September 15, 2010 at 5:52 PM -0400 wrote:
>With that said, I don't see many recent discussions on this list about
>VOIP solutions or VOIP providers. For those that have already made the
>switch, are there drawbacks? Unexpected benefits? What about
>recommendations regarding hardware and service providers? How did you
>handle loss-of-power or loss-of-Internet concerns? We're looking into
>redundant broadband (copper and fiber) and we're working with a local UPS
>reseller to beef up our batteries.
Jack and all,
We are in nearly the same boat. I'm looking at replacing a relatively
recent Avaya switch but a really old Avaya voicemail with an internal
Asterisk-based system. I've visited a nearby large catholic school which
uses a single Asterisk server with separately purchased SIP phones (Cisco,
I think). They tie some analog lines in with an adaptor (which name
escapes me), and it works well. They have NO monthly or yearly license
charges - just their regular telco service.
Meanwhile, we're paying $12K/yr to Avaya for what? The right to say we're
using Avaya, I think. Considering that we have to then pay a local
provider more money to actually help with the system, I'm not a happy
camper. My main goals are to: replace the aging voicemail, reduce our
yearly licensing costs, and get better service and options with a modern
VOIP switch.
Our problem is our campus is big (200+ acres) with lots of questionable
wiring. Lots of rooms have only analog wiring for phones and connecting in
the VOIP lines could lead to issues with our network management system
(Campus Manager from Bradford). So.... my investigations continue.
I'd love to hear if you (or anyone) have any strong recommendations in
this area.
Peter Hoopes
Director of Technology
St. Andrew's School
phoopes@standrews-de.org
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