Texas A&M University needed a Unified Communications Solution that would support the agressive growth plans of the University

Opened in 1876 as Texas’s first public institution of higher learning, Texas A&M University (TAMU) today boasts over 50,000 students. The 5,000-acre campus in College Station, Texas had multiple distributed voice systems. The bulk of the lines were Centrex with high operating expenses and limited features. As the University began undertaking $650m in new construction and with many of the key systems nearing the end of their life, it became obvious that a replacement plan for existing systems was needed.
 
Based on the expertise garnered from numerous Internet2 and VoIP research programmes at the University, Dr. Walt Magnussen, Ph.D., Director of Telecommunications, developed key criteria for the next-generation voice communications solution – the system must be built on a VoIP platform and the solution components must be standards-based (SIP) whenever possible. Magnussen chose Clearspan because the open architecture allows integration of other applications and SIP-based devices. “Additionally, the carrier-grade reliability and scalability gives us the confidence that this solution will support the aggressive growth plans of the University,” said Magnussen.
Clearspan provides a total replacement of all the existing voice systems. The infrastructure can support 100,000 users with minimal hardware upgrades. The initial deployment of 3,000 lines was in the Telecommunications/IT offices with three additional buildings migrated to VoIP over the following months. All new construction will be deployed completely on Clearspan, and other facilities will be migrated over time as existing systems reach the end of their life. "A campus this size necessitates a careful migration strategy," said Magnussen. “Self-Paced Migration™ from Aastra allows us to move at our own speed when the time is right for each area.”

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• Texas A&M Case Study (.pdf | 0.46 MB)