Project Overview

The ACU telephone system, which is based on the Cisco Call Manager (CCM) PABX, and Cisco Unity Voicemail hardware is coming to end of lease and was due for replacement in the third quarter of this 2008. A project has been in place to upgrade this system to the latest version. This will provide opportunities to improve telecommunication services with greater functionality as well as more efficient technical support through the consolidation of 18 telecommunication servers to just 6 servers. A project team consisting of Infrastructure staff, an external System Integrator and Cisco have been working on this project since early this year.

Upgrade benefits include:

1. Richer voice quality — The latest version of CCM supports the newer Cisco IP Phones which provide a better standard wideband audio codec.
2. Intercom — Phones now support a full intercom line feature.
3. New Voicemail audible Message Waiting Indicator — a “stutter” dial tone to indicate new voicemail is waiting.
4. Integration of the Telecommunication System with the University’s authentication system which will improve the accuracy and relevance of the Corporate Phone book.

Additional new features to be implemented include:

• Extension Mobility — Staff can logon to an IP phone on any campus and have their extension display on that phone.
•  Mobility — CCM system can automatically try to ring multiple numbers including staff’s mobile number if necessary at the same time when the staff extension is called.
• Presence — Allows users to see the phone status prior to calling (e.g. if the person is on the phone).

Update — November 2008

After the new systems are installed, proof of concepts and trials will follow before campus phone systems are migrated across to the new PABX system. All staff phones, extension and full phone numbers will NOT change.