Unified communication for schools/education industry

With the increasing investment of the state in the education industry, the scale of various schools across the country has been continuously expanding, and the teaching environment and facilities have been constantly improved. Most campuses have established relatively complete data networks and have their own education networks. In China, the education network is at the highest level among the Internet exits. Under such an excellent network environment, if various schools can utilize the existing data network resources to develop campus IP voice communication applications, the informatization level of the schools will be significantly enhanced.

Scheme Requirements

The school IP telephone system is a powerful, flexible, and convenient communication solution that can meet the diverse communication needs of schools and improve the campus informatization level. Most schools in China are characterized by large campus areas, complex buildings and venues, and a large number of staff in various departments. In addition, some schools also have branch campuses and affiliated institutions in other places. Given the special environment of the campus, schools also have more requirements for the telephone system:

1. Connect the existing education network and PSTN network to fully utilize the bandwidth resources and expand VoIP applications.
2. Avoid the problem of rewiring due to the aging of telecom lines in old campuses and the wiring problem in new campuses.
3. Easy capacity expansion to adapt to the development of the school.
4. Cross-regional voice networking to integrate the voice resources of multiple campuses.
5. Save communication costs and improve teaching quality.

Scheme Deployment

Based on the environmental characteristics of Chinese campuses and combined with the excellent campus network resources, Beck has created a telephone voice solution based on IP communication for them. The school IP telephone system is a network-based unified communication solution that uses the Internet Protocol (IP) to transmit voice data. Compared with traditional telephone systems, the IP telephone system offers higher flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and functionality.

School Headquarters

Unified Communication System

• Deploy the Beck Unified Communication System in the computer room and connect it to the campus network.

• Connect the outside lines to the Beck Unified Communication System or to the Beck Voice Gateway, and the voice gateway is connected to the network and the IPP Unified Communication System.

Extension

• Deploy IP video phones on the desks of school leaders, connect them to the network and register them as extensions of the unified communication system.
• Deploy ordinary IP phones on the desks of offices, connect them to the network and register them as extensions of the unified communication system.

Branch Campuses in Other Places

• Deploy the unified communication system in the computer room of the branch campus in other places and connect it to the network to form a network with the IPP unified communication system of the school headquarters.

Scenario Applications

The Beck Unified Communication System brings not only efficient IP voice telephone communication to the campus but also richer application scenarios.

Branch Interconnection

• The school headquarters and branch campuses can realize telephone networking, and the extensions within the network can directly dial short numbers for free calls.

Call Center

• Cooperate with the Beck web-based call center to introduce call center functions to the external windows such as the school admissions office without the need to build an additional dedicated call center.  

Monitoring Linkage

• Support registering IP cameras to the unified communication system so that IP video phones can directly view real-time monitoring images.

Access Control Linkage

• Support registering SIP access controls to the unified communication system to realize video calls between the access control and IP video phones and perform remote door opening operations through the phones.

Scheme Value

1. The Beck Unified Communication System transmits voice through the network and does not require separate telephone line laying, which can save a large amount of line costs for campus environments with large areas and many venues.
2. The Beck Unified Communication System supports telephone networking in different places. The extensions within the network can directly dial short numbers for free calls. At the same time, it also has rich functions such as telephone conferences, softphones, and video calls to enhance communication and collaboration.
3. The Beck Unified Communication System can integrate various scenario applications such as call centers, branch interconnections, and monitoring linkages to create a cost-effective IP communication scheme for schools.

Scheme Functions

• Internal Communication: Allow telephone communication between teaching staff and students within the school.
• Outside Line Telephones: Provide the ability to communicate with the outside world, such as making long-distance calls.
• Automatic Dialing: The system can automatically dial telephone numbers for emergency situations or notifications.
• Voice Mailbox: Each user can have their own voice mailbox to receive messages from missed calls.
• Call Transfer: Allow users to transfer incoming calls to another extension or an outside telephone.
• Call Waiting: When a user is on a call, if there is a new incoming call, the system will notify the user.
• Conference Telephone: Support multiple people to talk simultaneously, which is convenient for holding meetings or discussions.
• Call Record: The system can record detailed information of the call, such as the time, duration, etc.
• Voice Navigation: Guide callers to select the correct extension or department through voice prompts.
• Emergency Call: Set up emergency call buttons or functions to quickly contact the security department in emergency situations.

Scheme Advantages

1. Cost-effectiveness: The IP telephone system can reduce communication costs, especially for long-distance and international calls, because they are transmitted through the Internet instead of traditional telephone lines.
2. Easy to Expand: As the scale of the school expands or the requirements change, the IP telephone system can easily add new telephone extensions or functions without the need for large-scale hardware upgrades.
3. Integrity: The IP telephone system can be integrated with other network applications and services, such as email, instant messaging, and video conference, providing a unified communication platform.
4. Mobility: Users can answer and make calls anywhere with network access through softphone clients or mobile applications, improving work flexibility.
5. Advanced Functions: The IP telephone system provides many advanced functions, such as call transfer, call waiting, voice mail, automatic dialing, call record and analysis, etc.
6. Easy to Manage: Most IP telephone systems are equipped with user-friendly management interfaces, making it easy to configure and manage the telephone system.
7. Disaster Recovery: Since the IP telephone system depends on the network, communication can be restored through remote access in the event of natural disasters or other emergency situations.
8. Security: The IP telephone system provides various security measures, such as encrypted communication, firewall protection, and access control, to protect the privacy and security of communication.
9. Customization: Schools can customize the functions and services of the IP telephone system according to their specific needs.
10. Environmentally Friendly: Since the dependence on physical hardware is reduced, the IP telephone system helps to reduce electronic waste and environmental impact.

Scheme Summary

The design and implementation of the school telephone system need to consider the scale, budget, communication needs, and future expandability of the school. With the development of technology, many schools have also begun to adopt IP-based telephone systems (VoIP), which offer higher flexibility and cost-effectiveness. When implementing the IP telephone system, factors to be considered include the stability of the network infrastructure, voice quality (VoIP QoS), compatibility issues, and integration with existing systems. With the progress of technology, more and more schools choose to adopt IP telephone systems to meet their communication needs.