Sto:lo Nation Lowers Costs and Increases Accessibility with NEC Communication Solutions

Business Wire, May 26, 2009

Tribal Government Utilizes NEC’s UNIVERGE® Communications Solution to Help Improve Government Staff Productivity and Accessibility for 3,000 Residents

IRVING, Texas -- NEC Unified Solutions, Inc. (NEC), a leader in enterprise business communications, today announced that Sto:lo Nation has lowered communication costs, improved public safety and enhanced staff productivity resulting in more reliable and productive communications for approximately 3,000 employees and residents in the Sto:lo Nation community. Sto:lo Nation, an Aboriginal governing body that oversees 13 First Nations in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, is using NEC’s UNIVERGE® SV8300 communications server and IP telephones.

“With our new IP communications solution, we are now able to help increase public safety while reducing overall costs. We believe the NEC UNIVERGE solution, provided by NEC Associate North American Telecommunications Group, not only improves communications, security and safety within Sto:lo Nation, it reduces unnecessary outside calls by 75 percent and reduces our total cost of ownership significantly,” said Tara Green, administrative assistant, Sto:lo Nation.

Overcoming Financial and Legal Challenges

The Sto:lo Nation‘s previous network was outdated and fraught with inconveniences and connectivity issues resulting in unnecessary lag time in emergency personnel response and unnecessarily high long-distance tolls. Because none of the systems were networked, employees in different buildings were forced to dial 11 digits to reach one another. Additionally, emergency personnel had no ability to pinpoint the exact location of 911 callers.

To address Sto:lo Nation’s challenges, North American Telecommunications Group, an authorized NEC dealer, implemented an SV8300 communications server with a node in each of their five main buildings, giving users four-digit dialing and the ability to quickly transfer incoming calls. In the case of an emergency, the new solution informs the receptionist and key staff members of the extension which placed a call to 911, and using the reverse telephone directory, the receptionist can pinpoint the location of the problem and assist first responders that arrive on the scene.

NEC’s UNIVERGE360 enables Sto:lo Nation employees to make use of a connected communications network that unifies the technology needed for them to perform their individual jobs effectively. The solution’s presence capabilities allow administrative assistants in multiple locations to check availability before taking time to walk to another building. When multiplied across many employees, the ability to see who is on the phone can save time and increase staff efficiency.

“Utilizing our UNIVERGE360 approach, Sto:lo Nation implemented a communications solution to enable individual government employees to better perform their jobs, which has led to the improved accessibility for its people,” said Don Stewart, vice president and general manager for Canada, NEC Unified Solutions. “NEC’s UNIVERGE solutions are able to grow as the tribal government’s communications needs further evolve.”

Sto:lo Nation plans to deploy NEC’s MA4000 management solution which offers an automated tool for monitoring, managing, verifying and routing invoices for payment or correction. The MA4000 will allow Sto:lo Nation to become more productive using its tools to effectively manage IT operations and services while controlling IT-related expenses.

A more detailed case study on the Sto:lo Nation’s UNIVERGE deployment is available online at www.necunified.com/casestudies. For more information on NEC’s communications solutions, visit www.UNIVERGE360.com.

For more information about NEC Unified Solutions, visit www.necunified.com.

NEC and UNIVERGE are registered trademarks of NEC Corporation.

For more information about the Sto:lo Nation, visit www.stolonation.bc.ca.

For more information about North American Telecommunications Group, visit www.natgtelecom.com.