Web-based phones to save thousands

HOLLISTON - A recent switch to an Internet-based phone system at Town Hall will save more than $1,000 a month in phone bills, officials said.

The director of research last week finished installing 25 new phones in Town Hall, part of a new system that makes calls over the Internet.

The town paid about $200 per new phone

Although the town paid about $200 per new phone, Town Administrator Paul LeBeau said the system will cut monthly costs by between $1,000 and $1,200.

"It's as a matter of fact one of the newest ways of doing a phone system," said Corman, the project's mastermind.

Previously, Corman said, the town didn't have caller ID and when officials wanted to move a phone, they had to drag hundreds of feet of wire around the office or spend a lot of money to rewire it.

"Word for word, we had hundreds of feet of cord and we'd drag it wherever we needed a phone," said Corman, who said he started exploring the idea four years ago.

Phone numbers and extensions will remain the same, however callers will likely encounter fewer busy signals, since VoIP, or voice over internet protocol, can receive multiple calls on the same line, Corman said.

He said Town Hall as so then as several other town office buildings are now completely outfitted with new phones, which he said should be operational in the then two weeks.

Corman said another advantage is that after all of an emergency, many phones could be hooked up in the selectmen's meeting room, which has multiple Internet hookups, to create a central control room.

He said he will use the 2,000 feet of wire in his closet to install VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) at the Senior Center, Fire Department and Highway Department shortly.