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To get the maximum benefit from ARS, it is important to consider the calling patterns
of people in your business and the relative costs of calls placed on different lines
in your system. For example, Primo Foods is a northern New Jersey (area code 201)
firm that distributes its specialty meat products in the United States and Canada.
Primo has six local lines, two in-state (Band O) WATS lines, two Northeastern (Band 1)
WATS lines, and three cross-country (Band 5) WATS lines. it also uses the alternate
long distance company WHIZ for some types of calls. Users must dial 9501099 and
wait for a dial tone, then dial 123789 and wait for a dial tone to access the lines used
by WHIZ.
Prime’s system administrator has set up the following line pools:
Pool 9 contains the company’s six local lines. Pool 9 is the least expensive way
to call the 20 exchanges in Prime’s immediate calling area.
Pool 890 contains the two in-state (Band 0) WATS lines. This pool can only be
used for calls to area codes 609 and 201. It is the least expensive method for
calling anywhere in New Jersey except the immediate calling
area, the county
in which the Primo plant is located.
Pool 891 contains the two Northeastern (Band 1) WATS lines. This pool can only
be used for calls to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, eastern New
York, eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. It is the
least expensive way to make calls to area codes 401, 718, 202, 301, 914, 203,
516, 212, 717, 215, 302, 413, and 617.
Pool 892 contains the three cross-country (Band 5) WATS lines. This pool can
be used for calls anywhere in the United States except New Jersey and Alaska.
It is the second least expensive way to make calls to area codes covered by the
Northeastern WATS lines and the least expensive way to make calls to other area
codes.
WHIZ, the alternate long distance company, is more expensive than the WATS lines
for all calls. It is more expensive than local lines for calls within area code 201, but
less expensive than the local lines for calls to all other area codes.
Frank, the system administrator, begins to set up Automatic Route Selection by
preparing tables for specific area codes covered by Prime’s WATS lines. His first step
is to enter the area codes covered by the Northeastern (Band 1) WATS line pool in
the Area Code/Exchange section of Table 0. Since there are 13 area codes and only
ten can be
included in a table, Frank places the last three area codes in Table 1.
His next step is to specify the routing for calls to these area codes. Because the North-
eastern WATS line pool is the least expensive method, Frank makes Pool 891 the
first entry in the Pool Number sections of Tables 0 and 1. The cross-country WATS
line pool provides the second least expensive way to call these area codes, so he
fists Pool 895 below Pool 891 in Tables 0 and 1. The third least expensive calling
method is WHIZ. Frank makes Pool 9, the only pool that provides access to WHIZ,
the third entry in the Pool Number sections of the two tables. In the corresponding
Other Digits section, he lists the WHIZ access number, followed by four pauses, then
the account code, followed by a pause.
Frank doesn’t include Pool 9 as the fourth routing method, although it could be used
to call these area codes, because Prime’s financial director prefers that employees
wait for a free line rather than use local lines for long distance calls.
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