If you are a current customer with Centrex lines, these may be your primary phone service, your primary service but behind a telephone PBX, key or hybrid system or simply provide power failure back-up and specialty lines. Any telephone number beginning with 612-627- is a Centrex line. Having extension numbers or multiple lines on individual phones would indicate that you are on a key or hybrid system along with Centrex. If you are on one of these systems, it is important to know that directions associated with your telephone equipment will not change. If you use Centrex lines behind specialty equipment, such as fire, security or monitoring equipment, please check with your equipment vendor as to whether an interruption in dialtone will affect their service to you.

Centrex service will experience an upgrade on January 17, 2011. At the moment of the upgrade, calls in progress should continue, but there may be a slight interruption in dial tone. Every effort will be made to complete the upgrade outside of business hours. Centrex users should not experience any loss of features, but there are a few things to be aware of.

Centrex Voicemail will remain in service. There is no need to re-record greetings. Messages that are there on January 16th will be there on January 17th. Existing Centrex lines will retain whatever dialing capabilities they currently have. Dialing instructions and feature codes, for access to each feature, will not change. Directions for their use are included in the Telephone Guide section of the OIT Voice Services web page. Copies will also be provided via Campus Mail to each location.

Please contact technology help (1-HELP) should any service problems occur. Concerns regarding this change may be addressed to knapp@umn.edu.