Telephony service update for campus
IST has been preparing for the retirement of the current Private Branch Exchange (PBX) telephony system, which is entering its technical End of Life and poses a liability issue to the university. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has been successfully implemented in areas across the university over a number of years and is a reliable solution for telephone services. Starting this year, IST will begin converting clients off the PBX to the VoIP system.
The migration process will begin begin April 2023 and continue into 2024. The IST telephony team will be reaching out to all departments/faculties, on a per building basis, to conduct a telephony services review and assist with migration to the VoIP system.
We eagerly anticipate retiring our PBX system and migrating to the VoIP system, which will ensure dependable telephony services into the future for all of our campuses.
Rick Fix
Director, Digital Infrastructure
Information Services and Technology (IST)
Note: Over the past few months, IST Edge Network Analysts have been visiting offices and telecom rooms to gather port information. As the team has moved to more visible areas around the university, they’ve been receiving questions about the work they’re doing.
FAQ
How will my department be contacted?
IST Telephony team and the Business analyst will facilitate a workshop with the Telecom or Telecom Expense Management System (TEMS) contact for the respective departments and provide more information on the implementation and review with the TEMS contacts.
Could you do my department all at once?
Because of the large number of ports across many buildings and units, it is not practical to ensure that every desk-adjacent port is functioning for each department. By reviewing infrastructure on a building-by-building basis, we can adopt a more efficient approach, reducing the workload for department telecom personnel and allowing for migration of staff in smaller groups.
How are you determining the order in which the building gets converted?
IST will then select buildings to migrate based on several factors, prioritizing those with less reliable infrastructure. The telephony team is working in conjunction with IST’s Network Edge team who is visiting all university sites to confirm infrastructure readiness for the VoIP system. This means visiting all buildings and telecommunication rooms on campus to ensure equipment is vetted or replaced to meet VoIP standards.
What will change with my existing services?
To ensure any essential modifications to the services, the project team will partner with clients to understand their telephony requirements. This will entail discussing several facets of the client's telephony needs. Once the team has a clear understanding of the client's telephony requirements, they will address them before moving forward with the implementation process.