# Call Queue Overview

Call queues let your phone system absorb high call volumes gracefully, keeping callers occupied with music and announcements while they wait for an agent to become free. This page explains what a call queue is and introduces the optional Call Center service.

## What a call queue is

Think of a queue as a virtual waiting room. Callers who reach it are lined up and connected, in turn, to the next agent who is free to take a call.

When someone dials your phone system and lands in a queue, the system holds the caller in line and plays hold music and announcements. As agents become available, the queue routes waiting callers to them one at a time.

:::note
A queue is more than a waiting list. Each queue has its own configuration, such as which agents belong to it, how calls are distributed among them, and the hold music and announcements callers hear. You set these when you create the queue.
:::

## What the Call Center service adds

Call Center is an optional add-on for teams that need to resolve calls faster and keep a close eye on queue activity in real time. It gives supervisors a dedicated console for monitoring, reporting, and managing call center operations, which includes:

- A configurable Wallboard that tracks 16 key performance metrics at a glance.
- A switchboard-style Queue Panel for watching and controlling live queue activity.
- Detailed call center reports and SLA (Service Level Agreement, the response targets you promise callers) tracking.

:::note
The Call Center console features described above are only available when the Call Center service is enabled on your account.
:::

## Next steps

Once you understand how queues behave, you can create and tune them for your teams, then layer on Call Center tools for supervisors when you need deeper visibility and control:

- [Create a queue](/pbx/contact-center-guide/create-a-queue/): set up a queue and add its agents.
- [Queue preferences](/pbx/contact-center-guide/queue-preferences/): adjust how a queue behaves, including call distribution and caller experience.

:::tip
For the full walkthrough of call queue and Call Center configuration, options, and limits, see the [Call Center Administrator Guide](/pbx/contact-center-guide/call-center-administrator-guide/).
:::