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Delaware State University: One University—One Telecom Infrastructure
11/1/2002
Beginning in 1999 and lasting six months, DSU officials planned and reviewed companies on the State of Delaware-approved vendor list for telecommunications systems. During this time, DSU administration used state funding in the Y2K budget to establish a CIO position titled Assistant Provost for Technology & Information Systems. This position would serve to centralize all current and future technology under a single administrator and thus eliminate confusion that resulted from multiple functioning PBXs.
The University issued an RFP in 1999 and by September a contract was issued for Siemens Enterprise Networks to cover six buildings for a cost of $133,000, excluding wiring. After initial work on the project, university officials asked Siemens to expand its project to include the remainder of the campus.
The solution was to replace the 16 PBXs with one Siemens Hicom 300 IP convergence platform at a cost of $471,184. The new PBX delivers more effective switching, campuswide four-digit dialing, ISDN capabilities for video conferencing, and a call center that provides students with critical support. The solution connects the entire campus as a single site with a dialing plan that is the same for everyone. Even the once-remote welcome center is fully integrated with the rest of the campus.
The next stage in the Y2K technology vision started in the spring of 2001 with the construction of new campus-styled housing south of the main campus. To progress toward its goal of having a completely converged voice and data network, the DSU and Siemens team worked with University Courtyard to pilot a Voice over IP (VoIP) system for the 256 students in the complex. The University implemented a Siemens HiPath 5000 enterprise softswitch that provides both voice and data services to a new off-campus dormitory facility that will serve as a pilot project to prove the benefits of a converged, campuswide network.
Just as important, with the help of this vendor, DSU was able to integrate the new technology with their existing Octel voicemail system, thus protecting the investment they'd already made in equipment. The VoIP system went into production on Aug. 10, 2001, and has been so successful that University officials entered into another contract for the University Courtyard Phase 2, currently under construction. This phase will provide the VoIP structure for an additional 156 students.
The solution has raised the level of communications on campus light years. Faculty and staff now enjoy easy conference calling. And having the entire campus wired also gives the faculty and staff the ability to work in a more mobile environment. Taking this idea one step further, DSU is implementing a teleworking solution that will allow faculty members to work remotely while still having access to the campus network. Not only will this help with recruiting and retaining top staff, but it could greatly reduce the need to "house" these new recruits, as well as existing staff, on campus.
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