No E-Rate for Dial Tone?
With the phase out of E-Rate discounts supporting dial tone, I have received many questions asking, “What should we do?” Here is the short answer:
What do you have?
Telephone service has existed in our schools years longer than data systems. You probably don't have forgotten fiber in your walls, but what about phone lines? While some schools have made an IP telephony conversion of some kind, others haven’t.
Either way, schools (and businesses for that matter) should perform a very clear audit of their bill to ensure all charges are correct and understand what services and features they receive. So often services are changed or started, but old services are not canceled. Telecommunications companies don’t always automatically cancel old services when new services are installed. I have found several schools where old lines were still in place (and being paid for) years after they were abandoned. Also, a clear understanding of exactly what features you have is very helpful. Are you paying for 3-way calling, toll restriction, or other services that are unused, or unnecessary?
Clearly define a telecommunications plan.
Once you have a complete audit of you phone lines and features, determine what you need and what you don’t. What business and life/safety objectives does your telecommunication system need to fulfill? Is your current system meeting the needs? Are there features that you need, but don’t currently have?
Use your plan to shop different technologies. If you haven’t changed to VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) yet, does it make sense? Compare hosted VOIP. Remember to use the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) approach. How much are those adds, moves and changes really costing you? Is there more business efficiency in a newer system? I am not encouraging any specific technology, just the one that meets the needs at the lowest TCO.
When you move forward, be sure to cancel all unused or unneeded services and features. Double check the next billing to ensure all charges are accurate. Set a reminder to audit your phone bill on a regular basis.
The Results
In one district I worked with, many unused phone lines and features were able to be canceled. With the savings, the district was able to upgrade the primary internet connection from 100meg to 1Gig and increase three saturated WAN connections with ZERO change to the telecommunications budget!
Some diligent fact finding will help ensure your budget dollars are stretching as far as possible while meeting the concise needs of your organization.
Chris Igel is a consultant with extensive experience in educational technology and E-Rate.