Schools replace analog phones with voiceover IP system

By Matt Bower
Posted 7/19/16

In March, the School Committee unanimously approved to have the district enter into a three-year contract with Cox Communications for a new voiceover Internet Protocol (IP) system to replace its outdated analog phones. Now that school has

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Schools replace analog phones with voiceover IP system

Posted

In March, the School Committee unanimously approved to have the district enter into a three-year contract with Cox Communications for a new voiceover Internet Protocol (IP) system to replace its outdated analog phones. Now that school has ended and classes are no longer in session, the new system is being installed.

Implementation began on June 29 and is expected to be completed this week, with the exception of the Warwick Veterans Junior High building, which is still undergoing construction due to consolidation. Chief Budget Officer Anthony Ferrucci said although receptionists will man the public Vets lines, the classroom install will be delayed.

Ferrucci said phone service was shut down briefly to do the changeover while new phones were installed in the buildings, which could explain recent reports of some calls to schools going unanswered.

“When shut down, we’re rerouting the main public phone lines, which are up and running and manned by someone who can handle the call,” Ferrucci said, adding that the back lines weren’t rerouted.

During the meeting on March 8 when the move was approved, Ferrucci said the district had been looking at replacing its analog system for the past six years, with the goal to transition to voiceover IP.

At that meeting, Brad French of Cox Communications gave a presentation about the advantages of the new voiceover IP system.

French said the district’s analog system was outdated by decades and the new voiceover IP system, a host-based system delivering system-based applications over a private network, would unite the entire district under one single communications platform, with a phone on every desk and in every classroom.

“Each school will be on its own platform, so if one goes down, the rest will still be active and live,” French said, adding that calls to buildings that have been evacuated would be redirected to other phones/buildings.

French said the equipment, which he described as “top quality, top grade Cisco systems,” would be installed at no cost to the district.

“Right now, you pay local and long-distance rates,” he said. “We don’t charge local or long-distance, so you get that free, which ensures a predictable monthly operational expense.”

Ferrucci said by transitioning to the new system, the monthly cost for access to the line would drop from $50 per line to $15 per line, a 70 percent decrease, through e-rate reimbursements from the federal government.

“One of the major initiatives [for doing this] is that our technology falls under the guidelines of the new e-rate requirements, in which analog phone lines will be discontinued under the new requirements,” he said.

French said Cox would provide the design, functionality, cabling, implementation, and billing, all handled by one vendor. Once the system is up and running, he said there would be no dropped calls, no downtime, there’s no cost for phone replacements, and a disaster recovery system would be established by redirecting calls to evacuated buildings, for example.

“We will replace obsolete equipment with new equipment on a consistent basis,” French continued. “The IT department is not disrupted and no additional staff is needed.”

French said the contract would be locked in for three years with a set fee per phone per month, and if a phone is no longer needed, it would be taken off the contract.

Following the presentation, the committee voted 5-0 in favor of the new system.

During the meeting, Superintendent Philip Thornton said, “A big part of this is safety and security. Right now, some people can’t get messages. We want a phone in every room.”

Ferrucci said one of the features with the new system is it allows emergency personnel to identify the specific call location.

“If Toll Gate dials 911, the police department will know exactly which classroom at Toll Gate the call came from,” he said. “With an analog system, the line is dedicated specifically to the phone on the wall in the building, so if there were 300 phones at Toll Gate, we would need 300 individual analog lines for police to know exactly where the call was coming from, which just isn’t possible.”

Ferrucci said the department has been happy with the new system, but staff is still learning new features that weren’t available before, such as sending voice messages to electronic emails.

“I’ve been through phone system changes in the past, but overall I’d say this has been the smoothest experience ever with it,” Ferrucci said. “It can take time getting the lines to work and running cables, and there are usually glitches and buzzing noises, which takes a few weeks to clean up, but I’ve had none of those experiences personally, and any small items that have popped up have been addressed quickly.”

Comments

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  • Imhere

    I wonder if Phil Thorton will use his new phones to resign, after his cover ups. He talks about safety, but at Norwood Elementary he couldn't keep four 4th grade girls safe from a future predator. Thorton is a joke who hasn't sat down with the teachers,but administrators have been arrested or suspended and he just continues to operate "the cover up crew" and all his little puppets just follow in order and don't stand up for what's right.

    Tuesday, July 19, 2016 Report this

  • richardcorrente

    Dear Imhere,

    That isn't productive. You're being part of the problem, not part of the solution. If you really want things to be better be part of the solution. Call as many Warwick taxpayers as you know and have them call the members of the School Committee to express your support for the teachers that have been working without a contract for far too long.

    The teachers are willing to negotiate. The School Committee is NOT. That automatically makes the School Committee wrong in the Court of Public Opinion. Join the teachers. I have and as Mayor I will give them as much support as the law allows. As Mayor I know I can't participate in the actual negotiations but I can strongly urge both sides to sit and talk and I intend to do just that. I will replace Mayor Avedisians "Hands-Off" policy with an "I-Care" policy. From a taxpayers point of view we have paid over one BILLION DOLLARS since 2009 and we have teachers without contracts, students without Chromebooks, buildings that are literally falling down and a Mayor that doesn't even go to the School Committee meetings.

    That is not the Mayor I will be. Please visit my website at www.correntemayorwarwick.com

    Thank you Imhere. Enjoy your Summer.

    Richard Corrente

    Endorsed Democrat for Mayor

    Tuesday, July 19, 2016 Report this

  • Imhere

    Mr. Corrente, I'm wondering if you have read any of my posts? Well I'm all for the teachers getting a contract, but like I said some don't deserve it, and Phil Thorton is completely incompetent. If you were Mayor when these girls were touched what would you have done? When Avedesian was called he called Col. McCarthy and the school committee sat on their hands the whole time as well, especially Gene Nadeau because he was kept in the loop through the whole situation. One last thing about being productive my posts are to show the taxpayer the waste of money we have at the school administration and how they cover it up, and you think the rhetoric you are saying is come on now. Put yourself in the shoes of these girls!!

    Thursday, July 21, 2016 Report this