TOTAL INSTALLS CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY
In their largest converged network project to date, Total Communications of East Hartford, Connecticut installed over 4,000 Cisco IP (Internet Protocol) Telephones at 43 different sites for the Hartford Public School System. The Board of Education could have purchased a conventional telephone system for about the same cost. "However," Bob Richter, Manager of Network Services for the Hartford Public Schools, says, "this was an opportunity to go beyond installing a new telephone system to create a platform for advanced technology." The new IP Telephone system, which operates over the school's data network, is the first step in developing a converged voice, data and video network.
This system positions the schools to take advantage of new and emerging technologies, such as net meetings, chat, whiteboard presentations and XML applications. Each Cisco 7960 IP Telephone features a 3" X 4" screen capable of displaying XML. XML, or Extensible Markup Language, is the same language used to create the information displayed on cell phones and wireless devices.
"The XML capability offers tremendous potential for targeted communication
and exchange of information," comments Jeff Nyland, Director of Total
Communication's Data Network Division. In addition to the standard options
of accessing stock quotes and local weather reports, companies or organizations
can easily write custom XML applications.
"These applications could be very simple, such as displaying school lunch menus for the Hartford Public Schools," says Nyland. Or the applications can be more sophisticated, like the one a Connecticut electronics company uses in their manufacturing area to log lot numbers and critical production information. "This is a perfect example of converged technology where a telephone is essentially functioning as a PC," Nyland says. "In the future," he continues, "the lines will blur even more as devices like IP Telephones integrate color displays and built in video cameras."
For now, the Hartford Public School System is enjoying greater communication and security with a telephone in every classroom. But this system will offer benefits beyond new telephones and more direct dialing. The Hartford schools also expect to save staff time managing one combined network rather than separate voice and data networks. Over the summer, network engineers at Total Communications are developing custom XML applications that the schools could see in place next fall. The new system, comments Bob Richter, "is vastly extensible".
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