Recently I decided to explore Cisco Unified Communication Manager’s Mobile Connect feature. This used to be called Single Number Reach and is exactly what you would expect: one number rings multiple phones–your VoIP set and an off-system number. It is straightforward to set up; follow this helpful guide on the Cisco Learning Network.

The nice thing about Mobile Connect is that it isn’t simply a multi-ring scheme; rather, it’s effectively a shared line appearance with your cell phone or other remote number. Communications Manager maintains supervision of the line, even if you take the call on your remote line (mobile phone), which allows you to easily switch between the remote and the desk phone. I believe, though I have not tested it, that this configuration would also allow the Mobile Connect line to participate in a hunt group.

In CUCM 7.x, you can configure an on-hook screen Mobility softkey to enable or disable Mobile Connect. This way, it does not have to be an always-on feature.

Enabling a Mobile Connect number consumes two additional device license units (DLUs) if you are licensing devices a la carte. The functionality is very nice and probably worth the licensing cost for those who want to use it.