“New telephony” from Rostelecom - virtual PBX service

VATS: what a beast

For the abbreviation PBX, most users probably do not need any explanation; everyone knows that this is a telephone exchange that operates automatically. Such a station requires bulky and expensive equipment, laying even more expensive communications across many channels and numbers.

Fortunately, experts have developed a modern, inexpensive analogue - a virtual PBX, which does not require laying dozens of cables, but just one channel is enough. Why do we need such a station based on IP telephony provided by Rostelecom, what advantages do entrepreneurs get from this?

• Since the station is automatic, all calls to the same (for callers) number are instantly forwarded to operators who are not very busy. This reduces the caller's waiting time;
• Call forwarding is possible not only to an internal number, but also to the mobile number or home number of a specific manager;
• Each employee has his own short telephone number for internal communication within the company;
• Possibility of setting up an automatic voice menu (the interface is clear, flexible, functional);
• The service is configured remotely;
• To eliminate the need to call back, the current operator has the ability to independently redirect the interlocutor to another manager;
• Detailed and informative statistics on handling calls;
• The ability to record all conversations to improve the quality of service;
• The ability to create a black list (protection from telephone hooligans), a white list, setting a hold melody and the ability to keep the client on the line.

In general, for a small company, VATS means as much as a full-fledged PBX for any large organization. We figured out why it is needed. How to connect to it, install and configure it?

How to call via IP telephony Rostelecom

If you have made international calls, you know that they begin with dialing the number 8, but you should forget this rule, since in the case of IP telephony everything happens differently. The dialing combination for a landline number includes: country code (1-3 characters), landline number code, and the number itself. Calling a mobile phone number occurs in approximately the same way, only instead of the landline number code, the mobile operator code is dialed. To improve the quality of communication and better sound transmission, you can first enter two zeros - in this case, even the city tariff will be charged as an international one, but its quality will be an order of magnitude higher.

Tariffs - how much does it cost?

This question is no less important than all the others combined. How much will the connection cost, what are the tariffs for use? In most cases, companies have little choice; if you want to run a successful business, use the best services.

So, Rostelecom has four tariffs for this service (each can be supplemented with additional options):

• Package 100 - an initial tariff costing a little more than 400 rubles/monthly . For this money, the subscriber receives: number 8 800, a station for one workplace, plus 100 free minutes to the numbers of any Russian operators;
• Package 500 - a higher tariff costs 900 rubles/monthly , and for this money the client is offered: number 8,800, a station for three workplaces, as well as 5,000 free minutes for calls to numbers of any Russian operators;
• Package 1,000 is the choice of larger companies. The tariff assumes: number 8,800, connection of a telephone exchange with 5 workstations. Plus, the client receives 1000 free minutes for outgoing calls to numbers of any Russian operator. The cost of this tariff is 1600 rubles/monthly ;
• Package 1,500 – Rostelecom’s senior tariff for organizations offers for only 2,350 rubles/month – this is: connection of ten workplaces, as well as 1,500 free minutes of outgoing calls to numbers of any Russian operators, and, of course, number 8,800.

The service provides for the allocation of one telephone number (multi-channel) to the subscriber. Additional options include expanding the number of users, adding another 8800* number, hosting and backup of all calls, as well as automatic recording of them, the ability to integrate into CRM and much more.

Connection to PBX/VATS

There are several ways to connect to any service from the Rostelecom provider. You choose the most convenient for you from:

• Personal visit to the Rostelecom office. You can always see the location of the nearest branches on the website. In the office you write an application, and everything will be explained to you in detail;
• Call support or hotline (toll-free numbers are available on the website). The application is dictated to the operator;
• Fill out an online application, which can be submitted via //moscow.rt.ru/b2b/telephony/vats .

There is no point in dwelling in more detail on the first two methods, since you will be dealt with by real people - a manager and an operator, respectively. The third method requires a little explanation.

1. So, go to the main page of rt.ru ;
2. Follow the link “For business”;

3. Find the “Telephony” block and click on the “Virtual PBX” icon;
4. On the page that opens, you can immediately follow the “Connect” link;
5. We submit the application and wait for a call from the provider’s manager to discuss the details (feel free to ask additional questions).

Since this is a telephone exchange, to connect this service you need special equipment or specialized software to be installed on your computer. Rostelecom provides all this, including a free program (softphone).

Attention! The user can sign up for a trial period, that is, evaluate the capabilities and quality of the service without concluding a global agreement.

After completing the connection (test or permanent), the provider will give you all the data for authorization in the IP telephony service account. You will receive an email with your domain, login and password. In the Personal Account, users have the opportunity to customize the service to suit their needs and conditions.

IP telephony capabilities

IP telephony is one of the youngest types of communication, based on the SIP protocol. It has taken telephony to the next level, and now, knowing your SIP ID, you can move around the world, seamlessly make voice calls, participate in video conferences, play games online, transfer media files and exchange text messages, all for "symbolic" fee. You can call your friends and colleagues via the Internet; IP telephony from Rostelecom also allows you to call mobile and landline phones, for which the system provides for the use of special gateways.

It is worth noting that calls passing through the World Wide Web have nothing to do with traditional telephony. In this case, only Internet traffic is paid, and given that most packages are unlimited, we can confidently say that calls can be made for free. By the way, even if you are in a remote part of the planet, by connecting a softphone to your gadget, you can stay in touch anywhere on the planet.

Important! This is an ideal solution for business, because even while on vacation, you do not lose contact with your partners, who can still simply call you on a landline phone number.

Settings

To set up the service, the user needs to have a computer with an Internet connection, running Windows or Mac. The procedure is simple and takes a few minutes.

• We download the software from the official website and install it on the computer;
• In the running application, enter the login and password that your provider gave you;
• The internal interface of the software PBX will open with contacts, volume settings, control panel and other functions.

If you connect to the Rostelecom service with the provided software equipment (VoIP), then the device will need to be connected to the network, then enter the device address in the admin panel. If you have any difficulties setting up, you can pick up detailed instructions from the website, or you can contact your provider and call a technical specialist who will quickly and competently carry out the connection and setup.

We track the status and download call recordings

In Rostelecom's virtual PBX, call recording is activated in your personal account. Using the API, you can track the status of this function. When handling call completion in call_events

you can see the
'is_record' flag,
which notifies the user about the recording status:
true
means that the user's conversation recording function is enabled.

To download a record, you need to call the session identifier session_id

send a request to
api.cloudpbx.rt.ru/get_record.
In response, you will receive a temporary link to download a file with a recording of the conversation.

The file storage time is set in your personal account settings. Afterwards the file will be deleted.

User reviews

Connecting this service does not oblige the organization to anything other than timely payment according to the tariff. If you don't like the service, you can always disable it. Reviews about VATS from Rostelecom are different; they can be divided into advantages and disadvantages.

pros

• Friendly interface, intuitive, no need to train staff;
• Simple setup, you can easily configure even seemingly complex auto-reply and forwarding functions;
• The ability to connect additional options, the same call recording has been very helpful more than once;
• Easily integrated into CRM;
• No need for heaps of cables and bulky equipment; connection via existing cables;
• An opportunity for little money to have your own separate line for customer technical support.

Minuses

• Some users do not like the tariffs; they seem overpriced;
• Tariffs for spending limits have not been worked out (too expensive), as well as for calls abroad;
• Individuals are not included, even if registered as an individual entrepreneur.

In general, the service is very attractive for organizations, especially if the company has already outgrown the initial stage of development, and it is not burdensome for it to pay an extra fifteen hundred rubles a month for a useful service. For such companies, the tariffs seem quite attractive, especially since they can always be scaled up.

Is it possible to connect the service for home?

New telephony from Rostelecom is aimed at business companies. Therefore, for now there is no possibility of connecting Rostelecom IP telephony for the home. Instead, the company offers classic locations:

• Unlimited for 585 rubles per month. The subscription fee includes additional functions of the subscriber line (210 rubles) and the basic communication volume (375 rubles). The main advantage of the tariff is an unlimited number of minutes: the client will not pay for communication time.
• Subscription, 375 rubles monthly. The same functions as on the Unlimited tariff, but the price for the basic communication volume has been reduced to 165 rubles.
• Combined. This Rostelecom IP telephony tariff for home does not include the possibility of unlimited communication; the Internet provider gives 350 free minutes.
• Time-based. Users of the tariff only pay 210 rubles for allocating a subscriber line, but there are no other options; the billing is per minute.

These are the basic telephony tariffs from Rostelecom for home. Please note that prices vary depending on the region where the service is provided. If during the billing month the allocated number of minutes for communication has not been spent, they are not transferred to the next month, but expired.

When filling out an application for connecting a new telephony, the client has the opportunity to choose the appropriate digits of the number. This room will be reserved within 7 days.