First Steps
Converting your department to Voice Over IP not only provides you an opportunity to take advantage of cost savings, but also gives you the opportunity to take advantage of the technological advances this type of system provides. Currently, under the Wall-plate project, your department is offered the chance to convert your current telephone system to VoIP at a discounted price. Discounts are provided for telephone equipment as well as installation fees.
The process starts with your department creating a UFIT Telecommunications work order requesting a VoIP estimate and design. Your work order will be assigned to a Customer Service Representative (CSR) who will guide you through the process.
During your first contact, you will be given a listing of the telephone services that are currently configured for your department. You will also be given a blank copy of a VoIP spreadsheet which will be your input for the VoIP system. Your CSR will work closely with you to identify your needs. Important points for review are as follows:
- Identifying all staff members by name and gatorlink ID who need phones as well as the type of phone and location
- Identifying locations of extra phones that are to be placed in hallways or shared areas
- Identifying the need for conference phones and/or ATA devices for fax machines.
- Identifying the need for phone trees (i.e., menus on certain phone lines)
- Identifying the need for voice mail on lines that are not assigned to a person
- Conversion of currently assigned phone numbers to VoIP or assigning new phone numbers.
- Identifying the lines to be disconnected after your conversion to VoIP is complete.
Once the information above is collected, your department will be given an estimate of the charge to convert to VoIP. The estimate will contain the one-time installation charges as well as a comparison of your latest telephone invoice to what your monthly charges will look like once you have been converted. Every effort is made to convert your department as close as possible to the date at which you receive your VoIP phones to ensure you are not paying for both phone systems during the same timeframe.
Should you accept the estimate for VoIP conversion, your CSR will work with the Wall-plate Infrastructure team to determine the timeframe to begin VoIP deployment because your VoIP system cannot be deployed until all wiring and switch work is completed. Your CSR will work with you to coordinate a time to deploy phones and provide training to your staff. Some staff members may not require training. Others (usually receptionists) require more advanced training.
VoIP Spreadsheet Information
One of the first items you will receive from your Customer Service Representative is a spreadsheet which is used to accumulate the information for your conversion project (VoIP Spreadsheet). The spreadsheet contains information that is used to import your phone configurations into our VoIP and Billing Systems. The customer is required to provide the following information for each staff/phone location:
- Current Telephone Number (if single line)
- Building Number
- Room Number
- Gatorlink ID for staff/faculty (required for voice mail box)
- Description – staff/faculty name or functional name for phone
- Equipment Type – see telephone handset Device List (typically 8811, 8851, 8861)