New to internet calling? Here are the terms you're most likely to see, in plain language.
Auto-attendant (voice menu) An automated greeting that gives callers options — "Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support." Also called an IVR.
Bandwidth The capacity of your internet connection. More bandwidth generally means room for clearer calls.
Caller ID The number, and sometimes the name, shown to the person you're calling.
CNAM (caller ID name) The name portion of caller ID that can appear on the other person's phone.
DID (direct inward dialing) A phone number that routes straight to a specific person or destination. Your business numbers are DIDs.
DTMF (touch tones) The tones a phone makes when you press keys. Menus use them to know which option you chose.
E.164 The international way to write a phone number, including the country code — for example +14165551234.
E911 (enhanced 911) Emergency calling that shares your registered address with 911 dispatchers. You must register an address for each number.
Extension A short internal number (like 101 or 102) that routes calls to a person inside your organization.
Hunt group A set of extensions that ring in turn until someone answers.
IVR (interactive voice response) Another name for an automated phone menu. See auto-attendant.
Jitter Uneven arrival of audio data over the internet, which can make a call sound choppy. Less jitter is better.
Latency The small delay between speaking and being heard. Lower latency feels more natural.
Porting (number transfer) Moving a phone number from another provider to ReliaRing so you can keep your existing number.
PBX (phone system) The system that manages your extensions and call routing. ReliaRing is a cloud PBX — it runs on our platform, not a box in your closet.
PSTN (the public phone network) The traditional worldwide phone network. Internet calls connect to it to reach any regular phone.
Ring group Multiple phones that ring at the same time when a call comes in, so whoever is free can answer.
SIP trunking A way to connect a phone system you already have to the public phone network. This is what ReliaTrunk provides, including for Microsoft Teams and Webex.
Softphone An app that turns your computer or phone into a business phone — like ReliaRing's web and mobile softphones.
STIR/SHAKEN Industry standards that verify caller ID to help cut down on spoofing and spam calls.
Toll-free Numbers (800, 888, 877, and similar) where the business, not the caller, pays for the call.
VoIP (voice over internet protocol) Making phone calls over the internet instead of traditional phone lines. It's the technology behind ReliaRing.
Voicemail-to-email / transcription Getting your voicemails delivered to your inbox as audio, and optionally as text you can read.