BT and Cisco in VoIP deal with Cambridge University

The University of Cambridge has chosen BT, Cisco and PTS Consulting, to provide an IP telephony system for both staff and students. The converged voice and data network will serve 17,000 users across 200 university institutions.

Under the terms of the agreement, BT and Cisco will supply 20,000 IP telephony handsets incorporating Cisco’s Unified Communications Manager 6.0 technology. The IP migration project will be carried out by PTS Consulting.

The handsets will allow both standard and VoIp calls via the internet and the PSTN [Public Switched Telephone Network. Rather than simply replacing the existing telephone system, the new system will provide advanced technology for the future.

The system is expected to help in the university’s research activities, as it will make it easier for academics to collaborate with peers across the world.

It could be used for all-day conferences and has the potential for streaming video to be added.