E911 Frequently Asked Questions

Q: In the past I’ve had to dial 9-911 while on campus to make an emergency phone call; is this still necessary?

A: No. You only need to dial 911, which is the North American standard for emergency phone calls. Dialing 9-911 is an artifact of the old Centrex phone system that required you to dial a “9” to reach an outside line.

Q: Is there a policy that requires campus units to maintain Centrex lines for redundant 911 service in case Teams is unavailable?

A: No. There is no policy or legal requirement that requires campus units to maintain Centrex lines now that the 911 service through Teams is in production. The University has decided that this is a business decision best left to individual campus units. There will be additional charges for any departments that decide to maintain Centrex lines after Teams is in production. Pinnacle Department Managers can email Service Request Management at TechSvc-requests@illinois.edu to receive pricing or to order service.

Q: Is there a policy or guideline for campus units to maintain Centrex lines in laboratories or common areas?

A: No. There is no policy or legal requirement regarding the retention of Centrex lines for existing common area phones and/or laboratory phones. The University has decided that this is a business decision best left to individual campus units. There will be additional charges for any departments that decide to maintain Centrex lines after Teams is in production. The Division of Research Safety (external link) (DRS) has advised that there are no known regulatory requirements that would prevent users from migrating to Skype for Business devices. However, DRS have said they would be happy to discuss special laboratory safety concerns with individual campus units.

Q: Is there a policy or guideline that requires campus units to maintain traditional telephone lines in off-campus buildings with remote employees who have UC Voice?

A: Yes. The University of Illinois Division of Public Safety requires Urbana campus units that provide remote employee workspace to maintain a minimum number of traditional phones.  These phones can be used to make 9-1-1 calls, and serviced by traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) providers.  Calls made from these phones must include locatable address information and route to the appropriate Pubic Safety Answering Point (PSAP).

A minimum of one traditional phone must be available within every two thousand square feet of workspace on each floor of an off campus building.  The phone(s) must be installed in a common area that is accessible to any occupants. 

Q: Will campus emergency phones and elevator phones be migrated to Teams?

A: No. The campus emergency phones (e.g. blue light kiosks, wall-mounted box phones, and elevator rescue phones) will remain on the existing copper network. Calls from emergency phones will continue to connect directly to the University’s police department.

Q: Can my department install additional emergency phones?

A: Individual campus units may not install emergency phones without the consultation and approval of the Division of Public Safety. Emergency phones (e.g. blue light kiosk, areas of rescue, and elevator rescue phones) serve the life safety needs of the entire campus community. Therefore, their costs are subsidized by general campus funds. Emergency phone deployment for new construction and major remodeling is standardized in the Campus Administrative Manual.

Campus units may install phones in any location in which additional phone service is needed, but such phones are not considered campus emergency phones. The requesting department is responsible for installation and recurring costs. Pinnacle Department Managers can email Service Request Management at TechSvc-requests@illinois.edu to receive pricing or submit a Pinnacle Service Request for the installation.

Contact Us

For further information about UC at Illinois please contact the Technology Services Help Desk, 217-244-7000, consult@illinois.edu.