RGD Installing First World Telephone System

The Registrar General’s Department (RGD), is slated to roll out its new state of the art Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephone system at its head office, Twickenham Park, St. Catherine, early February, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Patricia Holness, has disclosed.
Speaking at a JIS Think Tank session at the Half -Way Tree Road head office of the Jamaica Information Service in Kingston on Thursday (January 21), Dr. Holness said that the new system will replace the previous one, which was destroyed during a lightning storm in late 2007 resulting in the loss of some 82 lines at the head office.
The new system will cost just over $11 million, and was installed by communications firm, Illuminat Jamaica. It will provide some 110 lines, when the system comes on stream, manned by 40 customer service representatives.
Illuminat was selected from the five firms responding to the RGD’s tender notice published last year.
“We went through the National Contracts Commission, and we secured its guidance and approval for developing (the) system of VOIP,” Dr. Holness explained.
“Our staff members have been trained, and there are over 40 customer service representatives who will be in place to respond to our customers,” she stated.
The RGD also acquired a number of additional telephone lines from two of the country’s major telecommunications entities and expanded their band width, which will enable the head office to link, via a network, with the agency’s nine regional offices.
As a result, persons calling the head office who are unsuccessful in their attempts, will have their calls re-routed to the next available line and customer service representative, who will deal with inquiries.
Dr. Holness also pointed out that the RGD would be undertaking an internal “stress test” to assess and analyse the system’s capacity.
“We are ensuring that we have the maximum number of individuals calling us before we open up the lines to the public, to ensure that our voicemail and the automated attendant is not too overbearing to the customer,” she pointed out.
She said that the RGD was looking forward to making sure that the telephone experience will now be first world, so that individuals will be able to access the agency in a seamless fashion. She also apologised for the inconvenience experienced by the public since the damage was sustained.