Maintenance work to the campus telephone system will take it offline overnight after the University closes Friday, December 22.

The power distribution system that links the utility power, generator and UPS batteries to the telephone system will be replaced. The old system is aging and is at risk of failure due to unavailability of replacement parts, says Kevin Macnaughton of Information Technology Services.

The entire telephone system will go silent sometime between 7 and 8 p.m. Friday evening. The replacement work will proceed over the next seven hours and the system is projected to be back online by 3 a.m. Saturday.

While the telephone system is down, there will be no dial tone on any phones on campus. Traditional phones will be without power. VoIP phones will appear operational, but will be unable to connect. There will be no answer if someone dials the University and voicemail will be unavailable. Emergency phones also will not work.

In case of emergency on campus during this period, use a mobile phone to call 911. Windsor Police Services will relay the call to Campus Police. Direct any questions or concerns to IT Services at 519-253-3000, ext. 4440.