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One Way Paging

Overview

With Verizon Business One-Way Paging, you can be in two places at once. One-Way Paging always keeps you in touch with text messages, phone numbers, and news headlines delivered to you from virtually anywhere. Your caller simply dials a toll-free access number and enters your personal identification number (PIN). Then, based on the service you choose, callers can leave you a text message, a phone number, or a voicemail message. Almost instantly, you'll be paged and will have instant access to the caller's message.

One-Way Paging offers government organizations a complete package of paging services, coverage options, and value-added optional services to meet your specific needs. Our paging network operates with outstanding reliability, and is a totally redundant system. This means that your organization's important messages are delivered quickly and accurately - whether you are across the country or just across town. All One-Way Paging services are fully supported by our Customer Service Center, which is open all day and all night, 365 days a year.

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Benefits

Verizon Business 's advanced paging solutions can strengthen the responsiveness of individuals within your organization and help to remain "in touch" in today's demanding government environment. With One-Way Paging from Verizon Business , your organization can enjoy the following benefits:

  • State-of-the-Art Equipment. We offer alphanumeric and numeric Motorola pagers with One-Way Paging. Motorola pagers are compact, durable and offer a wide selection of features.
  • 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.
  • Feature-Rich Products and Services. One-Way Paging offers a choice of services, features, coverage areas, and paging units for easy one-stop shopping.
  • Premier Customer Service. As a full-service provider, Verizon Business provides Customer Service 7x24 to support your One-Way Paging needs so you're never without support.
  • Reliable, Nationwide Network. Verizon Business offers one of the most advanced wireless messaging networks available. The network features redundant communications systems and fail-safe power sources to help ensure messages are delivered quickly and accurately.
  • Flexible Billing Options. Your agency can combine One-Way Paging with a full range of other Verizon Business services for simplified billing.
  • Customized Software and Hardware Applications. Tell us what you need-we'll listen. Then, we'll design a customized solution to meet your paging needs.
  • Total Implementation Management. We assign a dedicated project manager to ensure your implementation goes smoothly. You'll also receive a fulfillment kit along with training so your employees can enjoy the full benefits of One-Way Paging.
  • Service Integration. Enjoy the benefits of receiving all of your telecommunications services from one provider.

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Service Options

One-Way Paging offers a choice of two basic service options: Numeric or Alphanumeric.

Numeric Service
If your government organization chooses Numeric Service, you will receive numeric messages (phone numbers or special codes) from callers. Your callers may enter up to 20 characters, so they can enter a coded message along with their phone number. An example for an urgent reply might be, 1111 + their call back number.

We recommend Numeric Service for your organization if users need to receive only telephone numbers or numeric codes, not text messages. A good example of this would be a technician who needs to be reached by customers whenever they have a maintenance issue. Customers can leave their telephone number as a numeric message and the technician can return the call.

Alphanumeric Service
With Alphanumeric Service, users can receive both numeric and alphanumeric (letter and number) messages. Numeric messages can be transmitted from either a touch-tone phone or callers can send text messages by relaying them to a dispatch operator. The operator then electronically transmits the message to the paged party. There is a charge for operator-assisted paging transmissions.

Text messages can also be sent via e-mail or via the Internet with a PC and our paging software, available for Microsoft® Windows® or Macintosh operating systems. This software is provided free of charge and may be downloaded from the Internet. Alphanumeric messages are limited to 240 characters per message. If your government organization needs to receive text as well as numeric messages, then we recommend Alphanumeric Service. For example, a traveling government employee that needs constant updates on project status, even while on the road, would benefit from Alphanumeric Service.

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Standard Features

One-Way Paging offers a variety of standard features that can be tailored to meet the needs of your organization.

Operator Service Features

  • Custom Greeting. Your employees may establish a customized operator greeting within the first 30 days of enrollment in One-Way Paging.
  • Message Retrieval. Subscribers may call our customer service and have an operator read up to six of their messages back to them. Up to 100 messages received within the last 30 days are stored and can be recalled. Messages are protected with a four-digit security code, assigned by the subscriber.
  • Page Forwarding. There is no need to let your pages go unanswered when you are on vacation or unavailable. Page Forwarding lets you forward your pages to any other subscriber of operator service.
  • Page Hold. When traveling or in long meetings, One-Way Paging subscribers may choose to have their messages held for up to 99 hours. At the designated time, all stored operator messages will be transmitted to the One-Way Paging unit.
  • Group Paging. A single message may be sent to a group of One-Way Paging subscribers with a single phone call. Groups may contain up to 20 individuals.

Subscriber Messaging Features

  • Page Recall. End users never miss an important message even when you are out of your coverage area. One-Way Paging subscribers can check any message sent to them within the last 99 hours. Messages are played in the order which they were received, from most recent to least recent. Each message provides the date and time it was sent. Message retrieval is through the telephone IVR or the paging software. Reports can be generated by special request for older messages.
  • Future Delivery. Using the paging software, the message sender can set the delivery date and time of a message to be sent at a later time and (or) date.
  • Coverage Information. With One-Way Paging, you don't have to guess if you're within your coverage area. Simply call our customer service to check Verizon Business coverage boundaries or to receive updated coverage information. This information can also be obtained from our paging software or via the Internet.
  • Priority Page. This function is used to send an urgent message that requires a prompt reply. Priority Page can be repeated up to five times, with 5 to 120 minute-intervals between messages. Only one sequence of priority pages can be programmed to a PIN within a 15-minute interval.
  • Message Sequence Numbering. This optional feature, available free of charge, assigns a number to incoming messages so One-Way Paging subscribers know the order in which their messages are received. This is especially useful if you have been out of coverage range; allowing you to check for any skipped numbers in the sequence (missed pages). Activation is handled by Customer Service.
  • Time of Day Paging. This feature allows messages to be programmed to arrive at a designated time and date through the IVR. A message can be programmed in advance for delivery in five minutes or up to 14 days. Each PIN is preset for the home time zone of the subscriber. This can improve communications across time zones or be used to send reminder messages.
  • Group Call. One-Way Paging subscribers can send one message simultaneously to up to 20 PINs. This function is valuable for getting in touch with staff or clients to alert them to late-breaking critical information.
  • Next PIN. Subscribers can execute a number of activities and send a different message to different PINs, without hanging up and redialing the system access number.
  • Message Retransmit. Subscribers have the option of resending any or all messages in their original format.

Paging Initiation Options

  • Paging Software. Message senders may initiate a page via our paging software. Our paging software is available for both Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems. This software allows message senders to compose and deliver text messages directly from their modem-equipped computers to any of our alphanumeric pagers. Unlike operator-assisted messaging, there is no charge associated with sending pages using our paging software. The software also allows the message sender to communicate exactly what they want to communicate allowing messages to be up to 240 characters in length.
  • Cyberpage. Page initiation via the Internet. There are two ways a message sender may send a page to a One-Way Paging subscriber via the Internet. First, the message sender may relay subject, sender and text of an e-mail message directly to an alphanumeric pager via most e-mail packages using a computer and a modem. Messages should be addressed to PIN@pagemci.com. Second, a text message may be sent by accessing the Verizon Business Web page.

News Features

  • Headline News. Headline News delivers all the top national and international news headlines to alphanumeric pagers twice a day. These news headlines cover business, economic, political, and general categories. This value-added service is available free of charge. Headline News is available with Advanced Messaging, nationwide, regional, or metro service.

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Optional Features

One-Way Paging offers government organizations optional features that make paging an even more valuable communication tool.

Nationwide Now
Nationwide Now provides subscribers with temporary nationwide coverage whenever needed. With just one phone call to our paging system, government employees can activate this feature and have their pages follow them outside their prescribed coverage area.

Paging subscribers can activate this service by contacting their DAR. This feature can be activated for up to 14 days, and they can extend this coverage for an additional 14 days at any time while they're using the service. After 14 days, this coverage expires automatically, so your government organization will never be overcharged if you forget to cancel the service.

Personal Toll-free Numbers
To make communication with employees even easier, we can give them personal toll-free numbers. With personal toll-free numbers, it's easier for you to access our paging network because you don't need to remember a separate Personal ID Number (PIN). In addition, you can customize your paging service greeting so it includes the agency name.

When your organization requests personal toll-free numbers, we will send you a fulfillment package that includes your specific 800/888 numbers. We assign personal 800/888 numbers randomly. If you request more than 50 personal toll-free numbers, please notify your Verizon Business account manager to make sure that we have enough 800/888 numbers available when you need them.

Rules for new orders. When your government organization requests a personal toll-free number for a new pager, you will receive either an 888 number or an 800 number. Toll-free exchanges are assigned randomly when you request the service. Your organization will see an additional feature charge for each personal toll-free number on your invoice. If your subscriber is assigned a number with 888 as the exchange, it works just like the current 800 numbers.

Rules for existing paging subscribers. If your organization has already established an account with a seven-digit PIN, you can upgrade your service to include toll-free access by contacting your agency DAR. You will receive either an 888 number or an 800 number.

Unfortunately, it is not possible for government subscribers to retain an existing 7-digit number and simply have the 888 or 800 exchange added to the number. Verizon Business will assign an entirely new 800 or 888 number to that pager. When you upgrade your service, you will see an additional charge on your invoice. Please remember to notify your callers that you have a new pager number. A message referral for new numbers is not available.

Voicemail
Government employees may prefer to receive voice messages instead of, or in addition to, numeric or alphanumeric messages. With the One-Way Paging voicemail option, callers are connected to a voice mailbox, where they can leave a detailed voice message.

When a voicemail message is waiting, the pager alerts the user with a tone or vibration. The unit then displays our toll-free voicemail number. To retrieve their messages, paging subscribers call the toll-free number and enter their PIN and security code. We give your subscribers complete control over your voicemail service, so you can access numeric features, change your security code, and personalize greetings.

Loss Protection Insurance
With Loss Protection Insurance, Verizon Business will replace any pager unit when lost or stolen, for a one-time deductible. If a government employee loses a pager, he or she should contact the agency DAR to report the loss. The employee will need to provide the PIN associated with the pager. The employee will then have the option of temporarily disconnecting the lost unit until it can be found, or permanently disconnecting it and having a new unit shipped.

Broadcast Capcodes
A broadcast capcode allows one page to be sent simultaneously to many end-users. Verizon Business has the ability to program a common capcode into many devices. This allows the message sender to send the same message to an infinite number of devices on the same frequency. News broadcasts received on pagers are actually accomplished in the same way. Ordering a broadcast capcode is a two-step process. First, the capcode is ordered by contacting the agency DAR. Then, all other units are ordered that will be programmed with the broadcast capcode. Note: One broadcast capcode may not be used to page both alphanumeric and numeric units. To send a group page to alphanumeric and numeric units, you must set up a broadcast capcode for alphanumeric units and a different one for numeric units. This feature is not available for Local coverage subscribers or Advanced Messaging subscribers.

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Coverage

Our network provides coverage in over 90 percent of the U.S. business population. We offer several levels of coverage, so your government organization pays only for the coverage you need. We also offer temporary nationwide coverage for short-term travel outside of your usual coverage area.

Local Service Coverage--Local service usually covers a major city and several neighboring cities and towns. The Local footprint for a city is sometimes a larger and broader area when compared to Metro coverage, however satellite cities are typically excluded. Local service provides coverage in over 1,000 major cities. Note: Due to the nature of our network for Local Service, local coverage cannot be upgraded to Nationwide Service via the Nationwide Now service option.

Metro Service Coverage--Metro service provides paging coverage for 50 large state-like areas, representing over 10,000 cities, towns and suburbs. For example, if you select coverage for the "Alabama Area" you will receive coverage in Birmingham, Montgomery, Dothan, Phoenix City, and Huntsville — all the cities that our paging currently covers in Alabama.

Metro service subscribers will automatically receive service in the metro service area for their billing address. In addition, if temporary nationwide coverage is needed, subscribers can activate the optional Nationwide Now service by calling the agency DAR.

Note: Some states are divided into more than one coverage area. For example, California has two metro coverage areas: Northern California and Southern California. Subscribers receive coverage in only one of the areas, not both. New York, Illinois, and Texas are examples of other states with more than one Metro coverage area.

Regional Service Coverage--For Verizon Business 's Regional service, we divide the country into six geographic areas: Eastern, Southeastern, Midwestern, Central, Western, and Southwestern. Regional service is usually more cost-effective than Nationwide service when a subscriber's travel is normally limited to one area of the U.S. Our regions provide overlapping coverage — some states are covered in more than one region. If a government subscriber needs temporary nationwide coverage, you can sign up for Verizon Business 's optional Nationwide Now service by calling the agency DAR.

Nationwide Service Coverage--Nationwide service provides coverage in all U.S. locations within the One-Way Paging network and covers approximately 90 percent of the U.S. business population. It reaches more than 238 major metropolitan areas. This coverage option is for end users that travel frequently to many areas of the United States.

Reception Government organizations may have less-than-perfect reception under certain physical conditions, even when you are in an area where we provide coverage. Factors such as the terrain, type of building construction (if paged party is indoors) and weather can all affect reception.

Coverage Maps Your Verizon Business account team can provide updated coverage maps/lists upon request or you may access coverage maps on the Internet. 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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Access

We make it easy for your callers to page you by providing a choice of access methods. A message sender may choose the method that's most convenient for them.

  • Touch-tone phone. A caller, using a touch-tone phone, dials 1-800-724-3624 and enters the subscriber's Personal Identification Number (PIN). The caller could also dial the subscriber's personal toll-free number if applicable. The caller then leaves a numeric message using the phone keypad.
  • Operator dispatch. A caller phones our dispatch center, dialing 1-800-724-3624 (and PIN) or the subscriber's personal toll-free number, and dictates the message to an operator. The operator then sends the text message to the subscriber. This option is available only with Alphanumeric Service.
  • Paging software. A message sender uses a PC and our free paging software to connect to the system via modem and enters a text message. This option is available only with Alphanumeric Service.
  • Voicemail. A caller can leave a message on your voicemail if this optional service has been selected.
  • Cyberpage (paging via the Internet). There are two ways a message sender may send a page to a One-Way Paging subscriber via the Internet. First, the message sender may relay the subject, sender, and text of an e-mail message directly to a Verizon Business pager using most e-mail packages and a PC equipped with a modem. This option is available only with Alphanumeric Service. Messages should be addressed to PIN@pagemci.com. Second, a text message may be sent from the Verizon Business Web page.

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Transport

Messages sent via our paging network pass through a six-step process that ends seconds later, with a message transmission to the government 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 customers' messaging units, which receive messages if they 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

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

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

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

Network Reliability
Verizon Business uses the broadcast capabilities of two different satellite providers for redundancy; this backup makes our system extremely reliable. The two satellites operate on different bands-one on C band and one on Ku band. Each broadcasts 100 percent of the traffic, thereby providing 100 percent redundancy at this level of the network. Each of the 160 downlink ground transmit stations receives feeds from both satellites on separate receiver dishes. Should a satellite, satellite uplink, or receiver dish fail, the downlink is automatically switched to receive messages from the other satellite within 100 seconds.

Network Protocol
One-Way Paging uses FLEX® protocol technology, a digital message format that is an established standard worldwide. FLEX protocol technology allows higher data speeds and enables us to provide increased capacity. FLEX protocol technology transmits messages at 6400 baud and reduces error rates. And FLEX protocol technology can offer government organizations these additional benefits:

  • Saves battery power, increasing battery life up to five times
  • Incorporates sophisticated error-correcting features
  • Provides higher speed transmission of pages
  • Allows greater coverage and lower infrastructure costs
  • Enables smaller and lighter-weight equipment
  • Increases 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). The Customer Service Center offers experienced customer service associates that are equipped to service sensitive accounts with security options and password protected call-in processes.

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 pagers that are deemed lost, stolen or damaged beyond repair will have to be replaced by contacting the Designated Account Representative (DAR) for the government agency that the 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 (active & de-active), 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, Nationwide Now, 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 your government organization decides to order One-Way Paging, we immediately 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 your agency and your Verizon Federal account team to develop a customized implementation plan. Your implementation plan will contain checklists in the following categories:

  • Gather Information
  • Assess Information
  • Set Expectations
  • Order Entry
  • Fulfillment
  • Follow-up

Fulfillment
All One-Way Paging pagers will be delivered to your government organization complete with instructions, User Guide, and Quick Reference Guide.

As part of your Verizon Business paging fulfillment, Verizon Business will ensure that all users are properly trained on their new pagers, and that they understand their coverage and service options. We are also happy to inform your users of internal procedures that are relevant to paging services.

Along with your Verizon Federal account team, the experienced One-Way Paging team is ready and willing to address your paging needs.

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Invoicing

Your government organization can eliminate some of the administrative hassle of bookkeeping and tracking telecommunication invoices with Verizon Business. We can integrate paging and long distance service on a single invoice. With a single invoice detailing all Verizon Business charges, payment and expense tracking is greatly simplified. For example, your One-Way Paging service will be shown by PIN on your Verizon Business On-Net Services invoice. Verizon Business can also link paging charges to service locations to help track charges by location.

Other billing options:

  • Separate Paging Billing. Verizon Business establishes a new "paging only" service location for billing. Paging charges are shown according to the existing "bill payer ID" that is associated with the newly established service location.

Pricing Components
One-Way Paging charges are comprised of standard monthly charges, usage-based charges, and optional feature charges.

Monthly Basic Service Fee. Charges are assessed according to which type of service and coverage options are selected. The basic fee includes a defined number of characters.

Overage Charges. Includes fees for characters sent in excess of the monthly allowance, fees for voice mailbox usage, and fees for messages sent via Verizon Business operators.

  • Alphanumeric: a per-character charge if you exceed your allotted characters per month
  • Numeric: a per-page charge if you exceed your allotted pages per month
  • VoiceMailbox: a per-minute charge if you exceed your allotted minutes per month

Optional Charges.

  • Nationwide Now
  • Operator dispatch fees
  • Voicemail fee
  • Personal Toll-Free number fee

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Hardware

Numeric Pagers
Verizon Business offers the Motorola Bravo® FLX pager with our numeric service. The Bravo FLX pager is available for lease and comes with the following features.

Motorola Bravo FLX Pager Specifications

  • FLEX protocol technology allows longer battery life — up to five months of battery life
  • Uses one AAA battery
  • Battery weight 2.32 ounces
  • Sixteen numeric message slots
  • Date/time display
  • Message timestamping
  • Five selectable musical alerts (in addition to beep and vibrate)
  • Alarm clock
  • Eight message protection/locks important messages
  • Memory Retention when off and when changing battery
  • Easy to read backlit display
  • Low battery alert
  • Top mount angled display
  • Black exterior

Alphanumeric Paging
Verizon Business offers the Advisor Elite® pager with our alphanumeric service. Alphanumeric pagers are available for lease and comes with the following features.

Motorola Advisor Elite Pager Specifications

  • FLEX Capable — Offers the latest and most efficient technology affording extended battery life and page reliability.
  • Four Display Lines — Easy to read entire text messages at a single glance.
  • Two Zoom Displays — Lines zoom in from four lines to two lines for a larger view of your messages.
  • Optimax® EL Electra Light Display — Provides exceptional clarity and optimum readability in low-light conditions.
  • Source Alerts — User has the ability to select a different alert pattern per address (i.e., each info Service and Personal messages can alert differently.
  • Total Character Memory — Up to 30,000; enough room to store a book of information.
  • Thirty-four Message Slots — Plenty of memory to receive and store all your important messages and up to 15 different information services.
  • Information Service Capability — Allows user to receive information services such as sports, weather, headline news, and stocks.
  • Notebook Entries — Stores any messages containing names and phone numbers of friends, family, or business associates for easy reference.
  • Message Timestamping — Helps users prioritize your messages by knowing exactly what date and time they were received.
  • Message Alarm — No need to ever forget important dates in the future... like that special someone's birthday; send yourself a message and set your message alarm to remind you of that important date in the future.
  • Alarm — You can set your pager to wake you up in the morning or to remind you of that important appointment.
  • Private Time — Provides the ability to turn off all pager alerts during specified times and still receive your messages.
  • User Selectable Alerts — Choose your favorite, or change your alert so you can differentiate your pager from others.
  • Vibrating Alert — You can be alerted of incoming messages in a noisy environment or discreetly alerted when you do not want to disturb those around you with a loud alert.
  • Battery Gauge — Monitors your pager's energy level, so it is easy to see at a glance the remaining life of your battery.
  • Duplicate Message — Duplicate Messages are stored in the same memory slot as original message - saving memory space for new messages. The latest timestamp is used and a Duplicate prompt is displayed when the message is read.
  • Backlit Display — Allows you to easily read your messages at night or in a low light environment.
  • Battery — Replacements readily available.

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