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The Internet2 SIP.edu program now reaches over 140,000 users who can now receive voice over IP (VoIP) calls at their university email address. Spanning campuses across the world, SIP.edu has been adopted by leading institutions including Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, University of Hawaii, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Colorado State University, University of Alaska, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich. Begun in March 2003, SIP.edu seeks to promote the convergence of email and voice identities, the rapid growth of SIP accessibility, and the widespread deployment of enterprise SIP servers to serve as learning platforms for schools and research institutions looking to experiment with new enterprise SIP services.
The Fall 2004 Internet2 Member Meeting was held 27-30 September 2004 in Austin TX and featured several activities of interest to the Internet2 VoIP community.
In spring 2003, Dartmouth College launched a new initiative to replace the campus telephone system, with plans to install over 6000 Cisco Systems VoIP (Voice over IP) phones over the next two years. Recognized throughout higher education as a leader in wireless communications, Dartmouth currently provides a wireless network that is used daily by 5,500 students and 1,900 faculty and staff across all 200 acres of campus, including Dartmouth's ski area. Recent upgrades in the campus LAN have allowed VoIP calls to be routed across Dartmouth's converged data/telephone network with high quality. To encourage use, Dartmouth has eliminated usage-based long distance fees for both regular and "softphones." The softphones allow any Windows computer to place and receive telephone calls on both the wireless and wired networks. All users need is a headset or handset, some free software from the Dartmouth web site, and an assigned phone number in order to talk on the phone from Dartmouth to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Since its initial deployment in spring 2001, the wireless network has affected many aspects of campus life, providing new teaching and learning opportunities in the classroom, academic and technology research opportunities, and new forms of social interaction. The campus-wide integration of softphones into this environment is an experiment that will be closely watched, not only at Dartmouth, but by the rest of the Internet2 community as well. According to Ben Teitelbaum, Internet2 Program Manager for Voice and Integrated Communications Initiatives and staff liaison to the Internet2 VoIP Working Group, "Dartmouth is a leader in the deployment of softphones and advanced wireless personal communications. Dartmouth is using its campus as a 'living laboratory,' in which faculty, students, and university IT professionals are jointly engaged in the deployment and refinement of new campus communications services. This is an incredible opportunity to understand the communications needs of the campus user base, which is increasingly mobile and technically sophisticated."
The Internet2 SIP.edu project seeks to promote the convergence of voice and email identities, grow SIP-reachability within Internet2, and build a community of Internet2 schools that are developing and deploying campus SIP services. In one year, the project has provided SIP reachability to nearly 100,000 users at four universities, attracted corporate sponsorship, and published a "cookbook" to lower the implementation hurdle for others. There is significant interest in SIP.edu among Internet2 universities and corporate members and a number of new implementations underway.
The first SIP.edu Implementors Workshop, hosted by University of Pennsylvania and sponsored by Comcast, was held on 16 June 2004. The goals for this workshop were to:
Internet telephony, or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), uses the Internet to transport voice conversations alongside data. This technology is growing quickly as IT decision makers recognize its value and benefits. A VoIP Strategies and Implementation Conference was held at East Carolina University on 12-13 May 2004 to address some of these issues. The conference brought together telecommunications specialists, enterprise IT managers and telecommunications industry leaders to share experiences, learn about potential pitfalls and discuss successful implementation methods for moving VoIP into production. Session topics included VoIP disaster recovery, implementing VoIP gateways & gatekeepers, and preparing a VoIP business plan. VoIP design and implementation case studies and best practices were also presented.
The APAN/Internet2 Summit was held in conjunction with Techs in Paradise and took place 29 January 2004. The goal of this workshop was to convene VoIP and integrated communications leaders from the APAN and Internet2 communities to share updates on current initiatives and technical directions. In a concluding panel discussion, presenters and attendees explored opportunities to increase cooperation between the two communities and enjoyed a good-spirited debate on the future of voice communications. more...
Texas A&M University (TAMU) and Internet2 signed an agreement to create the first Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC) focused on Voice over IP. Voice over IP (VoIP) opens up a wide spectrum of opportunities to improve voice services with the potential to advance voice communication far beyond plain-old telephone service. With VoIP creating a new set of security challenges, the TAMU ITEC will focus on VoIP security, assurance, and interoperability guiding the Internet2 community as it seeks to realize the full potential of VoIP while addressing its challenges. The center will perform testing, research and development of VoIP technologies as well as share those results with other Internet2 members. more...
In an effort to improve understanding of IP voice technology, the state of the industry, and the needs of Internet2 members, the Internet2 VoIP working group is convening a VoIP workshop for October 12-13, preceding the Internet2 Fall Member Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana. The workshop program includes tutorials on VoIP and SIP from leading technologists, campus deployment case studies, strategic technology updates from leading VoIP vendors, and a round-table discussion on future directions for campuses, the industry, and the Internet2 VoIP working group. more...
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