UCL Telecoms

UCL New Telephone System

Background

UCL has expanded into new buildings, primarily Central House but others are soon to follow. UCL could have continued to expend capital funding on older systems but needed to ensure the continued support of telephony services into the future and be in a position to make use of technological changes as they become available.

The old UCL telephone system has performed admirably for many years and will still continue to provide core features until the roll out of the new system is complete.

VoIP

The new system that the College has decided upon is based on Voice over IP (VoIP), which fundamentally means that telephone handsets connect via the data network, making use of the existing infrastructure and resilience that has been built into the college data network.

Why change?

Older equipment is becoming harder to maintain and isn’t as flexible as modern systems, which make moves and changes easier as well as providing new features and future proof guarantees. Integrating with computer systems will help people work more flexibly and efficiently as well as providing unique features, such as a directory on your phone to make finding people and calling them much easier.

What does it mean to me?

One of the major things this means is that, in most cases, you won't be able to take your existing number to the new system when you transfer. There is a huge payoff though, as once you have your new number you should never have to change it again as and when you move around College. You can log in at any VoIP phone and your number will follow you, complete with all your speed dials, settings and ring tones. If you move to another UCL VoIP building, you simply log in.

When is it happening?

The equipment is being installed and we should have live phones on the new network in Central House in early April. We have some telephones working to test across the network now and the project looks to be on target.

For more details please see our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).