Voice Services FAQs
- General issues
- Pricing issues
- Features issues
- Technical issues
General issues
Q. How can N3 Voice Services enhance the patient experience and improve waiting times?
A. N3 Voice Services enables NHS staff to communicate more effectively by providing common standards and future developments which will enable changes in working practice that can help to improve timescales for decision making and patient interactions. Any cost savings achieved could also be use to improve the patient experience.
Q. What is the main driver for implementing the initial range of services - cost savings or telephone features?
A. N3SP believes it has a compelling story for cost savings, e.g. by the introduction of free on-net calls and the fixed to mobile gateway tariffs. By providing these services we establish a standard for current and future voice services on a pan-NHS basis. As we move forward we aim to introduce additional services which will increase business efficiency and potentially new ways of working. Clearly telephony features are also important in the decision making process.
Q. Some of our NHS sites have very low call volumes. Is the cost of deploying your services justified?
A. We recognise that each NHS organisation needs to ensure that the decision to proceed for a site or group of sites is cost effective. If needed, N3SP can work with you to analyse the Return On Investment (ROI). The decision to deploy N3 Voice Services cannot be made on call volumes alone. Other major considerations include the reduction of existing Telco line rentals, LAN costs and engaging N3 to manage a dispersed estate over a large geographic area. N3 Voice Services can also be justified by the additional resilience provided in emergency or disaster, when other voice networks can fail.
Q. Are you targeting these services at specific staff groups?
A. N3 is engaging with local NHS organisations to qualify the needs and build a development roadmap to deliver benefits to all NHS staff. We are also engaging with clinicians and user groups to help shape the products and services to meet their business needs.
Q. If we are part of a COIN does this make deployment of N3 Voice Services more complicated?
A. No. COINs have different characteristics but our engagement process will identify the local needs and develop an appropriate Voice Services solution.
Q. What impact will 21CN have on N3 Voice Services?
A. The N3 design team have ongoing dialogue with the 21CN team within BT. We are developing services mindful of the proposed 21CN services. N3 Voice Services as an application should benefit from the underlying 21CN development and the new features it delivers.
Q. Is voice traffic on the network encrypted?
A. Not currently. N3 is reviewing the area of encryption with the NHS Connecting for Health Technical Office. The impact on N3 Voice Services caused by any change of policy would need to be carefully considered before any decision was taken to make amendments to the product
Q. What happens to N3 Hosted Voice Services when the N3 catalogue service is unavailable?
A. Under failure of the primary circuit, N3 has a variety of resilience options depending upon site requirements and circuit type. CFUR (Call Forwarding Un Registered) is the most straightforward service, where upon a circuit failure all incoming calls are automatically diverted to a pre-arranged answering point, such as a mobile telephone or a standard telephone number. This service is a non cost option and can be arranged at a system level or even down to an individual extension number level. In addition, for certain larger capacity links, N3 Voice can provide a non cost option of hot standby between the primary and secondary N3 links in addition to the CFUR service outlined above. Finally there is a cost option known as Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST). This will provide basic call processing for local site and local PSTN calls under a primary circuit failure. Your N3 Voice specialist will be pleased to advise on all the options outlined above.
Q. Is N3SP aware of the necessary quality of voice recording for legal purposes?
A. Yes. If the service is introduced N3 will comply with all legal requirements.
Q. Will N3 be sharing in the financial risk to create these voice services?
A. N3 has invested in the platform infrastructure to enable these new VoIP services for the NHS. We will continue to invest in new services as we implement the development roadmap.
Q. Does N3SP provide a Disaster Recovery (DR) service where a Hosted Voice installation can be re-located to a different site within 24-48 hours?
A. In the event of a site failure N3SP will work with the customer on a reasonable endeavours basis to restore services at an agreed alternative location. For incoming calls through the Central PSTN Gateway an option is available for handsets that becomes un-registered (such as a site failure) whereby all calls are diverted to an alternative pre-defined telephone number.
Q. What solution would you recommend for existing private voice networks using Megastream circuits to interconnect PBXs?
A. Deploying a Local Gateway Service would enable all sites within the private voice network to onward link to N3 Voice Services. In some cases it may be possible to link individual PBXs directly by Local Gateway Services. These connections could then be used as inter-PBX links in place of the existing Megastreams allowing the original circuits to be ceased.
Pricing issues
Q. Have prices been published for these services?
A. N3 has developed a template costing approach based on the current N3 Data catalogue service. We will work with you to understand your requirements and derive a cost for your solution.
Q. Do you have published tariffs for mobile calls?
A. There are nationally agreed tariffs for fixed to mobile calls available to all NHS organisations. Currently there are two plans available with the key difference being the choice to commit to minimum spend levels or "pay as you go". The pricing information is on the CRM portal, under ‘N3 Catalogue, Voice Catalogue Services". Alternatively call our helpdesk on 0800 085 0503 option 3.
Q. We currently enjoy competitive rates from our existing supplier for local, national and mobile calls. Why should we migrate to N3 Voice Services?
A. As there are many technologies and tariffs in the marketplace each Trust must assess the benefits based on their own circumstances. We are happy to work with NHS organisations to determine the merits of migrating to N3 Voice Services.
Q. Are there plans to break out of the network in major cities so that we can pick up local call charges?
A. We will offer a centralised PSTN gateway with competitive tariffs. Local PSTN connections will continue to be owned by the trusts themselves. The blend between local and national tariffs is changing and we see no benefit in adopting this approach.
Features issues
Q. Will N3 be refreshing handsets on the Hosted Voice Service?
A. The handsets provided are feature rich and firmware upgradeable therefore it is not considered economically viable or in most cases necessary to change on a regular basis. Generally new features are made available from the core platform rather than the handset.
Q . At launch a standard voicemail capability will be available but what future enhancements are planned?
A. Beyond the standard voicemail capability, N3SP will explore additional services offered by the upgraded voice platform. These may include services using Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and Presence features.
Q. Some GP practices record telephone consultations with patients and save the sound file with the patient's record. What will N3SP offer in this area?
A. It may be possible to introduce a Call Recording service within the core platform. N3SP will investigate its potential and then consider the merits of developing such a service.
Q. Will a voice recording service from N3SP allow the recording to begin part way into the conversation rather than from the beginning?
A. N3 will be gathering Voice Recording requirements to establish which type of recording will be offered in the future. We will include the requirement of how and when a call recording can be initiated.
Q. Does this solution enable the concept of one telephone number for life in a similar way to the single mailbox offered by NHSmail?
A. The N3SP numbering will be based on site and handset numbering. The NHS is predominately a local user of PSTN. A customer may be able to have a centralised non-geographic number that can be moved around the network. N3 are working with NHS Connecting for Health and suppliers to assess the demand for a dedicated non-geographic range for the NHS.
Q. Do users of the Hosted Voice Service log-in on an individual basis?
A. Currently phones are allocated on an individual user basis and no log-in is required. If a customer also has an extension mobility service they will then be able to log into a telephone.
Q. Why has a softphone option not been launched at day one?
A. A softphone capability is achieved by loading and configuring software on the user's PC. As a client on the PC it does not sit within the voice VLAN. This creates a set of security and IP addressing issues for softphone usage. N3SP are investigating ways of overcoming these issues to offer a softphone product whilst maintaining the necessary security model.
Technical issues
Q. Will my current N3 router need to be replaced when I take an N3 Voice Service?
A. Connectivity for N3 Voice Services will be achieved through the enhancement of the existing router or the deployment of an additional router where possible. Where it is necessary to change the router this will be managed to minimise any disruption.
Q. Is the N3 Voice Services platform fully DPNSS compliant?
A. The service description for Local Gateways details DPNSS compliance. Exact functionality will be determined by the types and software levels in use on local PBXs.
Q. What signalling protocols are supported?
A. Both DPNSS and H.323 signalling protocols are supported.
Q. Will an incoming PSTN call to a PABX which in turn routes to a second PABX using DPNSS, work across the LGS service?
A. Yes. If both PABXs are connected to N3 Voice Services and use DPNSS for call handling then all speech type (i.e. not fax or modem) calls will connect successfully. This offers the customer an opportunity to consider the merits of retaining existing fixed circuits linking the two PABXs.
Q. Will panic alarm lines or extensions connected to a PABX be passed across the network using DPNSS?
A. Yes. If the PABX is connected to N3 Voice Services and uses DPNSS for call handling then all speech type (i.e. not fax or modem) calls will connect successfully.
Q If a Trust already operates an IP based voice solution is it their responsibility to provide the conversion necessary to link with N3 Voice Services?
A. The initial offering was DPNSS and it is the Trust's responsibility to provide the necessary interface. A H323 based solution has been introduced and that may enable native IP connectivity to many existing systems.
Q. On a Local Gateway Service (LGS) is the Site Location Code (SLC) unique?
A. SLCs will be derived from the N3 Voice Services numbering plan and will be unique to each particular LGS instance.
Q. Will we have to change our Site Location Codes to join this service?
A. N3 will work with organisations to minimise the number of changes and impact that this may cause. Where there is a clash of SLC numbers a site will need to change to conform to the numbering plan.
Q. Within a COIN will each individual site have its own SLC?
A. The allocation of SLCs will depend on the individual COIN voice design and billing requirements. N3 will work with local organisations to develop the numbering scheme to meet their current and future needs.
Q. How does the 90 channel limit for a Local Gateway Service work in a COIN environment?
A. N3 will manage the design of the COIN to support the required number of aggregate voice calls. Where sufficient bandwidth is not available N3 will advise the organisation on the best way forward.
Q. If a Local Gateway Service with 10 channels is insufficient what options do I have?
A. The Local Gateway Service was initially launched with 10 channels. Customers are able to order additional channels in blocks of 10 up to 60 channels. There is the possibility of 90 channels on certain data catalogue services.
Q. Do I need to provide separate cabling to implement an N3 Hosted Voice solution?
A. Depending on customer requirements the HVS can be run over separate Cat 5 cabling ports or alternatively voice and data can be extended over a single cable. Where a single cable is used for data and telephony services separate logical VLANs will be provided. All N3 HVS handsets have an integral two port switch enabling data devices to be cascaded if required.
Q. The voice solutions offered by N3SP appear to be a variation of the FeatureNet service?
A. The BT FeatureNet service is based on DMS100 systems and is not an IP enabled service. The N3SP service is a fully integrated IP service which shares bandwidth for data, voice and future applications.
Q. There are already a number of major Centrex deployments. How will this inter-work with the N3SP services?
A. N3SP is aware of a number of different Centrex telephony deployments. If requested we will explore the feasibility of integrating these systems, both technically and commercially.
Q. How will N3 accommodate the introduction of "03xx" range of telephone numbers?
A. N3 will work with NHS Connecting for Health to understand the implementation strategy for Government.
Q. Have the number of available voice devices been built around the NAA device count?
A. The catalogue item provided to a site is dependent on the National Allocation Algorithm) (NAA) device count and local requirements. Each catalogue item has a number of associated voice channels and the voice service offerings have been designed around the number of available channels. The NAA is described at http://www.n3.nhs.uk/sitesearch/default.cfml?searchtext=NAA.
Q. If we have 3 separate call manager clusters will N3 provide a service enabling them to interconnect?
A. Each call manager cluster could be provided with a Local Gateway Service which would enable intra-cluster calls and calls to other N3 Voice Services users. The N3 service would not enable a single larger cluster to be created to encompass the individual call manager instances.
Q. We are currently using an HP managed IP telephony service with Cisco handsets. If we want to take advantage of N3 Voice Services do we need to change our current phones?
A. No. In the future a local gateway service will allow many existing systems to be connected to N3 Voice Services. The N3 Hosted Voice Service provides a fully managed solution which includes handsets. There is not currently an option to connect locally purchased handsets.
Q. The N3 Voice Services signalling protocol for IP handsets is Cisco "skinny", which is not widely used. What is the future?
A. N3 Voice Services offers a feature rich user experience with Cisco handsets using "skinny" protocol. The handsets selected are capable of supporting other protocols such as SIP, but due to feature compatibility and some security issues the service currently operates using the "skinny" protocol. As N3 Voice Services include the telephone instrument, future plans will provide a roadmap for existing users to migrate to new services
