New MIT Grad Dorm will have VoIP Phone Service

NW35, the new MIT graduate residence that will be named Ashdown House when it opens this fall, will not have analog Broadband Phonelines in the rooms. Residents who want room phones will need to purchase a voice over IP Broadband Phoneand Internet Broadband Phoneservice.  But NW35 will have four network ports per pillow — at least twice as many as in the current Ashdown House.

The change reflects changing tele Broadband Phoneusage patterns. Director of Housing Dennis J. Collins said that he believes most students today have cell phones for communicating with friends and family. To that end, NW35 will be “cell- Broadband Phonefriendly.” Housing is “putting in cell Broadband Phonerepeaters to ensure cell phones will work everywhere,” Collins said.

The MIT campus is increasingly moving towards voice over IP, said Steven R. Winig, manager of the Relationship Management Program at Information Services and Technology. VoIP is a technology that transports tele Broadband Phonecalls digitally over a computer network. Traditional Broadband Phoneservice operates on a separate analog network.

Collins said that the decision to provide extra network ports instead of an analog Broadband Phoneport “really was not about the money.” Rather, he said, Housing wanted to “build for the future.”

Collins said that the four network ports would provide access for two computers, a VoIP phone, and a possible future IP television service. Residents will be free to use the ports however they want, he said.

Rooms at NW35 will still have coaxial cable connections for standard MIT cable television service.

The rooms in the existing MIT dormitories, including the current Ashdown House, provide either one or two network ports per pillow.

They also have analog Broadband Phonelines that can receive all incoming calls and can place outgoing calls to on campus phones as a standard service. Residents in these dormitories may order full Broadband Phoneservice — including unlimited local calls, access to long distance services, and voice mail — for $17 per month.

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