TheUniversity of
Cambridgehas signed a multi-million pound
contract withCisco and BTto deliver approximately
20,000 IP telephony handsets to the university over the next 18
months, replacing the existing system.
The university's investment will enable students to communicate
through the deployment of a converged voice, video and data
network. Sharing information will improve the quality of education
and research, with students and academics using instant messaging,
voice e-mails and streaming video to share ideas in real-time.
The IP migration project will be undertaken by PTS Consulting
and will meet the communications requirements of 17,000 users
spread over 200 institutions. It is believed to be one of the
largest deployments of its kind in the education sector.
Ian Lewis, director of the University Computing Service at
Cambridge, said, "As one of the world's leading universities,
Cambridge is keen to attract and retain the very best students and
researchers. Part of that involves providing thoroughly modern
facilities that reflect our forward-looking relationship with
technology."