Many large organizations often have customer service agents located in a number of places around the world. These organizations route inbound calls to specific agents based on call loads, caller location, etc. Using the internet, customer history records can be routed to an agent's computer screen at the same time the phone call is being routed. Real time voice over the internet has developed to a point where organizations are beginning to take it seriously for commercial use. An extension to this technology allows callers to use conventional telephones connected to the PSTN to place calls that are routed across the internet.
Callers dial into a local server application that provides an interface to internet telephony.
This technology can be used by call centers to allow call center agents to accept or initiate internet telephony calls over their conventional headsets. Party 1 places a call to a local internet telephony gateway. The gateway provides two way voice communication across the internet to another internet telephony gateway located locally relative to Party 2. Party 1 and Party 2 can be located anywhere in the world and communicate for the cost of two local calls. The increasing variety of communication options made available by the internet provides both challenges and opportunities for call center managers.