A Communications Network Company

An intelligent communications solution by Avaya and Aruba Networks

A FORTUNE 100® company located in the southern United States, with annual revenues in excess
of $10 billion and more than 35,000 employees, owns and operates a large-scale, nationwide
communications network. Among the company’s core values is an emphasis on customer service and
satisfaction – doing whatever it takes to meet customer expectations. The company also measures its
success based on delivering superior financial returns to its stakeholders.
Challenge
The customer runs one of the largest nationwide communications networks from a Network Operations
Center in the southern United States. The NOC is a 7,000 square foot, open-plan room with low
cubicles and large animated displays on the walls. At any given time, there are up to 70 network
engineers in the NOC, all of whom may have active voice calls. Network engineers typically work at
their desks in office spaces adjacent to the NOC. When they report to the NOC for a shift, they move
to a workstation in one of the cubicles. As they monitor and solve network problems, they also form
ad-hoc teams using surrounding conference rooms.
As the network engineers must be un-tethered to be effective and efficient, a mobile voice and data
solution is mandatory. Previously, the customer’s voice solution was based on the public cellular
network; however, this was outside their 5-digit numbering scheme and had very high associated costs
of approximately $100 per engineer per month.
Solution
Aruba and Avaya partnered to deliver a wireless voice solution that provided PBX features and
advanced voice functionality to NOC engineers. Aruba provided a centralized enteprise Wi-Fi
infrastructure comprising managed Aruba AP-65 and AP-70 Access Points (APs) located on the top
of workspace cubicles throughout the NOC and connected to the company’s LAN infrastructure. An
Aruba 6000 mobility controller, installed in the company’s data center, manages and secures the Wi-Fi
network. A range of SIP-capable voice-over-Wi-Fi (VoFi) phones were tested and approved by both
Aruba and Avaya, qualifying handsets offering the full Avaya feature set and extending capabilities well
beyond the “SIP-16.”
Results
Cost savings. ▶Cost savings of more than $75,000 per year by switching from cellular-based mobile
voice to an enterprise Wi-Fi solution
Improved mobility. ▶The solution enables help desk workers to be mobile while retaining automatic
contact distribution features and provides them with mobile phones mirroring the functionality of their
desk phones.