VoIP Phones >> About IP Telephony

Major Upgrade Announcement On December 4, 2009, HealthNet will be upgrading the IP telephony system across the University of Florida Health Science Center enterprise. Please note that any needed changes for phones, lines, and voicemail will be postponed until after the upgrade. We apologize for this inconvenience. Please contact the IP Phone team if you have any questions at ipphone@healthnet.ufl.edu.

Overview

Phone service at the UF Health Science Center is provided by HealthNet using the existing data network infrastructure to provide telephony and enhanced features at a substantial cost savings than traditional private branch exchange (PBX) systems.

 

Technology

VoIP stands for "voice over IP" (or "voice over Internet protocol") and is a general term for a technology that routes phone calls through standard data (packet-switched) networks including the Internet. Also known as "IP telephony," VoIP's benefits over the traditional, standard public switched telephone networks (PSTN) include substantial cost savings and enhanced services and communication features such as video conferencing.

The VoIP service has been implemented using Cisco Unified Communications Manager for both call management and voicemail. Most of the desktop handsets deployed comprise of the 7940/7945 and 7960/7965 Cisco IP phones. Our VoIP system is also able to support traditional, analog fax machines with the Cisco ATA converter device.

Mobile workers are not tied to their desk to take or place phone calls. The wireless (WiFi) network has given them the freedom and increased productivity to use IP telephony with the Cisco 7921 wireless handsets. Additionally, customers who frequently travel can take their calls with them by using the Cisco IP Communicator softphone (software-based) client on their laptop.

People needing to meet face-to-face can avoid the time and expense of travel through video conference. The VoIP technology infrastructure easily extends this function with the Cisco Unified Video Advantage.

Cost Savings

From a cost-savings point of view, it allows organizations to utilize their existing computer data network rather than installing and running dedicated or separate phone cables. Other examples of cost savings include reduced equipment and staffing expenses and the elimination of recurring monthly charges for dedicated voice circuits used to interconnect privately owned telephone switches. Costs for extra features such as conference calling are also usually eliminated.

2009/2010 FY Pro Forma comparing VoIP charges versus Analog

Features

Flexible, enhanced features

Fast Dials
Speed Dials
Call Forward All
Phone Trees
UF LDAP Directory
Personal Directory
911
Conference Call
MeetMe Conference Bridge

Getting Started

To get started, contact the IP Phone team at ipphone@healthnet.ufl.edu

Note: Phone numbers that will be assigned begin with 273-XXXX or 294-XXXX.

If you're looking to order new phones or lines, you will first need to complete and submit your departmental billing information.

Download the form: [PDF] or [Word]