CCT chose to implement a new IP Telephony solution to enable better and faster communication, create a more service-oriented local government, and open the way for greater automation of standard processes. To achieve this, a comprehensive architecture unifying voice and data was needed.

Getronics started the project in 1998, developing a pilot installation in the Elysee Museum in Lausanne. A gateway enabled seamless communication between the new and the existing environments.CCT evaluated the IP technology and was convinced of the advantages. It decided to go aheadwith a full canton-wide IP Telephone solution.

In 2000, the rollout began with the smaller operational units and this first phase was completed in 2001. Full implementation is now under way. By the end of the project, 232 PBXs (Private Branch Exchanges) will have been replaced with just 6 call managers, each of which has the capacity to handle the entire IP Telephony traffic of the Canton.

The Canton of Vaud invested around 1800 CHF per installed port including phones, call manager servers, gateways and licence fees, cabling and active network components. The annual operating cost is around 400CHF per port.

Managing budgets becomes easier, as the previously separate data and telephony networksbecome one. The costs of paying a third party to redeploy telephones within the organisation vanish: typically a single move would cost 180CHF. The cost of managing and maintaining the PBX systems disappears and most significantly, the Canton eliminates external telecommunications costs.Apart from the reduced bottom line costs, this investment improves employee productivity and the quality of service delivered to citizens and businesses.