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Voice Communications - Toll Free
In Toll Free service (sometimes referred to as "800 service"), the call is paid for by the called party rather than the calling party. It provides the opportunity for callers, in particular, to contact a provider of services and products to find out more about its respective services and products offered as well as schedule services and order products without paying for the contact call. This would help to encourage more business between callers and the provider of services and products as well as promote a better understanding by the provider of the callers' needs. For agencies, this would allow their callers to access additional information about and benefit from important State services at no charge.
BCCS telecommunications services are available to all state agencies, boards, commissions, universities, offices of the Illinois House and Senate, and Constitutional Officers.
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Standard Offering
- 24 x 7 x 365 toll free number availability (800, 866, 877, 888).
- Statewide Toll Free service availability.
- Intrastate numbers that allow only calls originating within the State of Illinois .
- Interstate numbers that allow nationwide calls originating within the United States with the exception being calls originating in the Caribbean.
Non-Standard Features
- Advanced functions and special features are available upon request. They include courtesy announcement, call block, call allocator, call prompter/speech recognition, area code routing, alternate destination routing, ANI delivery, calendar routing, toll free number listing and service assurance.
- Note 1: For additional enhanced or special features such as reporting, agencies should contact their assigned CSS for needs analyses and price quotations.
- Note 2: Agencies can determine from which areas calls can be received. That generally is intrastate only or in-state and nationwide (intra/interstate). However, area code, prefixes, and other criteria can be used to restrict incoming calls.
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- Telecommunications Service Intervals: Target Timelines [PDF, 29KB]
- 24 x 7 x 365 availability of service.
- Clear audio quality
- Random assignment of numbers. Actual "800" numbers are very limited in terms of being available. Toll free services will normally be assigned "866", "877", or "888" numbers. Please be advised that no certainties are offered as to specific acronyms, branding, or spelling arrangements being part of any assigned toll free numbers. Such requests are also expected to take longer to fulfill.
- Ordering services are performed during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- CSC Communications System Specialists (CSS) are dedicated to providing price quotations and low-cost alternatives, clarifying order information, monitoring order status, and updating billing information. They also help with the analysis and development of the appropriate product and service mix to fulfill specific short and long term customer needs.
- Integrated ordering, inventory, and billing in a shared database accessible to customer. Telecom Coordinators to enable service order tracking, usage reporting and billing review. Customer Telecom Coordinators also receive automatic Service Bulletins announcing changes in equipment offering, price, and procurement procedures.
- Automated agency billing - included in monthly call detail provided by CMS Business Services
- A single point of contact for reporting and monitoring repair and maintenance issues through successful resolution.
- Coordination of training in the efficient use of products and services.
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- Publish "local numbers" to encourage use by local residents rather than the more expensive toll free numbers.
- Specify the nature of the toll free number on the order: intrastate, interstate, or custom
- Perform a routine review of billing for errors, underutilized service, special features and equipment.
- Provide a designated agency contact and related contact information on the order for BCCS to interface with when needed.
- Perform an annual reconciliation to ensure accurate assignment.
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| Price quotes: |
Find your CSS |
| Repair & Other questions: |
Customer Service Center (CSC)
In Springfield: 217-524-4784
Other locations: 800-366-8768 (follow prompt selection)
Or: BCCS Website
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| Billing Questions: |
CRF Billing Help Desk: 217-524-9369 |
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Service Order Information |
- All customer requests for toll free numbers must go through the designated agency Telecommunications Coordinator and be submitted on a Telecommunications Service Request (TSR).
- TSR Instruction
- Note: A TSR requires a Telecommunications Coordinator's signature.
- The TSR must include an authorization (i.e., billing) code for the purpose of billing the usage.
- The CSC offers a handbook for agency Telecommunications Coordinators.
- For additional questions or information on the ordering of telecommunications products and services, visit the BCCS web site.
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