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Headquarters telephone system completed

Installation of approximately 700 new Cisco telephones that use VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) last weekend went smoothly and was completed slightly faster than expected at Headquarters.

Crews began replacing telephones about 5 p.m. Friday (Feb. 18) and finished by Saturday afternoon, reported Bill Finke, who coordinated the technical installation. Goodwill Staffing provided about a dozen temporary workers who were matched with ITD employees and divided into teams of three or four to complete the process.

They worked until 10 p.m. Friday and from 8 a.m. to late afternoon on Saturday. Five other ITD employees were assigned to work through the weekend on the new DMV Contact Center system. Like other desktop telephones, the new DMV system uses the network-based phones to connect with callers, but it has additional functions commonly used in private call centers.

Installation took place without major challenges, Finke explained. Most employees provided clear access to their old phones and computers, which expedited the process.

Telephone installation at Headquarters completes the department’s conversion to the network-based system that will produce significant savings in long-distance charges. The new system also is expected to improve teleconferencing capabilities.

Contrary to what VoIP suggests, calls are not carried over the Internet, but instead use ITD’s existing network. With conversion to the network-based system, ITD has decommissioned its statewide microwave system.