Landlines are a thing of the past, with hundreds of university phones being left underused, according to the Office of Information Technology.
“When I say very limited use, I have a specific example,” OIT Vice President Dan Ewart said. “We had one phone line identified that had one outbound call, outside the university, in the last year.”
In the coming weeks, the university plans to eliminate all land lines that aren’t being utilized, and switching to Teams for “telephone calls” for employees willing to give up their desk phones.
With a land line cost of $14 per month ($168 a year), and with an estimated 2,500 phone lines across campus that costs about $420,000 annually, the move represents a significant costs savings.
“Those are a real opportunity to save some money for the university,” Ewart said.
University of Idaho employees with lightly-used phone lines will be given the option to keep their phones or have them removed.
Emails to employees have been sent out in waves and OIT has met with concerned faculty.
“We’re just trying to be good stewards of the university’s resources and eliminate phone lines that simply aren’t needed anymore,” Ewart said.
Initial emails warned employees that they had 10 days before their line was permanently removed, implying that the number could not be reinstated. The wording has since been changed.
“We’re not eliminating something that can’t or shouldn’t be eliminated before we move on,” Ewart said.
While the office would like quick replies, lines are not immediately removed at the 10-day mark and can also be brought back.
James Frenzel, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, was notified through email that his phone was up for consideration. With this communication in his inbox, he remained unsure of the next steps.
His main concern involved recruiting, as his number is easily accessible on the university website.
“It kind of depends on how high school students can reach out,” Frenzel said.
On average, Frenzel receives a few calls each week. During the summer, with incoming freshmen considering their options, his phone line can get busy.
Associate Professor Da Chen works in food sciences and has not received an email, with OIT addressing departments in phases.
Using his phone three to four times a week, Chen receives calls from outside companies that couldn’t reach him otherwise.
Given the choice, Chen would prefer to keep his line to easily contact other faculty, who often call to discuss projects.
Considering what alternative tools the university already possesses, OIT plans to set faculty up with Microsoft Teams instead.
A handset would no longer be necessary: a digital keypad allows calls to be made outside of the university by computer, Ewart explained.
“Handsets only work when you’re sitting at the desk,” Ewart said. “Teams calling can be used from anywhere that you have access to the internet.”
A handset can be used with Teams calling at an employee’s request.
“With remote work … people aren’t using office phones the way they were pre-COVID,” Ewart said. “And with our enterprise licenses for things like Teams and Zoom, those are being far more utilized than the telephone system.”
If Teams works as a reasonable alternative, Frenzel would be fine to switch but would prefer to keep his landline.
Chen said it was too early for him to say. “I have no idea how that would work,” he said.
Haadiya Tariq can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @haadiyatariq
Bowe Bergdahl
Ring, Ring! I much prefer securely transmitted flash drives, chock full of video goodies.
Aatif Nawaz
That B/W poster above his monitor has been in his office since the 90s. Technology changes but some things never change.