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  • 1.  Verizon conf problems and other recommendations

    Posted 03-31-2020 02:08 PM

    Hi folks, we use Verizon for audio conferencing under a government award schedule and they've been rock solid for years. Obviously during this COVID-19 crisis and a nation of new teleworkers, it seems their capacity is getting stretched. We're getting frequent "No route available" or "This number is unavailable currently" upon a user first dialing into the toll free number of a conference line. Almost always, they are able to dial right back in, thankfully.

    Two questions: 1) Does anyone else use this Verizon service, and if so, have you gotten reports of service problems, specifically in the last couple weeks? and 2) Does anyone have recommendations for a dedicated conferencing service, with lines available for exclusive use (but are not on prem)?

    Thanks, I hope you are all hanging in there!



  • 2.  RE: Verizon conf problems and other recommendations

    Posted 03-31-2020 02:39 PM
    Hey Chip -

    We don't use Verizon for conferencing, but maybe this will help - They are our cellphone provider of choice and over the last few weeks their cell network has taking a hit with the Covid pandemic. They had indicated to us during a call that they are seeing large volume peaks in the morning, on the hour when people calling into conference calls, etc.

    In our cases, a lot of our Verizon users were getting either Fast Busy or a network message "No Circuits Available". They were trying to address this as best/fast as they could, but the volumes were just increasing.

    James

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    James Davis
    Voice and Data Senior Engineer
    University of Nebraska Medical Center
    Omaha NE
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  • 3.  RE: Verizon conf problems and other recommendations

    Posted 03-31-2020 04:27 PM

    Thanks for the feedback, James. I did speak with their tech support, who said their conference service usage was up 650% over the last two weeks. It's a capacity issue, and they're getting equipment/services in place to more seamlessly meet demand, but that may not be in place until late next week. The good news is that so far we seem to able to call the conference service straight back and get a connection.


    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Verizon conf problems and other recommendations

    Posted 03-31-2020 05:27 PM
    Chip,
    We use Bluejeans online conferencing.  That said, they too are experiencing high demand, so I can't really recommend you go out and compete with my calls. ��





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  • 5.  RE: Verizon conf problems and other recommendations

    Posted 04-01-2020 01:54 PM
    I could NEVER compete with you, Tom! But seriously, I'm looking for alternatives to Verizon/AT&T for audio-only conferencing. I heard about Vast...any other suggestions out there?
    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Verizon conf problems and other recommendations

    Posted 04-07-2020 12:03 AM
    Chip,
    How large do your conferences get?  Any requirements other than folks talking to each other, like recording?




    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Verizon conf problems and other recommendations

    Posted 04-07-2020 12:17 AM
    One thing that we did, which I'm not fond of, was to offload smaller conferences from Bluejeans usage by spinning up 100 DID Meet-Me VDNs, each with a random six digit PIN generated by Excel.  We use it for people experiencing connectivity issues to Bluejeans and who have very small audio only conferences that need a resource right now.  You need to have some spare DSPs available for this to work as each user occupies a DSP resource.  I think Meet-Me is a PITA, but I remind myself to stay focused on the outcomes for our users.



    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Verizon conf problems and other recommendations

    Posted 04-08-2020 01:03 PM

    Yeah, we have a couple meet-me's for small conferences, but for the most part we want the flexibility to do 10/20+ callers. And yes, for these purposes, audio-only.

    I ordered a couple lines from Vast that I still need to test. Cheap enough, so maybe that's something I can keep in my back pocket. Knock on wood, I haven't heard much in the way of complaints from users about Verizon in the last week or so. Fingers crossed!


    Original Message