[Asterisk-Users] Sending call to analog then to Vmail after timeout?

[Warren Burstein]

I came across the same problem today.

Phase one of our * project is to replace the PBX in one of our offices with
*, and one of the extensions will be sent over VOIP to service
representatives at a different location.  But as a fallback, we want to dial
directly if VOIP doesn't work (maybe the network is down) and if that
doesn't work, send the caller to voicemail.  And the same problems are
happening.

I'm not sure if shmaltz's solution helps us here, during working hours at
the place where the service reps sit, it will go into a PBX (not *), I think
it will ring on the rep's desk, using Pavlovian techniques (e.g. send the
ring voltage to their chair if they don't press a key), they can be trained
to hit a key when they pick up the phone.  But when the help desk isn't
staffed, we want to ring someone's cellphone.  Which is fine if he answers,
but if he misses the call, or is already taking a call, we want it to go to
his cellphone's voicemail (which is more accessable to him outside the
office than his voicemail on the * server).  Maybe we can put a DTMF digit
into the cellphone voicemail greeting.  On the other hand, maybe hitting any
key while recording the greeting will stop recording.

Then I was thinking about phase two of our project.  In our main office, we
currently have a PBX which we're not planning to replace, but we do want to
replace our IVR/voicemail system that runs on Windows using a Dialogic card
with an * system, the dialogic picks up incoming calls, transfers them
(sending the PBX a flash followed by a local extension) to people, and
detects if they answer or not.  The Dialogic card knows how to detect ring,
busy, no answer, no dialtone, congestion tone, and so on, so if the callee
does not answer the call, it goes to voicemail (or to a different person, or
back to the main menu so the caller can try someone else).  It looks to me
like we would have to have everyone in the office press a key every time any
phone rings, I'm not sure if that's acceptable.

Would call progress be any help?  From what I've read, it can sometimes
cause calls to be disconnected.