ISC Networking and Telecommunications

Networking and Telecommunications (N&T) provides unified data, voice, and video communications services for the Penn community. N&T operates PennNet; its Internet and Internet2 gateways; the campus voice networks; and Penn Video Services (video production, streaming video, videoconferencing, and the Penn Video Network); and installs data, voice, and video connections. It also provides network services, including Penn's World Wide Web server, the Online Directory, Classlists, voice messaging, and call center technologies.

Unified Communications

What if you could stop thinking of phone calls, email, voice mail, and faxes as separate forms of communication? What if you didn't have to wonder whether your coworker had her cell phone with her (and turned on) or how soon your boss would get that email or fax you just sent? What if the University's next generation of communications tools tied it all together for us in a more natural way, allowing communications to happen in the richest possible ways, all while honoring the wishes of the parties involved. Communication tools would allow us to send and receive information in new ways, such as:

• Deliver email to a fax machine or a voice mailbox
• Place a phone call to the audio player on someone's computer
• Video conference between a next generation television and a next generation PDA
• Listen to voice mail through a portable audio player, such as an MP3 player or a PDA

These are just some of the things that unified communications could make possible.

First Steps

Today's desktop computers are probably the most readily identified communications devices, enabling users to take advantage of a myriad of communication methods. Increasingly, however, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), high-function mobile phones, and portable music players are becoming constant companions to many of today's students, researchers, and information professionals. While all of these devices can allow for communication with other people, a new kind of demand is being created. People are beginning to look for unified communications. Further evolution of communications access equipment holds the promise of enabling tomorrow's advanced applications. The first step in moving toward more naturally unified communications for the University community is to adopt the use of tools that allow for these types of communication.*

To further the University's move to Unified Communications, ISC Networking and Telecommunications now offers a next generation voice service called PennNet Phone. The service sends voice communications over the Internet, allowing for the option of unified email and voicemail service, and eventually voice service combined with instant messaging and video communications. To learn more about the PennNet Phone service, see Penn Voice Services.