Switchboard(?)

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: May 16, 2007 Posts: 2

Hi everybody,

I don't know exactly what I'm about to ask so please be patient.

Are there inexpensive solutions for receiving incoming calls and directing them to given numbers, keeping the numbers of the parties hidden? This would enable anonymous one-to-one calls.

Best regards,
Georg

Posts: 323 · Vonage Forum Evangelist Joined: Jan 29, 2006 Posts: 323

If you are looking for the numbers on both sides to be hidden I believe the answer is no... or at least I don't know how to.

You can easily forward an incoming call to another number using call forwarding. In this case the phone that the call is forwarded to can see where the initial call came from, but the person who made the call does not know that it was forwarded on to another number.

I've not forwarded calls recently so I would look up call forwarding on the Vonage site for more information, but I believe what I have noted here is what would happen.

Posts: 34 · Vonage Forum Junior Joined: Oct 27, 2005 Posts: 34

Calls forwarded from my Vonage line to another phone (cell or landline) passes the caller ID of the original caller. So i see who is calling me, NOT the caller ID of my Vonage line.

Posts: 152 · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 6:22 pm Post subject:

I wonder if you could try forwarding or transferring the call to a number prefixed with the *67 (caller ID block) Question

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: May 16, 2007 Posts: 2

I know very little about these technologies. At this point I'm looking for a spot to start digging.

What I'm looking for is a switchboard that can call and connect parties automatically on the basis of telephone numbers and triggers provided by an outer system. Main flow:

1. The system calls party A
2. Party A lifts the receiver.
3. The system asks party A to hold.
4. The system calls party B.
5. Party B lifts the receiver.
6. The system asks party B to hold while connecting party A.
7. The system connects party A and B. The numbers of the parties are hidden for each other.

Posts: 152 · Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 9:24 am Post subject:

It doesn't look like any of the features on Vonage will allow you to do what you want. Vonage only has the "per call" caller ID blocking (*67), but it will only accept 10 or 11 digit numbers (xxx-yyy-zzzz or 1-xxx-yyy-zzzz) in its call forwarding configuration.

I'm sure there are complicated systems or services somewhere that will do what you describe. The simplest one that I know of is the AT&T Model 1182 (Bogen Friday) answering system. They can use a caller ID block enabled line or programmed with the *67 prefix, but they require two separate telephone lines. (I'm not sure if their single-line models has the answer/flash-hold/dial number/connect feature.)

I don't think these systems are made any longer, but they are available from used and surplus equipment sites, and probably on eBay.