Project overview
The College has outgrown its current 25 year old telecommunications
system. In order to keep pace with the ever increasing demand for
phone service and provide the College with a reliable, flexible and
scalable telecommunications infrastructure, a major upgrade of the
system has been undertaken. Due to the large cost associated
with replacing a telecommunication system of this size, several years
ago the College submitted a funding proposal to the City Council
and was appropriated $640,000 dollars for this project. After a long
procurement process, the NYC Office of Management & Budget approved
the funding for the installation of this upgrade. The system upgrade
happened during the Spring Break period at the end
of March 2007. Implementation of new technology Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP) is part of this upgrade. Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP), is a technology that allows you to make voice calls using
a data line instead of a regular (or analog) phone line. VoIP services
convert your voice into a digital signal that travels over the data
line. As a result of this Project, all telephones in Haaren & North
Hall have been replaced.
My office is in North Hall and Hareen Hall. What
should I expect?
Due to the 25 year technology difference between the old and new systems
this initiative will perform a complete overhaul of all telecommunications
equipment. As a result each user in Harreen Hall and North Hall will
receive a new phone and be required to recreate their existing voicemail
greeting.
Will I receive my new phone in advance?
No.College security officers will accompany Siemens personnel
as they install new phones in each of the faculty and staff office
throughout the campus on March 30th, 31stand
April 1st.
How can I learn about my new phone and how to
set up a new voicemail greeting?
1 - Pamphlets outlining the differences between currently deployed
telephones and new phones are scheduled to be distributed the week
of March the 5th. In the pamphlet users will find a list
of the present functions on older phones and how such functions are
performed on newer phones. The pamphlet will also provide some of the
common functions such as setting up a voicemail greeting and how to
check voicemail.
2 - Immediately preceding the migration, classes will be available
in ITSS to all who are interested during the week of March 26th.
During this week the vendor responsible for deploying the new system
will provide formal training to introduce users to new phone functionality
and voicemail. Classes will run four times a day. A schedule of classes
and their location will be released shortly. Check the DOIT site and
your email for more details.
3 - In addition to the above training an online instructional video
will be made available. Please check the DOIT site and look for a global
email outlining the exact location of this video as it becomes available.
4 - Following the migration trainers (April 2nd–4thand
11th–13th) will be available to help users setup there voicemail
and deal with issues that arise. During this period a separate helpdesk
number to assist in any post migration issues will be established.
Please check the DOIT site and look for a global email with this number
as it becomes available.
Will my existing voicemail messages be moved from
the old system?
No.Due to the extreme age of the present system migration of
existing voicemail messages is not possible. After March 30thpresent
voicemail messages will be unrecoverable. Users are required to make
note of such messages on or before March 29th.
My office is in Westport and BMW, will I be affected?
Users in BMW and Westport will not be required to setup voicemail
and will not receive replacements for their current telephones. However,
during the migration (March 30thto April 1st)
users in BMW and Westport will experience interruptions in off campus
call service. In addition calls to college members in buildings other
than BMW and Westport will not be possible.
Will there be support immediately following the
upgrade if I have difficulties?
Yes.In the event a telephone user is experiencing difficulty
Siemens communications will be providing in person support. Immediately
following the upgrade of the telecommunications system trainers will
be available April 2nd, 3rdand 4th to assist with any issues
that may arise. In addition, as the majority of faculty will not be
on campus during this period an additional post migration period of
April 11th, 12th, and 13thwill be provided. Support can
be requested during this time at a specially assigned migration helpdesk
number. This number will be announced before the cutover occurs. Please
check the DOIT site and look for a global email with this number as
it becomes available.
I have additional questions concerning the upgrade?
Who should I contact?
If your question is not answered here and you would like a DOIT representative
to contact you please call the DOIT helpdesk at x8200 to enter a service
call with your question.
