Main | Cable Engineering | Customer Service | Systems Office | Voice Processing Services

Technical Services

• Overview
  Technical Services oversees all technical operations associated with the Aastra-Ericsson/UMASS telecommunications system at the UMASS-Amherst campus.

• Location
  The TelCom Technical Services Office is located at 101 University Dr. Suite B1, next to the Amherst Post Office. [ Campus Map ]

• In Detail
  Technical Services provides the following functions.
  Maintenance and operation of the telephone and data switch. A switch is a piece of equipment which connects and disconnects your voice or data (fax, etc.) calls. There are two types of switches, digital and analog. Analog switches work with electrical wavelengths and Digital switches work with binary data (ones and zeros, like your computer uses).

  Repair of special services:

  ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network). An ISDN network allows for very fast voice or data transmissions, as well as the transmission of voice or data at the same time through the same telephone line.

  Video Conferencing. This allows people to see and hear each other (through a computer, for example) even though they are not in the same room.

  T1 Lines. Voice or data transmissions need to travel through wires or cables (telephone lines). A T1 line can handle at least 24 voice calls at the same time. Data travels through these lines at a rate of 64 KiloBits per second (relate this to your 28.8 kbps modem). T1 lines typically are used to connect networks (think of the internet or your ability to access files on other computers at work).

  Critical Alarm Circuits. These emergency systems notify the police or fire departments, for example, when an alarm goes off.

  Help when phone and data services are added, removed or changed in the phone system.

  Technical support to various users.