Overview
The Anchorage campus Nortel™ PBX system supports over 3,500 telephones and users. It has reached its end-of-life and lacks capacity to add new services to support campus growth. A new system based on Cisco™ Systems’ Voice-over-IP, or VoIP, technology will replace the Nortel™ system. The new VoIP system will bring state of the art technology, expandability to meet current and future needs, and stability of critical telephone services to Anchorage campus users.
Why VoIP and Why Now?
This project comes at an important time for the Anchorage campus. The reasons are best summarized as follows:
- The Anchorage campus Nortel™ PBX would require major upgrades or replacement to address current needs. New buildings expected to come on-line in the next 5-7 years cannot be supported by the current system;
- Upgrades or replacement of the Nortel™ PBX would require costly physical movement of equipment, telephone circuits and wiring to a larger alternative location;
- VoIP technology permits the campus to invest system replacement dollars to benefit both voice and data services;
- VoIP technology is distributed and equipment can be placed in the Anchorage computer room as well as communications closets throughout campus;
- VoIP technology will support new services such as mobility and unified messaging for users and will serve as a platform for development of other new services.
For more information on the VoIP project, look through the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.
Project Partners
UAA has selected two partners to assist in this major project. Cisco™ Systems, Inc. (www.cisco.com) is our technology partner and has committed to provide us with aggressive pricing on their AVVID™ (Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data) equipment solution as well as consulting and selective service outsourcing. World Wide Technology, Inc.(www.wwt.com) is our integration partner and will provide UAA’s IT Services’ department with critical engineering, installation and project management resources.
Project Objectives
VoIP telephone service will be installed in 40 buildings on the Anchorage campus, at the University Center, the Diplomacy Building and at the Aviation Technology Complex. All other UAA facilities in the Anchorage metropolitan area will be served with existing telephone systems. Telephone service for UAA’s Eagle River extension campus and five community campuses will be addressed in future capital projects. The following major project phases will take place between July 2006 and June 2007:
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Upgrade of the Anchorage campus computer network
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Installation and testing of Cisco Call Managers which replace the Nortel PBX
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Phone replacement at all locations
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Operational hand-off by the World Wide Technology project team
