Agenda

Experience the SMS/800 TFN Registry in a whole new way! Led by Somos, learn more about the newest updates and developments on the SMS/800 TFN Registry User Interface (UI), while you watch the product in action. Support: Judy Klein, Supriya Baligar, Santosh Chaudhari, Chandrika Naidu

Change the way you harness data with an introduction to our new SMS/800 TFN Registry business intelligence and analytics reporting platform powered by Tableau. During this session, we’ll walk you through the new platform and explore all the exciting upgrades to enhance user experience. Trainer: Diane Shemer Support: Judy Klein, Dewang Lakhani, Kerry Klesalek

Join us for a rapid-fire networking event that is all things text to Toll-Free. Come prepared to learn more about why text enabling Toll-Free Numbers is the rule, NOT the exception. Receive valuable one-on-one time with Texting & Smart Services (TSS) Registry Service Registrars and learn how easy it can be to offer texting services to your customers. Make sure you’re stocked with plenty of business cards to distribute when you make your rounds! Trainer: Ryan Karnas Participating Companies: CallFire | CSF Corporation | Midori Interactive | Aerialink LLC | ANI Network

Join this 45-minute Pre-Event Session to get an exclusive sneak preview of the new RouteLink Call Processing Record (CPR) Viewer tool. You’ll also get a first look at the newest API data improvements with a demo from our RouteLink team. Trainer: Rafael Garcia Support: Harald Hauser, Julio Armenta, Lalitha Veeramachaneni

Blake is a renowned Customer Experience Futurist, Keynote Speaker and Author with deep expertise in improving customer experience and differentiating yourself in the competitive marketplace. Her message is very clear – More is More! She excels at presenting practical examples you can immediately implement at your company to improve customer relationships and company growth – and it all starts with a Toll-Free Number. We can’t wait for Blake’s customer experience keynote as well as her insider tips and tricks for optimizing customer conversations. It is certain to be a once in a lifetime learning experience about all things customer obsessed!

As artificial intelligence (AI) revolutionizes how we interact with customers, contact centers maintain a precarious position in this technological transformation. However, rather than eliminate the human touch, as some fear, AI in the contact center actually has the potential to create more personalized, human connections with customers. Join Shantanu Misra, Product Manager at Google, as he discusses Google’s Contact Center AI and how it’s already transforming the call center experience.

Consumers have come to expect more from their interactions with brands; they want speed, convenience and the human touch. As a result, businesses have recognized the need to leverage the capabilities of the contact center to gain rich, voice-of-the-customer intelligence and build brand loyalty. The contact center is no longer just a voice on the other end of the phone; it’s evolved into reservoir of untapped consumer knowledge and the personification of the brand experience for most consumers. Join this panel for strategies to better leverage every aspect of your contact center, from implementing artificial intelligence to improving operational efficiencies, and using analytics to improve contact center and agent performance. Join speakers from Google, Invoca, Ignite-TEK and SYKES to transform your contact center for a better brand experience. The panel will end with a Q&A session. Panelists: Shantanu Misra, Google | Bo Young, Sykes | Justin Bell, Invoca | Michael Ferzacca, Ignite-Tek

Join us for a one-on-one conversation between Jay Schwarz, Advisor to Chairman Pai of the FCC, and Ann Berkowitz, Somos’ Chief Administrative Officer, where the two will discuss a wide range of topics from Chairman Pai’s agenda. Moderator: Ann Berkowitz

We’ve all heard about how Internet Protocol (IP) telephony is revolutionizing the telecommunications industry but do you know how IP fits into the Toll-Free landscape? In this panel, we’ll discuss the proliferation of IP networks in Toll-Free as well as the role Toll-Free will play in the IP future. From exploring the benefits of IP routing for Toll-Free to the expansion of IP into the public switched telephone network (PSTN), we’ll explore how IP affects the Toll-Free routing data. This panel will end with a Q&A session. Panelists: Doug Ranalli, NN | Shaun Moore, TFX | Craig Meredith, ThinQ, Mary Retka, Somos

The ability to text-enable Toll-Free Numbers has revolutionized how we interact with customers and allowed for a true omni-channel approach to communication strategy. Companies who text-enable their Toll-Free Numbers have frequently cited higher customer response rates, increased sales conversions, and improved customer satisfaction. In this panel, we’ll explore the latest trends in Toll-Free text messaging, such as Rich Communication Services (RCS) and Messaging as a platform (MaaP), as well as discuss future technologies that can help maximize customer experience. Panelists: William Dudley, SAP | Noah Rafalko, Midori | Gene Lew, SFDC | Chris Currie, Aerialink

The opening of a secondary market for Toll-Free Numbers will be our reality soon – are you ready for it? In this session, we’ll dive into the ins and outs of the secondary market – what it is, who is affected, what are the opportunities it will present. Additionally, we’ll discuss what you need to know to prepare yourself for the introduction of a secondary market to the Toll-Free ecosystem. This panel will end with a Q&A session. Panelists: Paul Faust, RingBoost.com | Greg Fernandez, THE telco | Steve Olson, Affective Analytics

Join Ryan Karnas, Somos’ Director of Product Management, as he guides you through all the new and exciting things Somos been working on this past year including enhancements and new features we have to offer for the SMS/800 Toll-Free Number Registry, the Texting & Smart Services (TSS) Registry and RouteLink.

The Toll-Free Industry Awards recognize individuals and companies that are at the forefront of innovation and thought leadership in the Toll-Free Industry. Somos is commending industry champions in the following categories at this year’s 2018 Toll-Free User Summit at the Encore Las Vegas from October 9-11, 2018: The Advocacy Award: ATL Communications | Bruno Tabbi, Ignition Toll Free | CSF & Aerialink | David Aldworth, Toll-Free Exchange. | David Greenhaus, 800response Fraud Fighter Award: ATL Communications | Midori Interactive, Inc. | Pindrop Security | Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) | Utilities United Against Scams Campaign of the Year: 1800Prepare.com | 1800Homecare™ | Bad Boys Bail Bonds | Desert Vein and Vascular Institute | Jessie's House & Carpet Cleaning

Toll-Free fraud is a very real problem that threatens the health of the Toll-Free industry. In this panel discussion, led by Somos’ VP of Regulatory and Public Policy, Joel Bernstein, we’ll explore chief topics in Toll-Free fraud such as what common scams look like, how they can be prevented, what Somos, as a neutral, trusted administrator for Toll-Free, are doing to contribute in the fight against fraud and what Resp Orgs and other Toll-Free industry players can do to help. Panelists: Catherine Palcic, Somos | Sheri Givens, UUAS | Paige Yamashita, SCE | Mark Rubin, Inteliquent

With its focus on trust and transparency, blockchain has quickly emerged as one of the hottest technologies out there. It’s been widely hyped as well as highly discussed as being the future of online transactions. In this session, we’ll examine the technology, ethics, and impact of blockchains as well as how it can be applied to different industries. Whether you are excited or worried about blockchain’s potential, this session will help you better understand this emerging technology and its advantages and drawbacks.