Check if a call is listened to through API

Posted on November 28, 2011 | By Voicent News

we are writing a C# program using you voicent class. I am using your CallStatus function to get call information. The program obtains a phone # (one at a time) from a call to our DB and then calls it and plays the text using “text to speech”.

string urlstr = “/ocall/callstatusHandler.jsp”;
string poststr = “reqid=” + reqID;
// Send Call Request
String rcstr = PostToGateway(urlstr, poststr);

I would like to know (when the call is completed) if the call went to voice mail or was picked up by a person. I would also like to know if the complete call was listened to or if they hung up. Can those types of values come back through the CallStatus function? If so, what would i be looking for in the returned string to indicate a person picked up or went to a recording. If that function does not do that; do you have exampls of what i can program in C#; what other of your functions I can call to get me that inforamtion

You can tell from the returning information string if the call is answered by an answering machine or voice mail system. Just look for “answering machine” in the returning status. You may need to change the Voicent C# class to accomplish that.

It is hard to tell whether a call is being “listened to” or delivered. A call maybe answered by a little kid and there is no way the system will know. One sure way is to ask for a touch tone confirmation after a message is played.

If this is not feasible, then you may try to judge it by how much time it takes for a call. The API is not explicit but the call start time, and call made time are there in the returning call status. One drawback is that the format of the status string is not part of a public API. Though it is stable but is subject to change.

I really like the idea of having them press a button on the phone. But does that return string (from the CallStatus function) also tell me if they DID press a button, and which one was pressed?

To collect touch tone responses, you must send out an outbound call message that is designed to do so. The tool to use is Voicent IVR Studio. For details, please see Using Simple Call Interface with IVR Studio.

Posted in Developer, General |

Find working phone number

Posted on November 14, 2011 | By Voicent News

When i am reading the feature, i got 1 highlighted point in list , that is “Detects human pick up, answering machine, busy, no answer, disconnected line” in this just we want to know, we are looking this feature in our C# application, Will you sell SDK or API for this ? If yes, please let me know the cost and before we buy, can we test this function practically? actually our actuval requirment very simple is that, just dailing number, we want to find out that number in working or not working ? if possible in details , like Not in service , or not in coverage or clear identification of that particular number. Your immediate action would be highly appreciated.

For this feature to detect whether a phone number is working or not, you can simply use any Voicent outbound call product. Voicent product has extensive programming interface so you can schedule a call and later get the call status. You can also take a look at Voicent Gateway simple call interface for C#.

For details of Voicent product pricing info, please visit our online store. All Voicent products can be downloaded for free and tested before you purchase.

Posted in Auto Dialer, General |

Call status for message delivered and heard

Posted on November 10, 2011 | By Voicent News

I performed some tests and I noticed that the status of a call interrupted by the receiver, even at the beginning of the message, comes back in the status that this call is made and succeeded, which is fault because the full message has not been delivered. Can we change this?

No, the call status should not be changed. For Voicent Auto Dialer, the status refers to whether a call is made or connected. For example, calls to disconnected phone number, line busy, etc will result in call failed status; calls that are connected and answered, either by human or answering machine, will result in a successful status.

There is also a confirmation status for each call. This status is used to record whether a touch tone key is pressed or not. This is the ultimate confirmation whether your message is heard.

If you do not want to require a touch tone key responses, and still want to know whether your message is fully played (or how long the message is being played), then you will need to derive the answer in other ways. One is to turn on called time in the status column (Broadcast menu > Broadcast Options), by comparing the next called time, you could get a sense of how long a phone call took, and how far your message has been played. Of cause, this is just a workaround.

The solution is to have the software to present the call connected time in the status column. We will have this feature in later releases.

Posted in Auto Dialer |