Skip to main content
Billing & Charges
"Teams Calls" is part of Microsoft's O365 licensing. Phone bills are to recover costs for our Microsoft licensing, connections to outside phone lines, and anticipated charges for long distance service. With Teams Calls, departmental phone billing is streamlined, less expensive and predictable. The charge includes voicemail and long distance.
Here is a breakdown of phone charges:
| Service | Teams Charge, per month |
|---|---|
| Phone service | $16 |
| Voicemail | Included |
| Long Distance* | Included |
| Hardware Replacement | Department's discretion |
| Total Per Month, Per Line (Average) | $16 |
*Please be aware that long distance calls (along with international calls) are still charged to the university...they are NOT free. However, to streamline the billing process, the new schema accounts for anticipated long distance charges based on pre-pandemic usage.
Teams Calls has also allowed modernization of the budget process around phone billing. All phone billing indexes fall into one of two plans:
Plan 1 - Budget Reallocation for Phone Services
Many departmental phone bills have disappeared all together. Funds were reallocated from departmental budgets to central budget management (at the Teams Calls rate of $16 per month, per line rate.) This is a permanent reallocation of funds. That means no more time needed for processing phone bills! For these departments, you can think of phone service as a common utility, like water or internet service.
Indexes No Longer Receiving Phone Bills*The names below come from the index description on phone bills. If you would like the corresponding index number, please contact [[support]]. *There are other reasons you may receive a bill, like for analog lines or equipment. See below.
|
Plan 2 - Annual Bills for Phone Services
However, not all funding sources are able to take advantage of the reallocation (like auxiliaries, grants, and those using private or local money.) Departments/indexes utilizing those funding sources for phone services are now billed annually, instead of monthly.
These departments will only have to process one bill at the start of each fiscal year for $192 per line ($16 per line X 12 months). These departments can move to central funding by changing their funding source for phone service, if desired.
Indexes to be Billed AnnuallyThe names below come from the index description on phone bills. If you would like the corresponding index number, please contact [[support]].
|
Charges for Additional Phone-Related Services
You will still receive a phone or hardware bill for the following items.
Analog Phone Lines
Analog lines, like the lines used for fax machines and alarms, will be billed annually. The cost is $360 per year, charged on July 1 (every year). There are no credits or additions as phones are added or removed throughout the year.
Common Area Licenses (New lines only)
Phones that are not tied to person, but rather tied to a place (like conference room phones and service desk phones) require a "Common Area License". A new license has a one-time charge of $300 to the department. As part of the migration project, costs will be covered for existing set-ups that require a common area license.
Common area phones also require a desk phone. In most cases, departments must purchase the Audiocodes 455 phone. Conference rooms will be covered by project funds during the migration.
Phone Equipment
Departments are responsible for purchasing their own phone equipment. Any equipment currently use for Zoom and Teams meetings can be used with Teams Calls (aka phone calls) as well.
However, you may wish to purchase equipment that has been tested by IT and will be supported by the Technology Support Center. Find the list of supported equipment here.
VITA Phone Services
All VITA-contracted phone services will continue to receive monthly bills. This includes the police station radio system, alarm lines, cell phones, and other telecommunication services billed to IT by VITA.
Questions?
Contact the Technology Support Center (TSC)
757-221-4357 (HELP) | [[support]] | Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm