The outage has been scheduled to allow the voice mail system to be switched over to upgraded phone switches, part of a comprehensive modernization of the Lab's 13-year-old phone system. The most notable aspect of the new system will be a new phone on your desk, but the upgrade also includes new switches and wiring connecting it all together. By the end of June, more than half of the Lab will have been switched over to the new system, with the entire facility scheduled to be upgraded by October 31.

"We're replacing both the brains of the system - the hardware and the software - and the individual phones, but we're doing it in a way that minimizes disruptions to the staff," said Richard Gregory, the Telcom manager in the Networking and Telecommunications Department. In fact, he added, there have been only a handful of problems among the 2,400 phone lines already converted and these were quickly resolved.

The phone system needed to be upgraded as the old equipment was getting too old and expensive to maintain. The switches that make up the heart of the new system occupy only about one-fourth the floorspace of the old one, and use 75 percent less electricity. Because the new system uses fewer wires for connections, the changeover will free up cabling space, too. The Lab also saved money on the deal by persuading the vendor to accept the old equipment as a trade-in.

The new system will have the same features and functionality of the old one and for most phone users, the changeover will be barely noticeable except for the short voice mail outage on June 26 and the 10 minutes it takes to switch out each employee's telephone. Questions? Contact the Telephone Services Department at tsc@lbl.gov.