Hunting, or a hunt group is a telephony

Telephony

In telecommunications, telephony encompasses the general use of equipment to provide communication over distances, specifically by connecting telephones to each other....

 concept that refers to the methodology of distributing phone calls from a single telephone number

Telephone number

A telephone number or phone number is a sequence of digits used to call from one telephone line to another in a public switched telephone network. When telephone numbers were invented, they were short — as few as one, two or three digits — and were given orally to a switchboard operator...

 to a group of several phone lines. Specifically, it refers to the process or algorithm

Algorithm

In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...

 used to select which line will receive the call.

Hunt groups are supported by some PBX phone systems. Also, some phone companies will provide this feature for a small fee (see also: Centrex

Centrex

Centrex is a portmanteau of central exchange, a kind of telephone exchange.In the United Kingdom, British Telecom markets this service as FeatureLine .-Use of Centrex:...

). In the tariffs of some telephone companies, one may obtain hunting for free, but forward on busy is a charged service.

Multi-line Hunting

Multiline hunting (sometimes MLH, line hunting or MHG, multiline hunting group) is a feature

Feature (software design)

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers defines the term feature in IEEE 829 as "A distinguishing characteristic of a software item ." - Feature-rich :...

 that allows multiple telephone line

Telephone line

A telephone line or telephone circuit is a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system...

s going into a business to act as a single group, called a hunt group. This type of fallback is a somewhat more complex form of call forwarding

Call forwarding

Call forwarding , in telephony, is a feature on some telephone networks allowing an incoming call to a called party to be redirected to a third party. For example, the third party may be a mobile telephone, voicemail box or other telephone number where the desired called party is situated. It was...

. If the line called is busy, the call goes to the next available line. Only if no lines in the group are open does the calling party

Calling party

The calling party is a person who initiates a telephone call over the public switched telephone network, usually by dialing a telephone number....

 get a busy signal

Busy signal

A busy signal in telephony is an audible or visual signal to the calling party that indicates failure to complete the requested connection of that particular telephone call....

.

Linear hunting

In linear hunting, calls are always delivered to the lowest-numbered available line. This is also referred to as serial hunting or terminal hunting. It resembles busy/no-answer call forwarding. Calls are always delivered to the first line, unless it is busy - then the second, third, and remaining lines are considered in succession.

This configuration is most often found on multi-line phones found at small businesses. For automatic call distributor

Automatic call distributor

In telephony, an Automatic Call Distributor , also known as Automated Call Distribution, is a device or system that distributes incoming calls to a specific group of terminals that agents use. It is often part of a computer telephony integration system.Routing incoming calls is the task of the ACD...

systems with high call volumes, this is usually the least preferable method, because calls will arrive at destinations that are in the process of completing the previous call, and depending on the circumstances, may be the least prepared to take the call.

Linear hunting can also cause problems in automated equipment that answers calls, particularly if a destination extension fails on a lower-numbered line. This extension will disrupt a disproportionately high percentage of the incoming calls, whereas circular hunting will spread that disruption evenly throughout all the calls, minimizing the possibility for a major disruption.

Circular hunting

In circular hunting, the calls are distributed "round-robin". If a call is delivered to line 1, the next call goes to 2, the next to 3. The succession throughout each of the lines continues even if one of the previous lines becomes free. When the end of the hunt group is reached, the hunting starts over at the first line. Lines are only skipped if they are still busy on a previous call.

Circular hunting is a good way to distribute calls to electronic answering equipment such as fax machines.

Most-idle hunting

In most-idle hunting, calls are always delivered to whichever line has been idle the longest. This considers the length of time that the calltaker has been busy versus available. This is typically used in call centers where the calls are being answered by people, to distribute the load evenly.