Muskegon, New Jersey, could save $1 million with VoIP telephony systems

Businesses from Chicago to New York have shown a willingness to adopt forward-thinking communications in recent months, as many have been swayed by the quality of the business phone systems that could help them buoy their bottom line. In addition to businesses, municipalities have also been using VoIP telephony systems to obtain these benefits and build an infrastructure that could one day support multimedia call centers.

On January 18, a report by the Muskegon Chronicle detailed how Muskegon, New Jersey, is moving toward this goal by adopting VoIP phones to power its Central Dispatch 911. The city’s lawmakers voted to spend $150,000 on the communications upgrades in January, a move that they project could save taxpayers $1 million over the next decade.

City manager Bryan Mazade expects the new VoIP phone system to pay for itself within the next two years. In addition, the city’s official 2011 Collaboration Plan suggests the 911 call center will save $3,000 annually on its phone bill alone with the investment.

“When we took a look at it, it was a very good thing,” Mazade told the news source, speaking of the investment.

As the Muskegon Central Dispatch is a county-wide VoIP system, its implementation will require the work of other nearby municipalities. According to the city, only a few of the 15 municipalities in this region are not currently participating in this effort to improve citizen safety.

Due to the fact that major cities are implementing the technology, business owners may be inspired to obtain similar savings through investments in their communications infrastructure. With these new tools, businesses could set the precedent that they are renewing their commitment to employees and customers in 2012 by helping to ease the difficulties that these parties may experience when trying to solve service or product-based problems that may arise.

As the Muskegon Central Dispatch is a county-wide VoIP system, its implementation will require the work of other nearby municipalities.