Trying to figure out what phone line is for!

[SPM99]

A school I took over about a year ago have a VOIP system on a seperate broadband contract to their main leased line. Have just found out that they're paying for another 40Mbps line that serves a number that nobody knows anything about. Office management is all pretty much new and there are no records at all. Spoke to the ISP who said they can't terminate until the school confirm that the line is no longer needed. It's not the alarm or managed heating system...any idea how else I can find out what it's for? It rings, no voicemail, just rings and rings..

 

[bicky]

Backup internet line?
We have 70mb ADSL line in server room and in IT office, we use it incase main internet line goes down/emergency use. 

 

We also have few 40MB line with BT number around school for emergency use.

[pete]

Lift alarm/emergency phone?  Old BT Redcare that no-one cancelled?  Walked around the school looking for BT faceplates?  Old ISDN line?

[Dos_Box]

Do you know how long they have had this line? Could be easier to work out the use if you have a time period to put with it.

[Chris_Cook]

Have you tried googling the number?

 

We've had various things on separate lines, like adult ed colleges, canteen providers, libraries, boilers and gas meters, and fax machines. We've also got old connections in IT suites. Could also be the site managers house?

 

If its a 40mb connection, its probably been hooked up to a PC at some stage.

 

Could it be a backup line for the VOIP?

 

We did have one of our primary schools cut of a few years back because they checked with the another school (nothing to do with our trust) and they didn't know about it. I'd check you are getting the bill for it. 

 

You could maybe ask them to send out an engineer to track it. They should at least know where it enters the building. There's probably a cost to it though.

[TechMonkey]

We've had similar issues here.  When I joined we had over 70 phone services, not including DDIs and a spreadsheet produced by an external company that listed them with cryptic notes.  We have slowly whittled them down, finding a mix of old ISDN lines, lift emergency lines, alarm lines and lines that were cut but never cancelled.

 

Check in boiler rooms in case there are any labelled sockets. Ask your provider if the can put a pause on the line (that isn't the technical term sorry, I can't remember what it is). This will not cancel the line but stop the service, allowing it to be started up again if it is essential.  Makes a good scream test.

 

If our place is anything to go by, the line will have been chopped out years ago but the account never cancelled!

[PotNoodleTech]

Few ideas based on schools around here.

 

Old main office or reception phone.  Check the rooms that used to be used for those purposes.

 

Old fax machine.  Try and find out where the fax machine used to be as that was guarunteed to have it's own phone line.

 

Fire Alarm

 

Burgler Alarm

 

Line to caretakers house?

 

What's weird to me is that it's ringing.  If there was nothing plugged in or the cable had been chopped I wouldnt expect it to ring on!

 

 

[SPM99]

Thanks all for the replies. I'm onsite next week so will have another look around. They do have a lift that nobody seems to know about, so I'll call them to enquire.

 

I'll see if ISP can pause it, if poss. Could be interesting!