OIT News | @oit newsletter | UMass News | In the Loop

[08-Aug-12]

AT&T Student Discounts
[23-Jul-10]
AT&T Cellular Discounts Now Available to UMass Amherst Students OIT/Telecommunications has negotiated with AT&T to bring UMass Amherst students exclusive discounts on cellular phone plans, phones, and more. more...
Discount page

PAETEC COMMUNICATIONS
[26-Jun-09]
The PAETEC Communications Long Distance Program for the University of Massachusetts, Amherst campus expires July 1, 2009.

AT&T Student Discounts
[30-Jan-09]
AT&T Cellular Discounts Now Available to UMass Amherst Students OIT/Telecommunications has negotiated with AT&T to bring UMass Amherst students exclusive discounts on cellular phone plans, phones, and more. more...
Discount page

INTERMITTENT PROBLEM AFFECTING SOME CALLS COMING FROM OFF-CAMPUS
[05-Nov-08]
The Amherst campus PBX system is experiencing occasional call problems where calls arriving from off-campus would fail intermittently

VOICE MAIL SYSTEM WILL BE DOWN
[23-Jun-08]
The Voice Mail System will need to be taken down to resolve the pending issues.

Voice Mail and Message Waiting Light Issues
[23-Jun-08]
There have been reports this morning that the University's administrative voice mail system is experiencing problems

Voice Mail and Message Waiting Light Issues
[11-Jun-08]
There have been reports this morning that the University's administrative voice mail system is experiencing problems with message

Message waiting lights not working
[24-Aug-07]
The Voice Processing office has received reports of message waiting lights not working.

Telecommunication Services is compiling the information necessary to publish the 2008 Faculty and Staff Telephone Directory.
[13-Aug-07]
By now, TUG Reps should have received by mail your department's Yellow, Fax, and Green page listings as they appeared in the 2007 directory.

Voice Mail System Update
[17-Jul-07]
The voice mail vendor will be working on the voice mail system on Tuesday, July 17. There will be intermittent brief interruptions in the voice mail service beginning around 10:00am and continuing throughout the morning. We apologize for this inconvenience.

Voice Mail Problems
[16-Jul-07]
The University's administrative voice mail system was damaged during yesterday's storm. Message waiting lights are affected.

Voice Mail Working Again
[22-Jun-07]
The Voice Mail issues have been resolved and the voice mail lights are functioning again in Whitmore and Boyden.

Voice Mail Problems
[21-Jun-07]
The Voice Processing office has received reports of message waiting lights not working. Not all buildings are experiencing this problem. The buildings that we are aware of are Whitmore and Boyden.

2007 Telephone Directory cards going out with Sept. 22 paychecks
[22-Sep-06]
Telecommunication Services is in the process of compiling the information necessary to publish the 2007 Faculty and Staff Telephone Directory. All non-student employees on the payroll as of Thursday, September 7th, 2006 should receive Telephone Directory Update Cards (Yellow Cards) with their paychecks this Friday, September 22nd. These cards allow employees to approve and/or change their information for the directory.

Voice Mail Working Again
[22-Sep-06]
The voice mail system has been functioning without incident since the maintenance performed yesterday afternoon (9/21/06). Thank you for your understanding and patience while we were waiting for replacement parts.

Voice Mail System Update
[20-Sep-06]
The voice mail vendor will be working on the voice mail system on Thursday, September 21st. There will be intermittent brief interruptions in the voice mail service beginning around 1:00pm and continuing throughout the afternoon. We apologize for this inconvenience.

The University Voice Mail System Update
[13-Sep-06]
The work scheduled for 5:00pm tonight (9/13/06) on the University voice mail system has been rescheduled for tomorrow, September 14th, at 5:00pm.

The University Voice Mail System
[12-Sep-06]
The University voice mail system continues to experience problems with the message waiting lights on the administrative side. A defective card in the system is causing the problems. A card has been ordered and will be installed on Wednesday, September 13th at 5:00pm. The voicemail system will be down for approximately 1 hour starting at 5:00pm tomorrow. As we continue to work on the problem, please be reminded that you can dial 5-1000 from your phone to check your messages.

Telephone System Upgrade
[31-Jul-06]
The academic/administrative telephone system was successfully upgraded over the weekend. Here are a few things to check:

Telephone System Upgrade Friday Evening
[26-Jul-06]
This Friday evening, July 28th, beginning at 11:00pm Telecommunications Services will be upgrading the administrative telephone system. Residential telephone service will not be affected. The upgrade will take approximately 4 hours to complete, during which time telephone service will be unavailable. Critical services such as Public Safety, Health Services, campus operators, Help Phones and others will continue to function as normal.

Wired and wireless headsets now available from Telecom
[19-Jul-06]
OIT Telecommunications Services is pleased to offer two types of telephone headset systems for use with Ericsson digital telephones: wired and wireless. See Telephone Headsets pdf file for additional information.

Voice Mail Service Update:
[19-Dec-05]
The voice mail message lights are NOW working. However, the message waiting light indicator will not light until a new message comes into the mailbox. If there are unheard messages in a mail box from the end of last week, please dial 5-1000 to check for messages. Once the previous unheard messages are retrieved from the mailbox, the waiting light will work properly. Thank you for your patience.

Voice Mail Service Update:
[16-Dec-05]
The University voice mail system continues to experience problems with the message waiting lights. The message waiting light indicator is not signaling the phone, therefore many messages are not being retrieved. As we continue to work on the problem, please be reminded tht you can dial 5-1000 from your phone to check your messages.

UMass Minutes Calling Card to be Discontinued
[09-Dec-05]
The Umass Minutes Calling Card program will expire December 31, 2005. Remaining minutes should be used prior to December 31, 2005. No refunds will be issued.

Voice Mail Service Update:
[02-Jun-05]
The University voice mail service issues have been resolved and the system has been functioning properly since Tuesday morning (5/31/05) when replacement parts were installed.

Voice Mail Service Interruption Update:
[27-May-05]
The University voice mail system continues to experience periodic interruptions in service. We are working with the service provider to resolve this problem and will keep the campus informed of any new developments.

Voice Mail Service Update:
[26-May-05]
The last interruption of service to the voice mail system occurred at 8:30pm last evening and the necessary part was replaced this morning (5/26/05). Since previous interruptions primarily occurred in the afternoon and evening, we will continue monitoring the system throughout the day to confirm that the problem has been fully remedied. We will keep you informed of any new developments.

Voice Mail Service Interruptions:
[25-May-05]
The voice mail system for the university is currently experiencing difficulty. This is a campuswide problem and as a result, callers from both on or off-campus may frequently be unable to reach voice mail. The problem happens intermittently. If you are unable to reach voice mail or get disconnected while in voice mail, you should hang up and keep trying every few minutes until successful. The system is usually down for about 10 minutes before it restarts.

Welcome Back Students!
[07-Sep-04]
Upon arrival to campus you will be receiving your Personal Billing Number (PBN) in your mailbox. If you did not receive a PBN please contact the PAETEC toll-free customrer service number, 800-962-4772.

2nd Round of Telephone Service Interruptions for Maintenance Upgrade
[09-Jul-04]
Campus administrative telephone service will again be interrupted 5 p.m. Friday for up to four hours. Some features such as call forwarding will also be affected.

Telecom Schedules Service Interruptions for Maintenance Upgrade
[08-Jun-04]
Telecommunication Services will temporarily interrupt administrative telephone service on two Fridays this summer, June 18 and July 9. The service interruptions are required in order to upgrade the telephone system. Computer networks and emergency help phones will not be affected; resident student and staff telephones should not be affected.

PAETEC to Provide Residential Long Distance Service
[04-Jun-04]
AT&T ACUS is no longer providing residential long distance telephone service. PAETEC Communications will be the new long distance carrier for the 2004 Fall semester. In the meantime, Residential Telecom is offering a pre-paid calling card for summertime long distance needs. Local telephone service for campus residents remains unchanged.

Residential Long Distance Service Changes
[12-May-04]
Effective Sunday, May 23, 2004, AT&T ACUS will no longer be providing residential long distance telephone service.

New "UMass Minutes" Calling Plan is in the Cards
[15-Mar-04]
AMHERST, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts Amherst residence hall students are using low-rate, pre-paid calling cards for the spring semester, which will work in conjunction with the existing AT&T ACUS long distance plan.

UMass Faculty & Staff Telephone Books Are Being Delivered
[05-Jan-04]
The 2004 Umass Faculty & Staff Telephone book is currently being delivered by Telecommunication Services.

2004 Telephone Directory cards going out with Sept. 26 paychecks
[24-Sep-03]
Telephone Directory Update Cards (yellow cards) will be distributed to employees with paychecks on Sept. 26, 2003. Every employee on the UMass payroll as of Thursday, September 18, should have received a card (excluding students, graduate assistants and fellows).

2003 Phonebooks Being Delivered
[06-Jan-03]
Telecommunication Services is now delivering the 2003 Faculty and Staff telephone book to the campus. The latest Hampshire County telephone books are also being delivered.

2003 Faculty/Staff Telephone Books Ready Soon
[16-Dec-02]
Faculty and staff telephone books for 2003 will be available to the campus starting Jan. 6, 2003.

Telecom Offices Moving Off Campus
[23-Oct-02]
Telecommunication Services will be moving its offices to 101 University Drive starting Oct. 23, 2002. The move should be completed Oct. 25, 2002.

2003 Telephone Directory forms going out with Sept. 27 paychecks
[27-Sep-02]
Telephone Directory Update Forms (yellow forms) will be distributed to employees with paychecks on Sept. 27. The forms are collected and used by Telecommunication Services to publish the 2003 Faculty and Staff Telephone Directory. Anyone who does not receive a form should call 5-2171. All forms should be signed, updated if necessary, and returned to Jason Vosu, Telecommunication Services, 101 University Dr. Suite B1, by October 11.

Did you lose your yellow card? Or didn't get one? Please download a replacement form.

Telecom Office to Move Off Campus
[26-Jun-02]
The University has signed a lease so that Telecommunication Services can move to a new office space located off campus.

Fast Busy Signal Problem Fixed
[03-Jun-02]
The fast busy signal problem that some UMass telephone users experienced this morning has been repaired.

New Telecom Email Addresses
[01-Feb-02]
Telecommuication Services has implemented the following new targeted email addresses.

QWEST Calling Card Reminder
[01-Jan-02]
Please remember to carry your QWEST calling card with you when traveling.

International Calling Rates Cut
[08-Nov-01]
International calling rates for faculty and staff at the university have been cut, thanks to a deal between Telecommunication Services and international long distance provider eMeritus.

Administrative Phone System Problems
[07-Nov-01]
We are currently experiencing a problem within the time-switching segment of the administrative telecommunications system.

Additional Voice Mail Problems
[04-Oct-01]
We are experiencing problems with the voice mail system again.

Voice Mail Working Again
[04-Oct-01]
The UMass Voice Mail system is up and running again, after repairs were made.

Voice Mail Problems Fixed
[17-Sep-01]
The Voice Mail system has been repaired and appears to be functioning properly.

More Voice Mail Problems
[13-Sep-01]
The University voice mail system is again experiencing some problems.

Voice Mail Problems
[05-Sep-01]
The University's voice mail system (and associated Message Waiting lamps on campus telephone sets) was damaged during yesterday's storm.

Telecom Generator Project Completed
[08-Jun-01]
Critical computing, telephone and voice mail services on campus are now fully protected from power outages, thanks to the installation of a final backup generator at the W.E.B. Du Bois Library.

Telecom Telephone Switch Experiences Power Outage
[07-Mar-01]
Campus telephones were out of service for a short while Feb. 27 because of an unexpected power problem during routine maintenance at the Telecommunication Services main node facility.

Campus Phone Service Restored
[28-Feb-01]
After Tuesday's service interruption, most telephones on campus are now working properly.

Telephone Service Interrupted
[27-Feb-01]
Due to a 10:10 a.m. power outage today to the campus telephone switch, telephone service was momentarily interrupted.

UMass Celebrates 10 Years of Digital Telephony
[18-Aug-00]
There was a collective deep breath, the flip of a switch, and suddenly, the University of Massachusetts Amherst telephone system took a quantum leap into the future.

Telecom Adopts Non-Payment Policy
[15-Jun-00]
Telecommunication Services will shut off services for non-payment, in accordance with a newly adopted non-payment policy.

Wireless Telephone Service on Campus
[10-May-00]
Wireless communications is based on the ability of user equipment to transmit radio broadcasts through the airways that are received by other wireless or wireline equipment. Wireless networks can be land-based or satelite based. In both cases, the user information is transported via Radio Frequency.

Telecom Completes Switch from MCI to Qwest
[11-Apr-00]
University calling card calls are cheaper now that Telecommunicaton Services has switched its calling card carrier from MCI to Qwest.

Local Calling Areas Expanded
[06-Apr-00]
Calls from UMass to several towns which used to be long distance are now local.

Message Waiting Light Problems?
[16-Feb-00]
If you are expecting a voice mail message and the message waiting light does not appear to be lit, you can check for voice mail messages by dialing the voice mail number 5-1000.

UMass Calling Cards to be Discontinued
[16-Feb-00]
UMass MCI long distance calling cards will no longer work after March 31, as they are being replaced by Qwest cards.

New UMass Caller ID
[23-Sep-99]
Outbound calls from all campus telephones at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will have the 545-0111 phone number identification attached to them as of Oct. 1.