Project Guide: Is It Time for VOIP
<<<... Other operating costs can be reduced; for example, moving, adding or changing an IP phone is simpler than with traditional switches, because an IP phone switch automatically reconfigures itself whenever a new set is plugged into the network. Also, because IP phone systems run over standard, ubiquitous Internet-protocol networks (including the Internet itself), the technology lets phone systems extend way beyond corporate offices. For instance, a salesperson in a hotel room hundreds of miles away from headquarters could set up a phone to make and receive phone calls from his own extension—and also avoid running up long-distance charges. For the Clark County School District, which covers 7,900 square miles in Nevada and includes Las Vegas, moving to the new technology has helped keep a lid on costs while giving more teachers access to phones. The 291,000-student district expects to spend about $15 million on its three-year IP telephony project, slated for completion in early 2006, which will use 27,000 Alcatel phones. Chief technology officer Phil Brody first considered IP telephony when the school district decided to roll out a fiber-optic network with gigabit-per-second feeds to 317 schools. The idea: Run voice over that network, eliminating phone charges among schools. "We were looking to expand our phone system," Brody says, "and we said, 'You know, the best thing for us to do is ride this huge new network we're building.'" But IP-based phones, which include processors to convert audio into data packets, can be pricey—at least $100 each. To keep costs down, the district has deployed mostly traditional circuit-switched phone sets (typically one-tenth the price of IP models). Gateway switches at each school convert calls to IP before sending them off-site.