Bowdoin's outdated phones face last call this semester.
Information Technology (IT) plans to update many of Bowdoin's phones over Winter Break, replacing the 25-year-old system with ones that use voice-over Internet Protocol (IP) technology.
The IPTel Voiceover IP Project (IPTel) will integrate the current phone system into a unified campus network to consolidate computer, phone and internet networks, said Student Network Technician Amir Abdullah '10.
Unlike the current telephone network, which connects all phone lines to a central switchboard in Appleton Hall, IPTel will utilize two separate systems, one in Appleton Hall and the other in Hubbard Hall, Manager of Networking Jason Lavoie said.
After IT corrects any initial flaws in the system, Lavoie said he expects IPTel's dual line system to be more efficient than the previous phone network.
"This should be more reliable in the end," Lavoie said. "One line could fail because of a snow storm, but the other line could still have power."
Lavoie also said IT waited to launch IPTel until its creators had reworked and revised any initial problems.
"We upgraded the computer network three years ago, and it's been in the works since then," he said. "At the time, we knew the [current] phone system was on its last legs."
Because of a non-disclosure agreement with Cisco, IPTel's manufacturer, Davis said he could not release the cost of the new phones and system, but estimated the project to cost between $1 and $2 million.
Last March, the IT department distributed 24 IPTel phones to various buildings across campus. Lavoie said participants in the pilot program seamlessly transitioned to the new system.
"The feedback has been great. Nobody wanted to give back their phones," he said.
As early as the 2008-2009 academic year, the system could extend to students' cell phones, Lavoie said.
"We're working on mobility, which allows you to run a client, like a Palm Pilot or Windows Mobile phone, on the system. It would make your phone like an extension of the phone system," he said.
Davis said IPTel will enable students to gain access to information instantly using computers or cell phones.
"Our goal is that the phone becomes an information distribution device, not just a phone. If you want to know your grades, you can do it through the phone. You should be able to check these things from something you have in your hand," Davis said.
IT will seek student input as the department updates the IPTel system in the coming years, Davis said.
"As we think of ways we can use the phone, students will be in the process of adding software," he said.
Initially, IT will place IPTel phones only in central locations throughout campus, such as in Coles Tower and Smith Union. But by the beginning of the 2008-2009 academic year, IT hopes to have replaced every phone on campus with an IPTel phone, Abdullah said.
IPTech will give each student his or her own phone number and voicemail account, which will remain the same throughout their tenure at Bowdoin. Additionally, students will be able to access voicemails through their Bowdoin email accounts, Abdullah said.
Davis said IPTel's software is computer-based, which allowed technicians to update the system in order to keep Bowdoin on the cutting edge of technology.
"Hopefully we'll get another 25 years out of this system. We're one of the fastest computer programs in the nation?this just goes along with that," Davis said.