The effort to replace antiquated telephone exchanges across the Department of the Air Force, led by Air Force Installations and Mission Support Centers, is expected to complete installation of 75 new systems by mid-2025.
The program, called “Switch Blitz,” is a collaboration between AFIMSC, the DAF Chief Information Officer, and major commands and installations to replace aging systems with Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.
“These analog switches are often over 30 years old and well beyond their useful life,” said Maj. Mary Vasta, AFIMSC Switch Blitz program leader. “The Communications Squadron has worked like magic to make these switches last this long, but we no longer have the parts to repair them.”
Cyberspace and information technology experts from AFIMSC's Capability Portfolio Integration and Optimization Division are working to replace the switches. VoIP technology will provide service improvements that will increase reliability and help DAF avoid fines from U.S. states seeking to recoup costs for maintaining backward compatibility with older technology. “We are working with the DAF CIO and Air Combat Command to achieve two sides of the same coin,” Vasta said. “Our focus is upgrading the base's telephone switches to VoIP, while ACC is working on upgrading the long-line communications needed to complete the full transition.”
The partnership between AFIMSC and ACC is helping to ensure that all 96 legacy telephone exchanges at DAF active duty bases are eligible for the transition.
“We are spending $53 million over two years and only 17 old-fashioned telephone exchanges remain to be converted to VoIP. AFIMSC alone is funding 53 of these projects,” she said.
Vasta said each base is different, so working out the details of an enterprise-wide transition will be a major undertaking for the vendor performing the upgrade and the five-person team of Airmen from each base communications squadron.
“Major Vasta and her team are doing what many said was impossible in this resource-limited environment. In doing so, she and her team are significantly improving operational readiness through switch blitzes,” said Don Lewis, chief of Capability Portfolio Integration and Optimization. “These switches don't just support voice traffic; they often also enable emergency response, airfield systems and medical systems that must be maintained.”
Photographed on: August 14, 2024 Posted on: August 23, 2024 15:46 Story ID: 478611 Location: San Antonio, Texas, USA Web Views: 11 Downloads: 0 Public Domain
This work, AFIMSC Leads DAF-Wide Transition to VoIP Technology, Author: Craig Rodarte, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions set forth at https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
