Four libraries throughout Cork City are to be kitted out with voice over internet protocol (VoIP) as part of a deal aimed at driving cost efficiencies signed between Cork City Council and networking equipment solutions provider Damovo.
Liam Lombard, a technician with Cork City Council, explained: “We will be able to implement an auto-attendant service so that people can dial a single number and have a menu of options from which they may select whatever service they need. For example we have libraries catering specifically for children and a music library. One phone number now provides access to information on all of them.”
The Damovo solution uses VoIP technology to connect four libraries together. The network can be used for both voice and data traffic, allowing telephone calls to be carried on the same network that provides the libraries with internet access.
Personnel in the four libraries, although spread across the metropolitan area of Cork, now appear to each other as if they are on the same exchange and they can divert or transfer calls between each other with ease. They also have access to the full range of digital telephone services including voice mail and teleconferencing.
The Damovo solution is based on the Ericsson MD110 Convergence Communication System housed in a central location. In each of the other three libraries there is a single router and an IP phone for each staff member.
The new solution will also enable Cork City Council to offer a much more user-friendly service to citizens who need information about the different offerings from each library.
“Traditionally, one would have to put a small exchange in each library to enable such services,” said John McCabe, managing director of Damovo Ireland. “With our solution you just need a single PBX in a central location and an inexpensive router in each library, which is a much more cost-effective way of achieving this level of service.”
By John Kennedy
