Centrex replacement ACD

A system for connecting an incoming call to a Central Office (CO) to an agent for servicing the call, comprising:

• an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) coupled to the CO;
• at least one agent position connected to the CO;
• a server computer;
• circuitry for connecting an incoming call via a trunk line to the Automatic Call Distributor:
• circuitry and software for determining at the Automatic Call Distributor which agent position(s) is available;
• software for advising the server computer at the Central Office to connect the incoming call to the available agent position via a bridge at the Central Office;
• and
• circuitry for disconnecting the trunk lines from the Central Office to the Automatic Call Distributor after the bridge is established so those trunk lines can be used for future calls.

Apparatus for connecting an incoming call to a Central Office (CO) to an agent for servicing the call, comprising:

• an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) coupled to the CO;
• at least one agent position connected to the CO;
• a server computer;
• means for connecting an incoming call via a trunk line to the Automatic Call Distributor:
• means for determining at the Automatic Call Distributor which agent position(s) is available;
• means for advising the server computer at the Central Office to connect the incoming call to the available agent position via a bridge at the Central Office;
• and
• means for disconnecting the trunk lines from the Central Office to the Automatic Call Distributor after the bridge is established so those trunk lines can be used for future calls.