Modernizing Departmental Phone Bills

Summary

As part of the Teams Calls project we are modernizing the budget process around billing for phone service. Many departments will no longer need to process a monthly bill as the average cost per line will decrease to a flat rate.

Full Description

Teams Calls is not only a cost-savings win for the university, but also a win for overall efficiency!  With monthly charges reducing to a predictable $16 per month, per line (including voicemail and long distance) there are new opportunities for making the entire budgeting process for campus phones more streamlined. We are excited to announce that beginning July 1, 2022 there will be no more monthly bills!  

All phone billing indexes will change to one of the two new plans...

Plan 1 - Budget Reallocation for Phone Services

Many departmental phone bills will disappear all together. Funds will be reallocated from departmental budgets to central budget management (at the Teams Calls rate of $16 per month, per line rate.) This is a permanent reallocation of funds. That means no more time needed for processing phone bills!  For these departments, you can think of phone service as a common utility, like water or internet service.

Plan 2 - Annual Bills for Phone Services

However, not all funding sources are able to take advantage of the reallocation (like auxiliaries, grants, and those using private or local money.)  Departments/indexes utilizing those funding sources for phone services will be billed annually instead of monthly. 

These departments will only have to process one bill at the start of each fiscal year for $192 per line ($16 per line X 12 months). These departments can move to central funding by changing their funding source for phone service, if desired.

Important note: The amounts for both the reallocation and annual bills are based on a snapshot of phone holdings as of May 23, 2022. There are no credits or additions as phones are added or removed as part of the general course of business. Major changes in service or restructuring of indexes after May 23, 2022 will be considered individually.

The new plans will begin on July 1, 2022 no matter when your department's phone migration takes place.

Charges for Additional Phone-Related Services

You will still receive a phone or hardware bill for the following items.

Analog Phone Lines 

Analog lines, like the lines used for fax machines and alarms, will be billed annually.  The cost is $360 per year, charged on July 1 (every year). There are no credits or additions as phones are added or removed throughout the year.

Common Area Licenses  (New lines only)

Phones that are not tied to person, but rather tied to a place (like conference room phones and service desk phones) require a "Common Area License".  A new license has a one-time charge of $300 to the department.  As part of the migration project, costs will be covered for existing set-ups that require a common area license.

Common area phones also require a desk phone.  In most cases, departments must purchase the Audiocodes 455 phone.  Conference rooms will be covered by project funds during the migration. 

Phone Equipment

Departments are responsible for purchasing their own phone equipment.  Any equipment currently use for Zoom and Teams meetings can be used with Teams Calls (aka phone calls) as well. 

However, you may wish to purchase equipment that has been tested by IT and will be supported by the Technology Support Center.  That equipment will be purchased from IT during the course of the project and will be processed through a departmental bill. Find the list of Equipment here.

After the project concludes, departments will purchase equipment through designated resellers on buyW&M. 

VITA Phone Services

All VITA-contracted phone services will continue to receive monthly bills.  This includes the police station radio system, alarm lines, cell phones, and other telecommunication services billed to IT by VITA.

Questions? Contact the Technology Support Center (TSC)
757-221-4357 (HELP) | [[support]] | Jones 201, Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm