Telephony

Telephony

Service Description

IT Services provides telephony services enabling internal and external communications.

Teams-to-Teams calls are available to all staff and students as standard. Teams Telephony for external calling is available on request to staff who use a PC, laptop or other Teams-compatible device in their role.

The mobile service is available to staff, subject to departmental approval.

A limited number of fixed telephones are provided in locations where Teams Telephony cannot be used.

Features

Teams Telephony

Teams Telephony is the service used by most staff across the University. It is accessed via Microsoft Teams and uses the device's speakers and microphone or a headset. It includes:

  • Internal and external telephone calls to UK, international and mobile numbers
  • Voicemail
  • Call forwarding and other call-management features, including options for call queues and hunt groups
  • Contact groups
  • Call history
  • Call screening.

Fixed Telephones

Fixed telephones are provided in locations where Teams Telephony cannot be used, e.g. in certain communal or laboratory spaces.

  • Supply, configuration of line, and installation of fixed telephones in University buildings.
  • Each telephone has a dedicated extension number and can be called directly from outside the University.
  • There are generally two different types of handset provided:
    • The standard telephone handset has caller display and two way hands free speech.
    • An analog, non-display telephone and line may be provided as standard in certain buildings or on request for conference or cordless telephones.
  • Outgoing restriction can be adjusted to block calls to International, Mobile or other numbers.
  • Pick up groups can be set to allow users in a shared office to answer each other’s calls.
  • Hunt groups can be set to allow a group of users to be called via one number.
  • Fixed telephone handsets do not have voicemail as standard as the majority are for emergency use only. If voicemail is required, it must be requested.
  • Audio Conferencing
    • The standard display telephone handset has hands free speech which allows you to conduct a two-way hands-free conversation.
    • A range of audio conferencing equipment is available for larger groups; please contact Media Services for further information.

University Main Switchboard Operator Service

  • Handles all incoming calls to the main University telephone number during normal business hours.
  • Verifies and updates University telephone directories.

Mobile Devices

  • IT Services offers a full range of mobile communication devices on our Daisy/Vodafone corporate contract: please see the Telephony pages on StaffNet for details. 

Users

  • Teams Telephony is available to all staff who have a telephony requirement and access to a suitable device.
  • The fixed telephone service is available for locations where Teams Telephony cannot be used.
  • The mobile service is available to staff, subject to departmental approval.

Service Hours

  • All telephone services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year.

Level of Service

Availability

  • Occasional maintenance is required on the service and as such will sometimes result in an ‘at risk’ period. Where possible this will occur on a weekday out with normal business hours and be advertised by email and on the IT Services Service News web pages.

Support and Documentation

Additional information is available at:

Request Process

Our Service Level Description (SLD) response and action times will be applied to standard requests which are dealt with by the IT Service Desk - www.abdn.ac.uk/staffnet/working-here/it-support.php.

  • New Teams Telephony users
  • New fixed telephone extension/s
  • New mobile device/s
  • Move or change to configuration of fixed telephone extension/s
  • Activation or assistance with Unified Messaging (Voicemail)
  • Update to University telephone directory
  • Audio Conferencing assistance
  • Assistance in connecting UoA mobile devices, that are capable of being connected, to data networks (Including Eduroam) for internet access
  • Assistance in configuring UoA mobile devices to connect to UoA Exchange for email and calendaring
  • Support for any University-supplied telephone equipment

Additional service requests are outside our standard Service Level Descriptions (SLDs) and will be dealt with on a best-endeavour basis.