Council looks to pure IP solution

By RICHARD WOOD

The Hamilton City Council is set to dump Telecom and move all its telecommunications to internet protocol (IP) technology provided by New Zealand-owned telco Call Plus with IT integrator Logical Networks .

The proposal goes to the council's contract committee today for final approval. It covers the entire business for telephone and data equipment and services to the council.

The request for proposal (RFP) for the deal was sent out in July last year. Thirty companies showed interest. Eleven initially responded and four were shortlisted. As one of those four Telecom will get another chance if the decision is not ratified.

Call Plus has been in negotiations with the council since December and has already completed work for the Hamilton stadium, which opened a fortnight ago.

Council IT manager Basil Wood would not discuss the value or details of the council contract except to say the aim was to cut telecommunications costs. He said the council needed to replace ageing analogue technology and decided that the IP proposal was "cost beneficial".

Mr Wood said the council had 600 full-time equivalent staff utilising 460 phones. Mobile phones, data, facsimile and eftpos equipment are also included at council locations around Hamilton, including depot and library buildings. The plan is for a roll out over two or three years starting with the remote sites.

He said there were no qualms about using the new IP technology, which goes beyond the digital PABX systems commonly installed in large companies. Rather than using voice lines, every device uses packet-based internet-style technology to communicate across one data network.

"We're satisfied with the quality and we're satisfied that the networks we've proposed will support the technology."

Call Plus was not the only supplier to propose a pure IP solution. Among those that responded to the RFP was a mix including options that combined analogue voice and IP. Mr Wood would not discuss the council's relationship with Telecom.

"If the decision on Tuesday goes against them then like anyone of course they are not going to be happy. However it's conceivable that if the contracts committee don't accept our recommendation that we could still be business partners with Telecom."

Call Plus was wary of discussing the Hamilton City Council deal but did confirm it would be its largest IP site.

Besides potential cost savings using the technology, Call Plus says IP offers improvements including unified messaging systems that bring phone, email and fax to one inbox, real time billing viewable online, and per phone charging rather than per line. Also because it doesn't use a line-based PABX system there is no limit to the number of phones in use at once.

Call Plus operates a central business district IP network in Hamilton, leases a data circuit from TelstraClear between Hamilton and Auckland, uses the Tangent fibre network in Auckland and has 13 points of presence in cities around New Zealand. Elsewhere it connects back into the Telecom network or other telco's networks to complete calls.