Nov07 - Launch of UK local numbers

dmClub now stocks numbers from all UK local areas: Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol, Edinburgh and many many more! For more information:

• email us at support@dmclub.net or call us on +44 20 7060 2000.

Instructions for dmCallsEng/CCNumMan.

This is where we configure dmAnswers CallCentre numbers

To disable a CallCentre number

Click on the XConfig, set the attribute Priorty="0" and save

To disable a CallCentre

This is mediated via the OpWeighting attribute of just one number that the CallCentre has (OpWeighting should only appear in ONE CCNum for any particular operator)

Click on the XConfig, set the attribute OpWeighting="0" and save

XConfig spec

It features:

• a shorter overall sales path (less clicks to purchase)
• includes a range of new tools (such as our inforamative Call Cost Explorer)
• and an upgraded content management system.

Target audience: Proactive dealers interested in starting to sell our new services and plans right away.

Why is it good for my customers?

They can buy numbers more easily, and combine with their choice of call-handling services, on a price plan to suit the volume of calls they anticipate. Whatever their needs, there will be a product to match.

Why is it good for me?

The more competitive product offering avaiable through dmABS 1.5 means more sales, and in turn larger profits. 

The site will also allow you to target a broader range of customers, as the new products offer something for everyone, from the small business that handles only a few calls a week, to the large enterprise with a customer 'hot-line' that never stops ringing. Our medium and high volume price plans offer attractive call-forwarding discounts to customers who expect lots of calls. And attractive discounts for customers translate into more sales for you.

Downloads

Software

dmABS_1.5_Elephant_v5B.zip 

Documentation 

To come. 

Release status and limitations

This is a pioneer realese, meaning that we have tested it extensively internally, but that there may be a few rough edges, and some minor bugs lurking in the website. However, we are confident that there are no serious bugs remaining.

Known limitations

The dmABS 1.5E pioneer release has the following limitations.

1 Header bar text branding, and header bar recolouring will not work unless references to the dmClub logo graphic and header bar background graphic are removed from the dmABS options file at /common/abs_options.php, and the page's background tile is removed from the dmClub theme.

This is because the pioneer release is already branded with the dmClub brand (as seen at http://www.dmclub.net), which must be removed before the header rebranding options have any effect.

// Background colour for header block
$abs_opt['header_block_colour'] = '#669';

// URL of background (aligned right) for header block - OPTIONAL
$abs_opt['header_bg'] = $abs_root . '/themes/' . $abs_opt['theme'] .
                                                      '/gen_images/header_bg.gif';

// Full URL of company logo - OPTIONAL
$abs_opt['company_logo'] = $abs_root . '/themes/' . $abs_opt['theme'] .
                                          '/gen_images/dmclub_logo.gif';

to:

// Background colour for header block- this is now active
$abs_opt['header_block_colour'] = '#669';

// URL of background (aligned right) for header block - OPTIONAL
$abs_opt['header_bg'] = '';

// Full URL of company logo - OPTIONAL
$abs_opt['company_logo'] = '';

body
{
	text-align: center;
	margin: 0px;
	padding: 0px;
	background-image: url("images/header_tile.gif");
}

to:

body
{
	text-align: center;
	margin: 0px;
	padding: 0px;
} 
 

Once you have removed the dmClub header branding:

• Setting the header bar background colour works.
• The name you specify as 'company_displayname' in abs_options.php will appear in the header bar.

You can now go on to recolour the header bar, and add your own company name, company logo and/or header bar background to dmABS.

Modes

• Monthly Rental
• Call Cost Calculator
• Tariff Change

Costs/Rewards associated with the number

Monthly Rental

Monthly rental Shows the level of your current monthly rental (which is prepaid) and the period for which it has been prepaid.

Call Cost Calculator

Tariff: Which tariff to use when calculating the cost of a call. You can choose the service (dmConnect, dmVoice, dmFax or dmSwitchboard) and plan (Bas, Pro or Ent) but not the number type using this selector.

Destination: The destination number (e.g. 02070602000) to calculate the cost of diverting to.

To calculate the cost of diverting to a VoIP destination, put voip-trunk (including the hyphen) in this box.

Start GMT: The date and time of the start of the call. This must be in the format YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss.

Duration/s: The duration of the call in seconds.

[Adv] Minutes so far: The number of minutes already used this month. On some tariffs calls get cheaper as the total number of minutes passes different thresholds.

[Adv] Origin: Select whether the costed call originates from a UK national or international location (this only affects 070 numbers).

Calc Cost: Click this button to calculate the cost of a call starting at Start GMT, lasting for Duration/s seconds and diverting to Destination.

Cost inc VAT: The calculated cost of the call, in UK pounds sterling inclusive of VAT.

This is divided into:

• Inbound Leg - the cost of the leg of the call between the caller and this number
• Outbound Leg - the cost of the leg of the call between this number and the divert destination.

The results:

• A positive cost figure indicates a charge.

• A negative cost figure indicates a payout.

Tariff Change

This is where you can request a change to the Service and Plan that apply to your number. For example:

- You're on dmConnect and want to use the dmSwitchboard service

- You're on a Base plan and wish to change to Enterprise plan because you're forwarding a lot of calls to mobiles and estimate that will save you money.

1. Request a quote

2. Select the option that best suits your requirements

- Often you can get a better deal with the longer term contracts (both in increased rebate and volume discount)

- You may see negative costs, especially early on on your current contract, that mean you will get a net credit to your account

- Click on to see how the figure is arrived at (it's a combination of a new contract and a partial rebate on your existing contract)

- Click on "Confirm Tariff Change" to make the change occur (and take funds from your account accordingly)

If you don't have sufficient funds to afford the tariff change, you are invited to make a deposit large enough to cover it. In the case of numbers that cost money to run (eg. 0800, UK Geo) the system will try to ensure that sufficient funds exist for that number to forward 10 minutes of calls to a UK landline.

In general the tariff change is immediate and will be reflected in what you see at the top of the control page. In some cases (change of plan for dmConnect) the change has to occur overnight, so you won't see an immediate effect.

You should open up your filewall to all access:

• From 213.166.5.129, 213.166.5.130, 213.166.5.13, 87.238.72.151, 87.238.72.151, 87.238.72.153, 87.238.72.154
• Using SIP (UDP) on port 5060, RTP (UDP) on ports 16384-32767

Example Asterisk script

in /etc/asterisk/sip.conf:

[mag-SIP]
type = peer
context =from-mag
host=213.166.5.129
allow=alaw,ulaw
dtmfmode=inband

in /etc/asterisk/extensions.conf:

[from-mag]
exten => _X., 1, Answer
exten => _X., 2, Playback(demo-congrats)
exten => _X., 3, Hangup

Please note that we do not support Asterisk, and this is a friendly hint to to VOIP PABX savvy professionals.

Technical VOIP features that we support

• Inband DTMF signalling
• CLI signalling
• G.711 codec (A-Law & u-Law)

To test the your VOIP number is working

Notes:-

1. The 44173373214 will be your dmClub number
2. The failure/busy divert to number should be one of your numbers
3. don't forget to click the save key

What we do not currently support

• IAX
• Outbound VOIP
• VOIP registration of handsets to our servers

Payment methods accepted in this way:

• Cash payment over the counter at any HSBC branch
• UK cheque payment over the counter at any HSBC branch*
• Wire transfer to our account
• BACS/Netbanking transfer to our account

*Please note that we do NOT accept cheque payments drawn on bank accounts held outside the UK.

Our banking details are as follows:

*International transfers are subject to an additional £8.00 to cover our bank's charges.

Once that’s been completed, please follow these steps to continue:

For netbank/BACS/wire transfer:

Login to your online banking facility or telephone banking, and send us your payment for the amount you specified in your clubhouse. PLEASE ensure when sending your payment that you include any of the following as a reference to be sent with your payment:

• DmClub PAY payment reference
• DmClub ORD order reference
• dmClub telephone number you are paying for
• Clubhouse dmID email address

For cash/cheque payments directly into the DML account:

• CLEARLY write your dmClub telephone number, DMID email address, or DML PAY or ORD reference number onto your payment receipt
• Forward a copy of that receipt to us by fax (0207-060-2001), or
• Scan/digitally photograph the receipt , add it to an email as an attachment, and forward it to support@dmclub.net.

Example

This is an example of an acceptable notification fax:

<- Clear indication of the correct telephone number the payment is to be credited onto <- Clear and legible date <- Clear and visible stamp from bank teller with matching date and legible sort code <- Bank sort code written onto payment slip, just in case stamp isn’t legible <- DmClub telephone number and PAY payment reference written directly onto the payment slip <- Clear and legible payment amount <- Clear and legible customer DMID

Remember that if you run out of room on your payment slip, you can always place the slip onto a backing sheet of paper and write your details onto the sheet instead of trying to write it all onto the slip!

What not to do

The following may delay or prevent us from crediting your payment into your account. Please make sure you avoid these common errors when submitting bank payments:

• Forgetting to notify us at all that you’ve made a payment
• Faxing us a payment receipt with no phone number or dmID written on it
• Faxing us a payment receipt with an incomplete phone number or dmID written on it
• Faxing us a payment receipt where the amount/date/sort code on the payment slip is illegible
• Faxing your payment receipt to our support number (0207-060-2000) instead of our fax number (0207-060-2001)

Your clubhouse account balance will be credited within 4 business hours of us receiving valid notification of your payment, and verifying that the funds have been credited to us. Please note that if your notification is illegible or unclear, or is missing information, then the processing of your payment may be delayed.

Please do not hesitate to contact our support team on +4420 7060 2000 if you have any queries regarding this process.

For alternate methods of making payment, please see dmNote 0110

Links disappearing when clicked (affects theme: baseline_brand only)

To solve this

a) Open /themes/baseline_brand/typography_and_colours.css

Find the lines reading:
/* STANDARD TEXT LINKS */
a { color: #669; }
a:active { color: #FFF; }

And change the colour defined for a:active from #FFF white to the colour of your choice, eg:
a:active { color: #F0F; } gives pink.

b) Open dmb0_over.css (the CSS file for the XComponents) and find the lines reading:
/* STANDARD TEXT LINKS */
.dmb0 a { color: #669; }
.dmb0 a:active { color: #FFF; }

and change the colour definition for:
.dmb0 a:active { color: #FFF; } from #FFF to the colour of your choice.

Error mesage on free number purchase

When transfering to the clubhouse, having purchased a free number, there is not auto login, and an error message is displayed. This will not affect paying customers, and all the customer has to do, is to put their PIN in. Nevertheless, we will fix this bug, as it clearly should not happen. 

Clever tricks 

I want to not offer 0870 numbers

You can avoid offering 0870 numbers by doing 5 things

1 Change /common/menudef.php

Open /common/menudef.php (the file used to build the main menu) and comment out the line reading:
$abs_menu[2]['sub'][] = array('text' => '0870',                   'link' => '/numbers/0870.php');
so it reads
// $abs_menu[2]['sub'][] = array('text' => '0870',                   'link' => '/numbers/0870.php');

 

2 Remove reference in WhyUs

Log into the dmABS admin area at /admin, the click the Why Us tab, and, using the CMS, delete the 0870 icon from the page.

 

3 Remove reference in NUmbers home page

Click the Numbers tab, and, using the CMS, delete the 0870 icon and the paragraph about 0870 numbers.

 

4 Remove references in ABC cinemas home page

Solutions > ABC Home Cinema - this page also contains links to the 0870 page, so will need amending.

 

5 Remove reference in Nerd Networks case study

Solutions > Nerd Networks - this page also contains links to the 0870 page, so will need amending.

 

I want to install dmABS in a subdirectory, not in the root

This is already supported, just not documented. To run dmABS in a subdirectory place the file 'abs_version_control.php' in your webserver's root directory, and customise the $abs_path[] array. To run dmABS at www.yourdomain.com/dmnumbers , for example, you would write:

$abs_path[] = array('name' => 'www.yourdomain.com',       'path' => '/dmnumbers');

Please download file abs_version_control.zip

• Each "page" on the site corresponds with a PHP file on your server.
• e.g. /index.php (in webserver root) is the homepage, and /services/fax.php is the page about dmFax

Customise each page's <title> and <meta> tags

The title and meta tags of each page can be customised by editing these PHP files in a text editor.

• Before 

• After 

Customise the page copy, and tell Google

• Customise page copy on a page-by-page basis using the built in CMS.
• Submit a Google Sitemap.
• Submit products to Google Base (the new Froogle).
• Monitor sales uisng Google Analytics and adjust your keywords and SEO strategy.

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/numbering03/070precall/

We note that the article is undated, and it seems to imply in the words of Arnie "I'll be back!"

Three has still got the announcement there. 

14 January 2008
Major carrier announcement test

We are informed (but not by OFCOM) that OFCOM has instructed all originating carriers to remove the message. There appears to be no reference on the OFCOM site.

Following tests carried out on Wes16Jan08:

17 December 2007
OFCOM announces carriers can remove the "PreCall announcement"

In our orginal submission to OFCOM, we made the point that the messages were pretty unhelpful, and so long as to be sabotaging the calls. 

In the case of emergencies telephones are an important tools, and we have many users of our service who might well be used for emergency assistance.

• We could not see the date of the announcement on the announcement document itself

• BT seemed to have dropped the PreCall annoucement prior to this release.

• We would hope that consumer friendly operators, would drop the long silly announcements, put a short and accurate (how much will this call cost you) message, and put their rates on their website (and train their customer "care" teams to be able to inform their customers). 

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/numbering03/070precall/

14 December 2007
Major carrier announcement test

As of Friday December 14, it would appear that the warning messages have been removed from some providers' calls, including BT. We conducted a series of test calls to one of our 070 personal numbers and can report the following information:

Background

As of 01 September 07, following new requirements by OFCOM aimed at bringing transparency to the Personal Numbering Market, BT have begun delaying incoming calls to some personal numbers with a 20 second announcement to warn callers that they may be charged up to 50ppm to call a personal number.  This message is played on all incoming calls to personal numbers charged at 20ppm or more.  Unfortunately at no time does the announcement actually state what the call is really costing (which we believe was OFCOMs intention).

What this means

At present any calls to dmClub K-rate numbers (070059 & 07050) or PN2 numbers (07077) will begin with this 20 second announcement played to the caller before the call is connected.  We feel this is unreasonable and therefore have taken the following actions:

1 Re-rate our numbers

We are attempting to re-rate our personal numbers so that they will cost the caller less than 20ppm to call.  This would result int he announcement no longer being called.  This will take a few months for BT to process however and may have implications on which destinations can be forwarded for free.  We will keep customers notified on this page as we have more information.

2 Free 0871 number

We are prepared to offer customers affected by this problem a free 0871 number for the next 6 months - that's no signup fee or rental until 01 March 2008.  This will mean you still receive a free number which you can forward to UK landlines for free.  There will however be a charge to forward calls to UK mobile phones - we're sorry, but this is unavoidable.  Please note - as these numbers do normally have a charge associated with them, we do ask that you only apply for one if you do intend to use it.

During the 6 month period, our Personal numbers should be re-rated, and you will be able to resume that service as before.  Of course, if you wish to keep the 0871 number, you may do so at a rental of £18.89 per annum.

How can we help you?

If you need assistance with this, please feel free to call dmClub Support on +44-20-7060-2000 or email support@dmclub.net.

Is there anything that can be done about this?

We are looking at submitting a  formal complaint to OFCOM regarding this problem.  If you wish to contact OFCOM yourself to make a complaint, please feel free to do so.  Alternatively if you would simply like us to include your details as a customer who has been harmed by this change, email support@dmclub.net with your name, number and a brief statement of how this change has affected you.

We strongly recommend that you print out a copy of the sound usage page of your script. You should also log out from the web control while recording the sounds.

On your number's webcontrol: [Sounds] [Sound Usage] [Print] [Logout]

Sounds Wizard key overview

Review the results (5-10 mins)

• Is it going to be obvious to callers what to do?
• Does it give the right impression?
• Check the divert departments
• Check the voicemail message (this can be setup over the phone, selecting option 5 from the switchboard control menu)
• Check notification and voicemail delivery format and email address.

Now let your customers use it

Listen to what your customers say

Features that they liked: maybe there are other features that they would like in the future, listen to what they would like, and let us know - it may be that the existing product can do what you would like, it's just a question of knowing how!

Features that they did not like: what do they not like? why not? how could it be made better? again contact us, and keep an eye out for the tips, so that we can make this the service you want.