Dial F for Finished.
The city Department of Education wants to phase out the thousands of archaic landlines at its 1,800 schools and is set to seek bids from companies to install a strictly online system.
“As our schools, city, and world evolves, we are in the infancy stages of evaluating telecommunications alternatives that would significantly reduce our reliance on traditional landlines,” a DOE rep said.
The Department of Education (DOE) plans to eliminate landlines across 1,800 schools.
“This effort, which focuses on resiliency and reliability, would build a system to withstand disruptions and shorten service restorations should they occur,” the representative said.
The DOE sent out an information request to potential bidders, a precursor for an official bid for a new telecommunications system.
The DOE is seeking bids from companies to put in place a fully online system across its schools. ÐиÑаил РеÑеÑников – stock.adobe.com
The public notice reviewed by The Post said the DOE is looking to “transition from aging digital PBX [Private Branch Exchange] systems to a unified, resilient, and cost-effective VOI [Voice over Internet Protocol] ecosystem … to replace NYC DOE’s legacy telephony systems across over 1,800 school and administrative sites.”
DOE officials declined to specify the costs of such an overhaul or how many landlines would be replaced. But it would clearly be a massive undertaking.
The new telecommunication system must support 150,000 staffers in 1,800 schools serving 900,000 students, as well as outreach to parents, meaning multilingual features would have to be part of any plan.
The telecom overhaul would likely take place under Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s administration.
The move comes as New York schools banned use of personal cell phones during class periods, an edict approved by Gov. Kathy Hochul.