Security » Call barring

Call barring

Call barring allows you to prohibit outgoing calls to specific destinations.

The main difference between Call Barring and blocking destinations in a tariff is that the latter applies to all customers using a given tariff, while Call Barring can be activated and configured for an individual account. Also, whereas only the administrator can manage a tariff, Call Barring can be provisioned by end-users themselves (e.g., parents prohibiting calls to a dubious premium number on their child’s phone, or a small business owner blocking outgoing international calls).

When Call Barring is activated, as part of normal call authorization the system checks whether a dialed number matches any pattern specified in the Call Barring classes. If it does, and if Call Barring has been activated for that class, the call is rejected.

A Call Barring class covers a specific set of phone numbers that the customer should potentially be denied access to. In this regard, a Call Barring class is very similar to a destination group. The difference is that while a destination group can only contain pre-defined destination prefixes, a Call Barring class operates with a mixture of patterns (e.g., 448% - any number starting with 448) and actual phone numbers (e.g., 44810010099). This lets you fine-tune Call Barring options without creating excessive destination prefixes.

Definitions of various Call Barring classes (such as “Mobiles,” “International,” etc.) are done globally in the Call Barring Classes tab of the Dial plan screen. Barring a specific class can then be turned on / off for an individual account.

To add a new Call Barring class please follow the steps below.

• Click on the Dial Plan main menu entry and choose the Call Barring Classes tab.
• Click Add, enter the class name and choose the Matching Type (Matches - Denies calls to numbers that are specified in the Number Patterns column, Does Not Match – Allows calls to numbers that are specified in the Number Patterns column and denies calls to other destinations).
• Click on the Number Patterns link and add the needed patterns (you can use % to match any sequence of digits, _ or x to match one digit).

Mark the Barred by default checkbox if you want to add this barring class for newly created accounts with the Call Barring feature enabled.

To apply Call Barring class to an account please follow the steps below.

• On the Account Info screen proceed to the Service Configuration tab, Outgoing Calls section.
• Enable the Call Barring option.
• Select the needed Call Barring classes under the Call Barring tab and save the changes.
• If you want to apply Call Barring to a group of accounts, you can enable it in the product configuration (Product-> Service Configuration-> Outgoing Calls)

To allow the customer to manage Call Barring classes by themselves via the Web Self-Care interface the Call Barring option should be enabled in the product configuration. Please follow the steps below.

• On the Products screen, select a product.
• Proceed to the Service Configuration tab, Outgoing Calls section. 
• Enabled Call Barring option and mark checkbox next to End-users.