VoIP proves educational. networks

Communications News,  June, 2006  

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

While fewer than half of the colleges and universities in North America have migrated to voice-over-IP (VoIP) networks, many more are getting ready to make their moves in the next six months to two years. That is the message received by ACUTA, the Association for Communications Professionals in Higher Education, when it surveyed attendees at its VoIP educational seminar in Providence earlier this year. The survey respondents represented both public and private institutions, from small colleges to major universities.

Of the surveyed institutions, 43% reported they are using VoIP. Almost all of the users noted, however, that the VoIP network currently covers less than 25% of their campus. Among those who assigned their VoIP network a grade, the responses averaged out to a 3.13 grade point average (on a 4-point scale), although 25% gave the network an "incomplete."

Most frequently mentioned benefits of the VoIP network were improved end-user features, cited by 46% of the users; cost savings, cited by 31%; and overall network efficiency, cited by 23%.

Among their concerns: security was named by 77%, with quality-of-service and emergency 911 issues cited by 69%. Sixty-two percent pointed to management as an issue. Other challenges cited were cost, user training, complexity and help desk issues.

"There is obviously tremendous interest in voice-over-IP networking on North American campuses," says Jeri Semer, executive director of ACUTA. "Our survey suggests that our member institutions are being very methodical about how they are migrating to this technology."

The survey indicates that 77% of the responding colleges and universities using VoIP are planning to expand its share of their networks in the next six months to two years, and the only ones not planning expansion are those who just finished recent upgrades. Among the colleges and universities that are not using VoIP, 70% say a migration is in their plans, anywhere within the next six months to three or more years. The most frequently cited reason among the non-users for considering migration is to improve overall network efficiency and to deliver improved end-user features.

COPYRIGHT 2006 Nelson Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning