For iHeartMedia’s radio audience of over 245 million across 850 stations, the expectations were to deliver quality programming, pleasant experiences for call in segments and feedback, and high quality audio. Before making the switch to VoIP with NocTel, the issue of listener call-in voice quality was one aspect of station programming little could be done about.
On-Site Installation Service
Call Screening
International Calling
Web-based control panel
Dial an Extension Directly
Custom Menus
Upload or record audio files
E911 Emergency Services
Conference Calling
Call Forwarding
Hunt Groups (Ring Multiple devices)
US-based 24x7 Customer Support
Initially, iHeartMedia in Los Angeles was in consideration of NocTel for interactive voice response (IVR) quality improvement through VoIP service. For this solution, listener feedback calls are received by NocTel, which supports HD voice, and then sent to the specified iHeartMedia recipients. The listener feedback could be retrieved either via voicemail or accessed through email at the recipient’s convenience allowing the receipt of feedback to occur on practically any device with an Internet connection. This solution model allowed iHeartMedia in Los Angeles to solve their issue with poor voice quality feedback from listeners without needing to further complicate or replace their existing communication system. For emergency response situations, iHeartMedia staff would dial a single number that in turn routes through NocTel and dials out to all technical emergency response staff. By providing the solution extraneous of their existing system, NocTel’s deployment was able to be rolled out swiftly. For iHeartMedia in Portland, NocTel provided VoIP service for office lines and on air caller lines for several stations. After consideration of options, NocTel and iHeartMedia Portland determined provisioning of SIP trunks to the existing phone system in an on-premise solution would be most effective in terms of deployment and maintenance simplicity.
Though not providing full service for iHeartMedia in Los Angeles and Portland, iHeartMedia has reported excellent results and satisfaction with its solution for each location. In Los Angeles, Vice President of Information Technology Clint Sago comments, “The results, pricing and turnaround time were outstanding to the point I don’t think there is a better option. The level of satisfaction I had with this solution led me to investigate NocTel’s other offerings as well.” After deployment and use of NocTel’s solution, feedback was received providing insight to features and improvements that could further enhance customer satisfaction. With Clint’s feedback in regard to features that weren’t easily located or absent, NocTel quickly evaluated the value added by those features and implemented a number in short order.
While iHeartMedia Los Angeles and Portland’s primary requirements were focused on quality, both locations found the price for services, ease of use and maintenance, and the time cost savings were unexpected but greatly welcomed. In particular, Clint Sago notes the ease of interfacing with NocTel for assistance and receptiveness stating, “I have saved a ton of time and money by not having traditional POTS [Plain Old Telephone System] lines, not dealing with a Telco conglomerate, and not having to correct issues with our old IVR system. Quality of the product is improved, my budget is improved and my time spent on the old method went away. It was all a major step in the right direction for us.”
“The results, pricing and turnaround time were outstanding to the point I don’t think there is a better option. The level of satisfaction I had with this solution led me to investigate NocTel’s other offerings as well.”
Clint Sago, Vice President of Internet Technology, iHeartMedia Los Angeles Region
While full service is not provided for iHeartMedia between its Los Angeles and Portland locations, the following benefits have been enjoyed through NocTel’s service solution:
While NocTel does provide full service to customers, we’re more than happy to work with you on a focused solution that consistently proves to be valuable.