Denmark's Sonofon has developed a system that enables them to notify corporate IT systems as to whether a mobile phone is available to receive phone calls. The idea being that office switchboards will know if it is worth attempting to put a caller though to the mobile phone.

StatusPlan shows whether a mobile is switched off, busy or free right now. The moment an employee's phone is busy, the company IT system is automatically informed. You can see on the company's PCs whether a line is busy until it is free again.

"For companies with many field staff, StatusPlan is revolutionary. Our corporate customers are increasingly making use of the option of diverting fixed line calls to a mobile, and generally using their mobiles as their main phone. When switchboard staff cannot see whether a mobile is free, the result is unfortunately poorer customer care. So today we are launching StatusPlan which sorts the problem entirely," says Steen Høgh, VP Marketing, Sonofon.

StatusPlan shows whether someone is talking on the phone or in a meeting right now. Precisely as most fixed line switchboard systems do. It is just that now information is available about whether personnel are using their mobiles.

If the called party is busy, with StatusPlan the switchboard can choose either to leave a message, divert the call to a colleague, send an SMS from the PC or be told when the line is free. Staff can easily make diary changes via their mobiles, so the switchboard knows exactly who is available, and so who can take a call.

Sonofon is the only operator in Denmark that can show a mobile phone's status in real time. StatusPlan is part of the MultiPlan product and is provided in conjunction with Sonofon service partners Speakanet or Miralix.