Each mailbox has resource counters. The billing system allows you to charge a base rate and set two-tiered separate rates for each counter, if required. Rates for the following resources are discussed here:
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A base rate is a flat fee charged at every billing period. The system prompts you to set a base rate for each FCOS. The rate set for any FCOS can be any value between $0.00 and $327.67, precise to $0.01; it can be pro-rated for a portion of the billing cycle.
There are two different mailbox access counters: (a) login rates, and (b) greeting rates. Although each mailbox has mailbox access counters, these counters are designed specifically for billing Information-only mailboxes. Information-only mailboxes have an FCOS that does not allow them to receive messages (for example, chain and greeting-only mailboxes).
Other resource counters that may be increased for Information-only mailboxes are the "user connect" time and the "caller connect" time. A base rate can also be set.
Login rates counters track the number of times the user logs into the mailbox. A different rate may exist for each port or line group on the system.
Greeting rates counters track the number of times that the mailbox greeting plays (that is, the number of times that the mailbox is accessed by an outside caller). A different rate may exist for each port or line group on the system. Note: The caller does not have to listen to the entire greeting for this counter to be increased.
Two connect time accumulators measure phone line usage (off-hook to on-hook).
User connect rates measure the time used by the mailbox owner to pick up messages and make messages for other users. A different rate may exist for each port or line group on the system.
Caller connect rates measure the time charged when outside callers leave messages in a mailbox, or listen to the greeting of an Information-only mailbox.
Notes:
Counter is not increased when a message is left by a TAS (Telephone Answering Service) operator using the Message Attendant application. There is no way to associate TAS operator time with any particular mailbox—other than by the number of messages left by TAS operators.
Different rates may exist for each port or line group on the system.
Connect time is measured in tenths of minutes (6 seconds), rounded up if not exact. Each counter allows 109 hours—about 3.5 hours per day for a month—before the accumulator restarts at zero.
When charges are calculated, they are based on minutes of connect time (rather than tenths of a minute). This calculation allows rates (which are in mils) to be adjusted by small amounts.
Disk usage is the size of the message, multiplied by the length of time the message stays on the system.
Time on disk is measured in hours rounded up to the next hour, and is calculated when the message is deleted from the system. The disk usage accumulator resets to zero after 16,777,215 units of usage—equivalent to keeping three hours of speech for one year.
Users typically accumulate several thousand units of disk usage per month, unless they delete messages immediately after they are received. If the rate is applied to the usage as accumulated, a rate of $.001 would be a significant charge, and the only way the rate could change would be to double it. Therefore, when charges are calculated, disk usage values are divided by one hundred, and the rate is specified to the nearest mil-per-minute of speech kept for 10 hours.
Users are not billed for messages not deleted at the time billing data is gathered. These messages will eventually be deleted, however, and the charges will increase, because the time on the disk will have increased.
Disk usage for names or greetings is not accumulated. Charges for these can be included in the base rates.
If a message is made with a distribution list, each mailbox receiving the message is charged for it.
If a user sends a message with comments to another user, the sender is charged for the original message for as long as it remains on the system. The recipient is charged disk usage for both the original message and for the comments until each is deleted from the mailboxes.
Every time a message is left in a mailbox, a counter is increased for that mailbox for each of the following categories:
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User messages counters are increased in two ways:
When a caller phones his or her own mailbox and "makes" a message for another mailbox, the recipient’s mailbox counter increases.
When a user "gives" a message with comments to another mailbox, the recipient’s mailbox counter increases by one (message plus comments are counted as one message).
Caller messages counters are increased in several ways:
When a caller phones into the system directly and leaves a message.
When a caller leaves a message in the attendant’s mailbox and the attendant forwards the message.
When a greeting is delivered for a Greeting-only mailbox. Including times when the mailbox owner logs into his mailbox by pressing the * key (star) while the greeting is playing.
When a caller phones into the system directly and leaves an urgent message.
When a caller phones into the system directly and requests a receipt response.
TAS operator messages counters increase when a TAS operator leaves a message via one of the open ports set up by the Message Attendant application.
Each message counter can accumulate up to 4,095 messages—132 messages per day for a month—before it resets to zero.
Each time a successful page is issued, a counter is increased in the mailbox, however, this does not necessarily correspond to the number of messages received.
If two messages are received at the same time, only one page is made.
If a message is not picked up within the set pager interval (a selected amount of time programmed when the mailbox was created), the system re-pages.
If the mailbox pager frequency (programmed when the mailbox was created) is greater than one, every re-page is counted as a separate page.
Pager call rates are set by the Pager System, not by an individual pager. Pagers with the same pager outdial index (also known as the access code index) belong to the same pager system. See Pagers and Message Delivery for more information.
The rate at which a page is billed depends on the pager outdial index—representing the pager system access code—programmed into the mailbox at the time the "Gather" is performed, and not the rate present at the time the page is made. If the pager outdial index or the billing rate are changed in the middle of the billing period, all pages accumulated during the billing period are billed at the new rate.
When paging service is discontinued in the middle of the billing period, an outdial index does not appear in the mailbox at the time of billing. Therefore, no pages are billed even if some have accumulated. To avoid this situation, run a Termination Report before modifying the mailbox. This report calculates the amount due without changing statistics in the mailbox. Other charges are corrected at the regular billing. See the Reports section for instructions to run the Termination Report.
Billing rates can be set for network usage, including the following:
messages sent; urgent messages sent
network nodes sent to; network nodes sent urgent to
recipients sent to; recipients sent urgent to
messages received; urgent messages received
messages sent; urgent messages sent
messages received; urgent messages received
network nodes sent; network nodes sent urgent
remote recipients sent to; remote recipients sent urgent to
Network rates can be set for any/each of the following categories:
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