phone handset, simply Transfer the call to 329 (F-A-X) and it will be emailed to you.

Outgoing Email-to-FAX

You can also use the VoIP system to send outgoing FAXes without leaving your desk.

You can use the system when you have documents in the following formats: Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, PDF, TIFF, PNG, GIF, JPG. (We are working on compatibility for PostScript files)

If you have paper documents, you can scan them into PDF format and email them to yourself first using the Department copiers. Your document(s) should be formatted for US Letter (8.5 inches wide by 11 inches tall). To send a FAX using email, attach the file(s) to an email, provide a useful Subject header and address the email to:

phonenumber@fax.physics.ucsb.edu

for example,

8005551212@fax.physics.ucsb.edu or 1212@fax.physics.ucsb.edu for an on-campus FAX.

Everyone who has a username@physics.ucsb.edu on GWA should be able to send fax.

The only method of sending fax is to login to gmail.com

login: UCSBNetID@ucsb.edu

password: UCSBNetID Password

Compose an email to phonenumber@fax.physics.ucsb.edu from username@physics.ucsb.edu.

A generic UCSB Physics cover page will be generated using your Name and FAX number, provided that your email address is listed in the UCSB Directory (if you are not listed in the UCSB Directory, be sure to get a NetID here.) You can add/edit your personal FAX number for your Directory entry here.

The Subject of your email and any text you type in the body of the email message will appear on the cover page as well.

You may opt-out of the Default cover page by specifying

{cover: no}

in the first line of the body of your email message.

Your sending email client must be google web access and the sender email address must be username@physics.ucsb.edu. This security measure is in place so that only Physics users can send faxes out from our system.

The email will be queued in the outgoing FAX queue on the VoIP server. You will receive an email confirmation when the FAX is sent successfully, or an email failure notice if there are problems transmitting your FAX.

FAX testing

Note that it is common for people to try to test the FAXing system by sending themselves a FAX. Note that, for technical and licensing issues, you cannot send yourself a FAX from the VoIP system to the VoIP system. You need to send your test FAX to an external FAX machine.

Skype Integration

Note:

With Microsoft's acquisition of Skype, development and support of the "Skype for Asterisk" software has been discontinued. Support for Skype interfacing to the VoIP system will likely disappear as Skype upgrades to newer versions. This information below is likely to only be valid for a short time.

A new feature is now available on our VoIP system which will allow us to assign a unique SkypeName to any incoming Physics VoIP extension or menu. This will allow any Skype user to call your VoIP extension from the Skype network for free. These calls are routed to your VoIP extension and handset like a regular phone call - the Caller ID will show Skype: skypename with the caller's SkypeName in your display.

Please contact operator@physics.ucsb.edu if you do not have a UCSB Physics SkypeName assigned to you and would like to use this service.

You can publish your UCSB Physics SkypeName in your email signature or web page. Create a SkypeMe! button for your web page (like this: Skype Me! ) or email signature here:
http://www.skype.com/share/buttons/

There are existing UCSB Physics SkypeNames for the following departmental functions:

  • ucsb.physics (general menu with Directory)
  • ucsb.physics-conference (MeetMe virtual Conference room)
  • ucsb.physics-speakerphone (x3669 traveling Polycom Speakerphone)
  • ucsb.physics-computing (PCS)
  • ucsb.physics-receiving (Receiving)
  • ucsb.physics-purchasing (Purchasing)
  • ucsb.physics-ugrad_advisor (Undergraduate Advisor)
  • ucsb.physics-grad_advisor (Graduate Advisor)

Note that these are special SkypeNames that PCS has created for departmental use through the Skype Business Control Panel, and are specially integrated with our VoIP system. If you have a Personal SkypeName that you would like to "merge" with your departmental SkypeName, you can set up forwarding of unanswered calls at your personal SkypeName to go to your UCSB Physics SkypeName.

  • Here's an example to forward calls to a Skype personal user JohnDoe with departmental SkypeName ucsb.physics.doe_j :
    Login to JohnDoe's personal Skype Account
  • Go to Tools | Options | Calls | Call Forwarding (on Mac, Skype | Preferences | Calls| Call Forwarding)
  • If you see a warning about Skype Credit, just select "Call forwarding options" to reveal the options.
  • Check the box marked Forward calls when I'm not on Skype
  • Now type a Skype username in the box marked Enter phone number
    In this example you would type ucsb.physics.doe_j in the box.
  • Save to store the new settings.

In the example above, if someone calls John Doe's personal SkypeName when he is not logged in to Skype, then the call will be forwarded to his ucsb.physics.doe_j account (which will ring John Doe's Physics VoIP phone). The Skype caller can also leave voicemail messages at your extension.

We are looking into the options for making calls out using your VoIP handset on the Skype network.

CallerID and Phone Directory

The VoIP system supports CallerID. CallerID information is provided by UCSB Comm Services' phone systems on incoming calls from campus or off-campus. CallerID information is not always available or accurate.

For internal VoIP-to-VoIP calls, CallerID information is provided by the system itself.

In addition, the Aastra phones support a local phone directory. For your convenience, a copy of the Physics Dept. directory is downloaded to your phone from our server on a regular basis. To access this, push the button labelled Directory on your Aastra phone and use the arrow keys to navigate through the list. When you reach a number you want to call, simply lift your handset or hit the speakerphone button.

FollowMe

The VoIP system supports a new feature called "FollowMe." This highly-configurable option allows your calls to Follow You if you are away from your desk. It is managed through the web interface at https://voicemail.physics.ucsb.edu and then click on FollowMe in the left-hand menu.

You can configure calls to follow you to more than one number, and the amount of time ringing before FollowMe starts is adjustable.

FollowMe can be configured with an announcement and prompt to give you the option to take the call or send it back to Voicemail.