With 90 percent of Brandeis' current telecommunications hardware deemed "end-of-life" by manufacturer Nortel Networks, Brandeis will be installing a new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone system for the upcoming academic year through Verizon and Cisco Systems, according to Information and Technology Services (ITS). As part of this plan, Brandeis will provide new non-cordless telephones to every student to use on the new VoIP protocol, as a special telephone is needed to plug into the Ethernet jack. As a result, approximately 9,000 telephones will be ordered to replace existing phones and phone lines in buildings throughout the university. In addition, 270 phones will be purchased for the new residence halls and other facilities.

Chief Information Officer Perry Hanson III said that the new system will cost under $4 million and involve a number of technological changes. Central to the plan is the installation of an all fiber-optic system to run across the entire campus in place of the current copper-wire connections, which have degraded considerably over the 18 years that they have been in use.

Hanson also explained that the phone system had reached its capacity some time ago, and phone line requirements for the new residential hall could not be accommodated with the current system. He also added that the current system had crashed twice.

On the Brandeis network, calls are moved back and forth through the network through devices called switches - devices that are now considerably outdated. "Given the age of our switch and its cobbled- together nature, our risk (of a network crash) increases because we may not be able to recover from a failure," Hanson said.

The new fiber-optic system, according to ITS, will encompass voice as well as the computer data network, so that both computer and telephone data will run on the same wire; the telephone will plug into the wall, and the computer network cable will be connected to the telephone. In the future, video data may be added to the system, as well.

Anna Tomecka, associate chief information officer and director of ITS, explained that the computer and telephone systems will be "two networks on the same wire but logically separated ... Even though the wire is the same, the two traffics will not collide."

According to ITS, with both the telephone and computer networks integrated in the same system, the telephone can essentially serve many of the advanced functions of a computer, giving students and faculty alike a wide variety of options in programming their telephones. The telephones will have a new voicemail system. In addition, they boast many programming capabilities, which include the maintenance of the Brandeis telephone directory and caller-ID and broadcast messaging capabilities. ITS said they believed that one of the system's greatest assets is the possibility of adding specialized features, including advertisements, looking up one's grades and receiving wake-up calls, all from campus phones.

Throughout the planning process, Hanson said ITS consulted the Student Information Technology Advisory Committee (SITAC) for its input in decision-making.

"Some issues, like students retaining analog capability for personal faxes, cordless telephones and other legacy devices need to be looked at more seriously, but as a concept the VoIP telephones will dramatically change the way students use voice communication on campus," SITAC member Adam Herman '04 said.

Herman remains concerned that the students will not be able to use cordless telephones. "On one hand, many students have already become avid cell phone users and it's hard (for me) to tell how many students currently use campus telephones," Herman said. "At the same time, some standard analog equipment and particularly cordless telephones are largely ingrained in our way of life on campus."

Herman said, however, that he does believe that the new system will bring the University into line with current technology. "Exciting features like on-screen LDAP (phone directory) lookups, voice-mail indicator lights, text messaging and other enhanced digital features will bring Brandeis into more current technology," he said.

"It's like a little Web browser," Tomecka said of the system.

"It's more than a phone today," added Mary Bromfield, ITS director for telecommunications. "This is modern telephony. It's different."

The new system will entail other changes, such as the replacement of old switches within the telephone network. In addition, rather than running the entire network from Feldberg, as has been standard in the past, the new system will add four additional hubs, also known as regional switches, from which the network will run. These interconnected hubs, to be located at the Admissions building, the Usen dormitory in Massell Quad, Goldfarb and the Stoneman building, will provide backup support that, in the case of a failure in one of the hubs, will make it possible for the system to continue to operate smoothly.

According to Hanson, ITS, knowing that Nortel would no longer support the current system, began the process of looking for alternate solutions to replacement of the copper wires last summer. There has been testing over the past six to eight months, and the two companies were finally chosen for the installation of the new system: Cisco for supplying necessary equipment, and Verizon as an implementation partner.

"The competition is very cutthroat," Hanson said, referring to the process for selecting the participating companies. "Cisco offered us a very good deal."

Cisco's previous work with Brandeis also contributed to the decision. "We ... had the partnership with Cisco for a long time, so we are just going to build upon it," Tomecka said.

Planning for installation is already underway and the network is planned to be fully in place for the start of classes in the fall.