Telephony replacement: digital lines (VoIP telephony)

BT plans to switch off all analogue telephone services between January 2026 and January 2027 which means the University needs to migrate its critical and analogue lines from the current Chorus telephony service to a chosen alternative solution by the end of 2025.  

The Chorus service contract (provided by ATOS/Mitel) ends in July 2026 and the University is taking this opportunity to move to a new cloud-based supplier.

Leveraging the University's relationship with Microsoft, the preferred new service will be Microsoft Teams Phone (subject to approval by appropriate decision-making bodies).​There are approximately 3000 University or college staff already using Teams Phone.

 

Microsoft Teams Phone

Teams Phone (also referred to as Telephony over Teams at the University) is part of the Microsoft Teams application and offers the user the ability to make and receive telephone calls through their Microsoft Teams client on any device. It also includes other functionality you would expect from a telephony service, for example the ability to transfer calls, receive or leave voicemail messages etc.

 

What are digital lines?

Digital lines refer to VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) telephony, as opposed to analogue lines that use dedicated copper wiring and network infrastructure.  If you have a Chorus desk phone, this uses VoIP telephony which is a digital line.

What does this mean for my college or department?

Personal telephony extensions 

All existing Chorus desk phones will be removed and staff will start using a new telephony service that will be accessed via a dial/keypad in their Teams client using the built-in speaker/microphone or a headset. The project will coordinate the move to the new service for all telephone numbers, but will not supply personal handsets or headsets.  

NOTE: for people with dual roles in a department/faculty and a college, their telephone line is paid for by the faculty or department and is associated with their SSO. If a college wants to provide a shared area device for people in this position it will  have to pay for a shared area device licence and for the handset. However, we suggest you think carefully about whether this model is still required and can provide usage reports to help with this decision. 

Shared area extensions

There are approximately 9000 shared area devices in use currently across the collegiate University.  These are handsets located in communal or shared areas allowing more than one person to make or receive calls (for example, receptions areas, porters’ lodges).  The introduction of Teams Phone could result in some of these shared areas no longer requiring a physical handset and the table below outlines the options for moving these lines.  If you are unsure about the best solution to use or need further advice, please contact the project team.

 

Current Chorus configuration Suggested alternative How to achieve this Associated cost  
Hunt group Teams Call Queue/Autoattendant Complete the ‘Call Queues and AutoAttendants’ Service Request None  
Shared area phone, eg lodge/library/lab etc where a phone is required  Teams Desk phone using a Shared Area Device licence  Contact the project team.  Your network will require configuration, a device will need to be ordered/configured/deployed, and a Shared Area Device account created for you

Up front hardware cost, future hardware refresh cost   
    
Ongoing Shared Area Device licence fee under new cost model   

 
Shared area phone, eg lodge/library/lab etc where a phone is no longer required   Move the extension to a Teams Call Queue/Autoattendant.  Provide Telephony over Teams to the users who need to answer these calls.  This will facilitate hybrid working
  1. Assign the users who will handle calls Telephony over teams in Phoneman  
  2. Complete the Call Queues and AutoAttendants Service Request
Ongoing line charge under new cost model  
Intercomms Reconfigure these devices to talk to a user on Teams   Contact the project team.  We will have to handle these case by case at first  Unknown  

 

Detailed information 

Expand All

Date Activity
June to December 2025 Ascertain college and department requirements for shared area digital lines and equipment
June to September 2025 Approval of proposed solution (Teams Phone), migration process and schedule, consultation on charging model, support model and pricing information 
From September 2025 Migration to Teams Phone, facilitation of new equipment purchasing and management of new service

 

Further information about the service charging model will be shared when available. The service will be supported by the Communication and Collaboration Services Team in IT Services. IT Help webpages and Service Requests will be updated to reflect this over the coming months 

  • Collection of Chorus handsets from individuals and shared areas will be the responsibility of each individual college or department.  The project will coordinate and fund removal of handsets from college/department building(s) and their secure and safe disposal
  • The project will not fund the purchase of  headsets or Teams Phone compatible handsets for individual users nor handsets for shared area locations that are not safety-critical. However, it will fund shared area devices in safety-critical locations. 

NOTE:  Teams Phone can be used without a handset or headset through the computer's inbuilt speaker and microphone.

See indicative costs for Teams Phone compatible handsets on the IT Help website.