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Advanced Messaging

Overview

Today, paging is the fast, efficient, and smart way to stay in touch. Sometimes, your government employees must be reached immediately. Verizon Advanced Messaging makes your paging subscribers accessible and responsive to all the challenges you face in your daily business, including:

  • Communicating with vendors and other essential callers
  • Relaying confidential information
  • Reaching employees without interrupting their busy schedules

Advanced Messaging goes a level beyond traditional paging and Verizon Business One-Way Paging with:

  • Message storage when you are out of coverage range
  • Automatic transmission of stored messages when you are back in range
  • Message reply capability
  • The ability to originate messages from the pager

Verizon's product suite provides multiple levels of paging coverage and service. In addition to our One-Way Paging, you can take advantage of state-of-the-art Advanced Messaging options:

  • Enhanced One-Way Paging with QuickReply Interactive Paging SM gives you all of the convenience of traditional one-way paging, plus the benefit of assured message delivery. When you are out of range or your pager is turned off, the system stores all your messages for up to 72 hours and then automatically delivers them when you are back in range or the pager is turned on. Additionally, you will have the capability to reply to messages using one of 16 preset responses or one of the custom replies that message senders may attach. It confirms message delivery, even for message senders who do not subscribe to the service.
  • Full Interactive Paging lets you originate messages and compose personalized replies, in addition to all the functionality of Enhanced One Way Paging with QuickReply Interactive Paging.

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Benefits

With Advanced Messaging, government employees can be mobile and productive. You'll no longer have to stop a meeting or use a cellular phone to answer a page; you can respond directly from your pager. And even if you are out of paging coverage, your messages are automatically downloaded to your pager when you return to a full service area. All of these benefits add value for government organizations:

Greater Accessibility and Responsiveness. Real-time information to the right person can resolve potential issues quickly. You can respond to messages and be contacted conveniently at all times. Information can be communicated to anyone who needs it, without wasting time.

Increased Productivity. You know that saving time means more productivity and cost savings for the government. Employees can manage messages quickly without interrupting the task at hand. You can minimize interruptions in meetings or during travel time by not leaving your location to return a message.

Easy-to-use Convenience. Pagers are small, self-contained, and easy to use. You don't have to worry about missing messages when you are out of range; because Advanced Messaging delivers them for you when you return to a full-service area. All units have extended battery life and/or rechargeable batteries, so you'll worry less about a power source for your communications.

Reduce Other Communication Expenses. You can handle many of your communication needs more economically with the right pager. Paging messages are concise, unlike phone conversations that can become lengthy and drive up airtime and costs. Paging doesn't cost as much as cellular phone airtime with its roaming charges. And toll-free paging access reduces long-distance expenses.

Service Integration. You may receive all of your Verizo Business Services and your Advanced Messaging on one invoice.

Reliable, Nationwide Network. Verizon Business offers one of the most advanced wireless messaging networks, featuring redundant systems and fail-safe power sources to assure that your messages are delivered quickly and accurately.

Dedicated Account Team. Your Verizon Business account team provides on-going support throughout the implementation and fulfillment of your order and is dedicated to your service needs.

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Standard Features

Advanced Messaging offers a variety of standard features that your government organization can tailor to each user's particular needs:

  • Assured Delivery. With Advanced Messaging, your government subscribers can be assured that they will receive their pages. If the pager is turned off, or the subscriber is out of range, the Advanced Messaging system stores the messages. Then once the pager is turned on or returned to a full service area, the messages are automatically delivered.
  • Advanced Message System. Subscribers can dial into the Advanced Messaging system and record personalized greetings, redirect messages, and create broadcast lists for sending messages to groups. Each user can manage the messages stored in his or her Paging Mailbox.
  • Delivery Confirmation. By communicating with the pager via built-in transmitter, the QuickReply Interactive Paging system confirms that messages were received.
  • Respond From Your Pager. Government subscribers no longer need a telephone to return a page. Instead, you may use the Interactive Pager to reply immediately. Use one of the 16 preset messages in the Interactive Pager or attach your own customized replies to the message.
  • Initiate Messages from Your Pager. You can compose messages, enter names and addresses of recipients, and originate messages to others. You can send messages from any pager to any Internet e-mail address or Verizon Business paging subscriber's PIN.
  • Text-to-Speech. With Full Interactive Paging you may send any text message to a telephone number. When the phone is answered, an automated message operator announces your message and gives the recipient the option of accepting it. If the recipient accepts the message, the message is relayed and a delivery notification is sent to your pager. If the message is not accepted, or answering machine answers, the message is not relayed and a non-delivery notification is sent to your pager.
  • Loss Protection Insurance. With Loss Protection Insurance, Verizon Business will replace any lost or stolen Advanced Messaging unit that is leased for a one-time deductible per pager. If a government employee loses a pager, he or she contacts their Agency assigned DAR to report the loss. Your employee just needs to provide the PIN or Personal Toll-Free Number of the pager. He or she has the option of temporarily disconnecting the lost unit until it is found, or permanently disconnecting it and having a replacement shipped.

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Optional Features

Government organizations can customize Advanced Messaging for each of your subscribers. Choose from the list of optional features to match specific paging needs for a small additional charge per month:

  • Personal Toll-Free Number. Imagine the convenience a personal toll-free number gives people who need to reach you. Your message senders can access our paging network by dialing your unique toll-free number instead of using an access number plus PIN.
    • Existing paging subscribers. If you already have an account with a seven-digit PIN, you can upgrade your service to include toll-free access at any time. Just call your Agency assigned DAR and you will receive either an 888 number or an 800 number. Please remember to tell your message senders about the new number since there is no automatic referral service available.
  • Voicemail. You may prefer to receive voice messages in addition to numeric or alphanumeric pages. With our Voicemail option, callers connect directly to your voice mailbox, where they can leave a detailed voice message. You are immediately notified that there is a voice message in your mailbox via a page. Whenever you have a voice message, your pager will display our toll-free access number. To retrieve voice messages, simply call this access number, enter your PIN and security code, and follow the voice prompts (or dial your Personal Toll-Free number). You can even send a voice reply to the sender via a temporary voice mailbox. With this valuable feature, your users can integrate your voicemail and paging services and get more value from both.
  • Aggregate Billing. Take the worry out of potentially exceeding your billing package usage allotment. Aggregate billing is a per pager option that allows the allotted character packages to be billed aggregately. By selecting this option, the government agency is billed for any overage that exceeds the total sum of all the character packages instead of overage per pager. This is only offered for Advanced Messaging Pagers.

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Access

Advanced Messaging offers a variety of access options, giving your message senders maximum flexibility.

  • Touch-tone phone. Message senders may use a touch-tone phone to dial the toll-free access number plus your pin, or they may dial your Personal Toll-Free number (if applicable). The message sender then leaves a numeric message using the phone keypad.
  • Operator dispatch. Message senders may use the toll-free access number plus your pin, or they may dial your Personal Toll-Free number (if applicable). The message sender then dictates the message to an operator, who sends the message on to the subscriber.
  • Paging software. Message senders may use a PC and our free paging software to connect to the paging system via modem. Our software allows message senders to compose and deliver text messages directly from their modem-equipped computers to any alphanumeric subscriber. Messages can be up to 240 characters in length. This software is free and may be downloaded from the Internet or shipped with paging units at the time of your order.
  • Voicemail. Message senders may leave a voicemail message if this optional service has been selected.
  • Internet. Message senders may use two methods to send a message to an Advanced Messaging subscriber via the Internet. First, they may send a message via e-mail using a standard e-mail package, computer, and modem. Messages should be addressed to PIN@pagemci.com. Second, they may send a message from the Verizon Business Commercial Web page by visiting http:/www.mci.com/us/enterprise/voice/paging/sendapage/.

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Coverage

Automatic Nationwide Coverage
You receive messages no matter where you are in the country, as long as you are within range of our Advanced Messaging network. This extensive range covers about 90 percent of the U.S. business population, reaching more than 238 major metropolitan areas. Advanced Messaging stores your pages when you are out of range and transmits them when you return to a full service area. You don't have to take the time to retrieve messages when your pager has been turned off; the system will send your messages to you as soon as it is turned on again. Verizon Business Paging Services Coverage Maps may be accessed from the Verizon Business Commercial Web page or from the following URL: http:/www.mci.com/us/enterprise/voice/paging/coverage/.

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Transport

Verizon Business offers one of the most advanced wireless messaging networks available to the government. Our network features redundant communications systems and fail-safe power sources to help ensure that your messages are delivered quickly and accurately.

The Verizon Business Paging platform consists of two fully redundant Universal Messaging Control Computers, which are each capable of processing full call loads. Network management systems can switch traffic between the individual computer centers in minutes, without losing any messages.

Verizon Business uses link transmitters in cities with multiple paging transmitters. All link transmitters are installed with a hot standby. If the online transmitter fails, the back up automatically assumes transmission responsibility. Link transmitters help provide a more reliable system and minimize reliance on local telephone lines.

Call Processing
Messages sent through our paging network pass through a six-step process that ends seconds later, with a message transmission to the subscriber:

  1. One of the two fully redundant computer systems (located in different states) processes messages and sends them to two satellite uplinks.
  2. The two uplinks transmit the messages to two separate satellites.
  3. The satellites broadcast the messages to two downlinks in each market area.
  4. The downlinks send the messages to local control points in each market area.
  5. The local control points convert the signals and send the messages to transmitters.
  6. Ground transmitters send the messages to your organization's messaging units, which receive messages if you are in a coverage area.

Note: As with any transmitting system, coverage is not seamless. To receive a message, your pager must be within range of a ground-based transmitter.

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Network and Technical Specifications

Network Protocol
Advanced Messaging uses Motorola FLEX® protocol technology and ReFLEX® protocols, which are established standards worldwide. FLEX protocol technology allows higher data speeds and provides increased capacity. FLEX protocol technology transmits messages at 6400 baud and reduces error rates. In addition, FLEX offers you the following benefits:

  • Saving battery power, increasing battery life up to five times
  • Allowing greater coverage and lowering infrastructure costs
  • Enabling smaller and light-weight equipment
  • Increasing network capacity

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Customer Support

The Verizon Business FTS2001 Bridge Customer Service Center is available to answer individual end user questions regarding Verizon Business Paging service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. The Verizon Business FTS2001 Bridge Customer Service Center can be reached at 1-888-FTS-SVC1 (1-888-387-7821).

Customer Service offers, but is not limited to the following services:

  • End-user technical support
  • Product/feature education
  • Fulfillment-related inquiries
  • Troubleshooting (coverage, outages, programming, trouble tickets, etc.)
  • Customized support based on your specific profile

Verizon Business will replace pagers for leased units that are inoperable, or malfunctioning after the routine troubleshooting steps have been performed by customer service. All leased pagers that are deemed lost, stolen or damaged beyond repair will have to be replaced by contacting the DAR for the government agency to which that pager is billed to. All changes to a pager that will require a change in price must be made through the DAR.

As part of our Customer Service support, Verizon Business is pleased to offer the government the following customized reports:

Weekly Call Tracking Report
This report categorizes all calls handled by the PPC at the PIN level. Every call is manually tracked by the PPC and recorded into an Excel spreadsheet. The spreadsheets break the calls down into various categories for the government so you know who is calling into customer service and why. The report provides a legend and appropriate graphs. This report is generated every business Monday for the previous week's calls.

Weekly Install Report
This report provides a snapshot of the government's previous week's new installs at the PIN level. It is a great tool for monitoring installs during implementation periods. This report is generated every business Wednesday for the previous week's installs.

Monthly Inventory Report
This is a very comprehensive report of the government's paging inventory at the PIN level. It provides monthly detail of all PINs (actived and deactived), pin holder address, product, coverage, feature and equipment information. Note: This report is strictly an inventory report and should not be used for billing purposes. This report is generated on the second business Friday of each month.

Monthly Usage Report
This report reflects paging usage statistics (character, operator dispatch, voicemail minutes, etc.) at the PIN level on a monthly basis. Note: This report is paging usage from the network and does not contain any discounting or crediting that may occur in the Verizon Business billing systems. This report is generated on the last business Wednesday of each month.

Note: Verizon Business does not provide "Message Sent" information on any type of formal reporting; however, the government could request a toll report from the Account Team that would provide detail as to date, time, and the first 15 characters of messages, if necessary.

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Implementation

When a government organization decides to order Advanced Messaging, we assemble a team dedicated to ensuring your satisfaction and a smooth installation. An Implementation Project Manger leads your team and begins the process by working with you and your Verizon Business account team to develop an implementation plan. This plan contains checklists in the following categories:

  • Gathering Information
  • Assessing Information
  • Setting Expectations
  • Order Entry
  • Fulfillment
  • Follow-up

Fulfillment
All pagers are delivered with your service order summary, Service User's Guide, and Equipment User Guide. As part of fulfillment, we will ensure that all government users are properly trained on their new pagers and understand their coverage and service options. We are also willing to inform users about the internal procedures relative to paging services.

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Hardware

Verizon Business leases advanced messaging and interactive pagers with a variety of features. Contact your account manager for details on the types of pagers available.

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