Phone System Upgrade

The current University phone system was manufactured in the 1980's.  It has done its job and then some!  However, support on that system is ending soon and parts are difficult to find. In addition, its age leaves the university vulnerable to social engineering and other possible threats. Therefore,  we are in the process of replacing the current system with something more modern and agile.  Please check out the details of the new phone upgrade and view frequently asked questions.  This will allow you to understand the options that you will have available to you and your team.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Why are we upgrading our PSU Phone System?
  • Will we lose functionality by upgrading to a new system?
  • What are the estimated costs to PSU Depts for the phone upgrade?
  • What are some of the benefits of an upgraded PSU Phone System?
  • What features does ITS recommend?
  • Can I receive calls on my cell phone?
  • What security will be in place for the new mobile features of the phone system?
  • Where can we see images of some of these new upgraded tools?
  • Will my phone number / extension change?
  • Will I get a new/different phone?
  • Will I still have voicemail?
  • Will the new system be complicated to use?
  • What if I want a soft phone app on my computer, but I don’t want to use (or don’t have) my computer’s microphone and speakers for phone calls – or what if I need privacy?
  • Can you have a physical phone and also use the app on the computer for a single phone line? For multiple lines?
  • Can a phone number ring on two computers?
  • How can we see/utilize multiple lines on the computer?
  • Will the new system display Caller ID?
  • Are long distance charge eliminated with soft phones?
  • How many lines can a physical phone have?
  • Why would we need/use the phone system versus Microsoft Teams for calls/video calls among PSU employees?
  • How many times will the phone ring before it goes to voicemail?
  • How will soft phones work at shared work stations (as with student employees)?
  • What if the computer is on but no one is logged in?
  • What if the computer is off? Will a physical phone still ring so it can be answered?
  • Does this upgrade impact the current fax lines being used on campus?

Our existing phone system was manufactured in the early 1980’s.  It has provided extremely reliable services for many, many years.  However, technical assistance and spare parts for this system are growing scarce.  Repair parts haven’t been in manufacture for decades.  Nortel, the phone system manufacturer, no longer exists as a company.  In order to assure continuous service and support, it’s time to consider a replacement.  In addition, its age leaves the university vulnerable to social engineering and other possible threats.

 

No current telephone functionality will be lost due to the upgrade.  In fact, many additional functions will be added in this more modern, flexible system.

 

Estimated costs for the phone system upgrade:

Software Telephone (aka Soft Phone):

For Mac or PC (works similar to making voice calls with Microsoft Teams): $48.14 (one time fee)

Additional charge to add a soft phone to an Android or Apple mobile device (in addition to the $48.14 above): $34.44

 

Physical Telephone:

With 8 programmable line and/or feature buttons: $369.00

With button Expansion Module for above physical phone (adds 24 additional line and/or feature buttons): $195.04

 

Telephone Headsets:

Wireless Headset for Physical Telephone:  $268.00 

Plug-in Wired USB Headset and Microphone (to work with software phone on your PC/Mac computer): $75.00

 

This replacement not only gives us reliability with modern hardware, but it also gives us the opportunity to redesign our voice network with the needs of current, highly mobile users in mind.  Immobile physical telephones can be replaced by highly mobile “software” phones that can be installed on Mac and PC computers.  These apps allow users to place and receive calls and check voice messages using their computer – much like Microsoft Teams calls work today.  For even more convenience and mobility, there are also “soft phone” apps available for Apple and Android mobile devices.  When we had to evacuate campus in the early part of the Covid-19 pandemic, we didn’t have a good option for providing remote access to your work telephone.  With the new system, many telephone options will be available for teleworking.

 

We’re recommending Software Telephones (aka Soft Phones) for the majority of PSU clients.  This soft phone would work very much like Microsoft Teams calls do now. If you operate in a high noise environment or have other concerns about making or receiving calls using your computer’s built-in mic and speakers - or if your computer doesn’t have one (or both) of these, you can add a plug-in USB headset/microphone combo for your PC or Mac.  We have recommended headsets and estimated pricing in another FAQ entry above.

 

 

Yes!  If you choose to do so, you can take advantage of the mobility option with the upgraded system.  The default soft phone works on PCs and Macs.  You can install the software on as many PCs or Macs as you want. In addition, there are soft phones available for Android/iPhone devices but this requires an additional one-time license fee. Add-on pricing for a soft phone for Android and Apple devices is available in another FAQ entry above.

 

For use off campus, both the PC/Mac soft phone and the Android/iPhone soft phone will require that you also install the PSU FortiNet VPN client software – and activate the VPN connection before attempting to log your soft phone in to the phone system. 

 

Checkout this video of how the soft phone works! In addition, take a look at the screenshots of the headset and the desk phone if you choose these options.

 

 

No.  With a new system, your telephone number and internal extension number will be the same.

 

Nortel multi-button phones are proprietary and will not work with a new, non-Nortel system.  However, plain analog telephones – like the speakerphones many of us have in our conference rooms – will work with the new system and won’t need to be replaced.  We believe most users will prefer to use a soft phone app on their Mac or PC instead of replacing their physical phone with another costly and immobile physical telephone.  The mobility provided by soft phones will make temporary or permanent relocation of your workspace a breeze.  You’ll be able to connect the telephone app to the new phone system from pretty much anywhere – much like Microsoft Teams works today for voice/video conferencing.

 

Yes.  The new system will have a full-featured voicemail system with a voicemail box available for every user.  It’s quite likely that the new system will also give us the option to receive voice messages in our e-mail in-box as messages with attached sound files.

 

Yes and no.  Our existing telephone system has over 800 telephony features available.  The new system will offer a similar number of capabilities.  Almost none of us need or use most of those features.  Today, most of us need to know how to place calls, answer calls, use the hold button, check voicemail, maybe transfer a call, and not much else.  All these activities will be as simple and straightforward on the new system as they are now with our current system.

 

The soft phone app can work with plug-in headsets.  ITS has a couple of models of wired and wireless noise cancelling handsets we’d recommend if you need one.  However, any headset with microphone that you can make work with your computer now will work with the soft phone app too.  If you have one that you like, you shouldn’t need to replace it.

 

Yes, and if using both a physical phone and the soft client it will ring to both.

 

Yes, an extension number or phone number may ring at 2 or more locations at once.  The user can identify which "line" is ringing before answering. 

The soft phone has multiple buttons that can have extension numbers assigned to various users.
Yes.  Caller ID will display on both soft phones and physical phones.
No.  Soft phones (app) do not use the Internet to make calls.  Soft phones uses the University's phone network to place outside calls through our long distance provider.
A physical phone can have up to 8 lines.
There is no need to use the phone system now or in the future to communicate with fellow PSU employees given Microsoft Teams' capabilities.  The outside world will still use phone lines to reach us and in many cases that is how we will continue to reach the outside world given the many mediums of communication found in the world today.
The number of rings can be set to 0-99 before being sent to voicemail.
A soft phone has a unique user ID (extension number) and password that is supplied when the soft phone app is launched on the computer.  Any user can launch the app and log in if they know the correct credentials for the soft phone to login to the phone system.   It doesn’t matter what other accounts/users the user may be using in other applications.  Users simply login using the userid/password for that phone extension.
If the soft phone app isn’t loaded and no user is logged in to it, calls will: a) go to voicemail, or b) can be forwarded to another extension.
If the extension appears on another phone (physical or soft) it will ring.  If not, calls will: a) go to voicemail, or b) can be forwarded to another extension.
No.  There will be no changes with the current fax lines on campus.

Please feel free to contact Gorilla Geeks with any questions at geeks@pittstate.edu, 620-235-4600, or via live chat!