Stanford Soft Phone Pilot
What is a Soft Phone?
A Soft phone is a piece of software installed on your computer that makes phone calls over the internet. You may have heard of similar services like Skype or Yahoo Voice. Used with a microphone and speakers/headphones, you can place calls from your computer.
What is a Stanford Soft Phone?
The Stanford Soft Phone is configured to look like you’re using your normal Stanford phone number. This means:
- When you call someone, your name and Stanford phone number displays for Caller ID.
- You can dial using five digit extensions like 5-HELP (5-4357).
- To dial an outside line, dial 9.
- If you make an international long distance call, you will be prompted for your PBN.
- To access your voicemail, call 3-0000.
The Stanford Soft Phone pilot project is evaluating the value of offering Soft phone software for the Stanford community.
Please note: The Soft phone should not be used to place 911 emergency calls. The 911 service uses your phone location to route your call to the appropriate local authority. If you are not on campus, your call will not be routed correctly and you will experience a delay in getting the assistance you need.
Why would I want to use the Stanford Soft Phone?
There are many reasons. Here are a few examples:
- You’re traveling for work and you need to make some business calls.
- You need to stay home to wait for the cable guy, but you don’t want to make business calls from your home phone.
- You move to various different locations during the day, but want to be reachable at a single phone number.
Using the Soft phone, calls are easy, free, and look like they come from your normal desk phone.
May I participate in the pilot?
Probably. The pilot is limited to 50 people. To run the software, you must be using:
- Macintosh OS X 10.4 or 10.5 with an Intel Pentium processor, or
- Windows 2000 or XP
We also recommend having a headset with microphone that plugs into your computer.
How do I enroll in the pilot?
Send an email to stanford-vphone@lists.stanford.edu with your name, SUNet ID, and Stanford phone number.
