Department of Telecommunications - Telephone FAQ

Telephone FAQ

I have a problem! What do I do?
My phone won't dial long distance!
How much does Voicemail cost?
What are the departmental costs to install a telephone?
What's that "screech" I hear when I pick up the phone?
What happened to the "double ring" for off-campus calls?
I have voicemail messages by my light isn't lit!
I can't retrieve my voicemail from home, or another phone on campus besides my office!
Why don't people hear the "hold music" and messages when I put them on hold?
Arrghhhh! Telemarketers keep calling me when I'm trying to get some work done!
Why did the 11xx numbers change to 18xx?
Why did the 5 change to 9 for an outside line?
So that's why the 3xxx numbers can now be dialed from outside too?
Does that mean I can request a "vanity" number that spells out something?

I have a problem! What do I do?

Check to make sure everything is plugged in correctly.  If you have another phone and cord, try it.  If all else fails, find a working phone and call the Help Desk at 7900 or HELP (4357).  Be sure to tell them the number of the problem phone, its location and as much information about the problem as you can.

If you are hearing other people's conversations when using a cordless phone, Click Here before calling the Help Desk.  This is a common problem in residence halls and apartments on many Universitys and is not a problem with the phone line itself.

My phone won't dial long distance!

Resident telephones and some Departmental telephones do not have direct long distance service.  If you are using a Presonal Authorization Code you may have exceeded your Calling Limit.

How much does Voicemail cost?

Each resident has a Voicemail box included with their room. Departmental accounts are billed at $2.00 a month.

What are the departmental costs to install a telephone?

There is a $400 charge for a new telephone number install.  Install includes wiring and labor to get the number to your desk, and a standard Model 2500 phone.  Click here to see other phone models available for additional cost.  After installation, there evolve 2 other request types; move and add an extension.

Move means you want an existing number "moved" from one wall jack to another.  A move to an existing wall jack incurs a $35 charge.  A move that requires new wiring in your office is billed the additional costs of materials and labor.

Extensions, or "Party Lines" that share the same telephone number can only be between analog (single and two-line) phones.  There is a $35 dollar charge for this also.  An extension that requires new wiring in your office is billed the additional costs of materials and labor.  An extension includes a standard Model 2500 phone.  Note that you can not "party line" a digital DTerm phone's number!

Materials and labor charges vary depending on your building's construction. With hollow walls and suspended ceilings, your cost may be only $50-$75.  Solid walls or ceilings take more time and the use of surface mount "raceway" (conduit), and may cost up to $100-$150.  If you need a better estimate, we will be glad to come by and survey your project.

What's that "screech" I hear when I pick up the phone?

Immediately after the first ring, the system sends the caller ID information to your phone.  On a DTerm digital phone you don't hear it, but on a regular analog phone you can hear this digital signal.  It sounds like a modem or fax hiss, and if you pick up at the same time it's coming down the line you can hear it (the person calling you can't).  We can turn it off if you request, but then you won't recieve caller ID.

What happened to the "double ring" for off-campus calls?

It's still there, but it's after the first long ring and the caller ID information has been sent.  Then you get the double ring as before.

I have voicemail messages by my light isn't lit!

Voicemail is a computer connected to the PBX, and sometimes they get out of synchronization.  Please log a call with the Help Desk at 7900 and we will re-sync your account.

I can't retrieve my voicemail from home, or another phone on campus besides my office!

Anytime it asks for your mailbox, add a "1" in front of it (Example:  your phone number is 7000, your mailbox would be 17000).  The same holds true if you send a voicemail to someone else's voicemail... add the "1" in front of *their* mailbox.

When you call from your own phone it knows who you are and skips the asking for the mailbox, so that's why it's worked from your office but not remotely.

We went to 5 digits so we would have enough mailboxes for dorms/apartments that have multiple occupants and a single phone. They will need to add a 1,2,3, or 4 to their phone numbers for their mailboxes depending on how many people share the phone.

Why don't people hear the "hold music" and messages when I put them on hold?

If you're using a phone other than a DTerm with a "hold" button, the PBX doesn't see it as an actual "hold".  All your phone is doing is keeping the line active (so the caller doesn't get cut off) and muting the microphone and speaker, so the PBX is unaware of your phone's "hold" status.

If you use "Call Parking" instead, the caller will hear the hold music.  Details on Call Parking are in the Feature Codes page.

Arrghhhh! Telemarketers keep calling me when I'm trying to get some work done!

If you are bothered by Telemarketers calling Campus numbers Telecommunications can block them from reaching anyone on Campus.  All we need to know is their phone number.

Why did the 11xx numbers change to 18xx?

Because of 911.  The 911 phone in Public Safety is now really extension number 11.  So if you try to reach someone with the old 11xx number, the system sees the 11 and will ring the Public Safety 911 dispatcher after the next two digits pressed!  The system ignores the "9" when followed by "11" for real emergency calls.  That's why there's no area code that begins with a "1".  Think about it... " 9" for an outside line, "1" for long distance access, then area code 1xx... the entire 911 system nationwide wouldn't have worked.

Why did the 5 change to 9 for an outside line?

Because 9 is the standard number to press for an outside line just about anywhere in the USA.  Also, with the new Office Code (prefix) of 881, we can use the 5xxx group of numbers for campus extensions.  That's 1000 more numbers we can assign for use as Direct Inward Dialing, so 1000 more people in the Campus Community can have numbers that people can dial from anywhere in the world.

So that's why the 3xxx numbers can now be dialed from outside too?

Correct, but only using the 881 prefix!  Frontier, our local telephone company, "owns" the 587 office code, and "rented" the 587-1xxx. 587-7xxx and 587-8xxx numbers previously used by UTM.  Frontier has already assigned a lot of the 587-3xxx numbers to people in Weakley County.  Since UTM's office code is now 881, we have (almost) the whole 731-881-0000 thru 731-881-9999 group of numbers to utilize.

Does that mean I can request a "vanity" number that spells out something?

Sure!  But there's a couple of catches...  For one, implementing a new phone number still costs $400.  We can "swap" your old number for free, but if people are used to using it, you may want to add the vanity number rather than swapping it.  We will phase in a number change for 3 months if necessary, otherwise it's a immediate change, meaning callers will get a "not in service" message until we again assign your old number to someone else.

Please note that we cannot assign 2xxx numbers (UT1-Axxx, UT1-Bxxx or UT1-Cxxx) because "2" is used to enter your PAC number for personal long distance.  The same goes for 9xxx (UT1-Wxxx, UT1-Xxxx, UT1-Yxxx and UT1-Zxxx) because the "9" is used for outside line access.  There are a few other caveats, but if you're interested in a vanity number let us know your choice and we'll see what we can do.