In the event of an emergency, clear and prompt communication is essential in ensuring safety on any college campus. With over 30,471 students in 2017 and growing this year, University of Nevada, Las Vegas has exclusively deployed Talkaphone products to protect its student body, employees, and guests with a complete emergency communication system solution. Approximately 110 phones, 60 towers (some WEBS), and 50 wall mounts are currently utilized on the UNLV campus. The presence of Talkaphone’s highly visible towers includes cameras and lighting, making students and faculty feel safer while simultaneously deterring criminals.
One of the benefits of the Talkaphone towers with WEBS loudspeaker systems is that they can project and dispatch communication no matter the location on campus. When the emergency button is pushed, the UNLV police dispatch center receives an alert and the camera feature provides an immediate visual of the situation. This allows campus police the capability to react in a timely and more efficient manner.
Ryan Doyle, UNLV’s IT Manager, highlights that “The emergency phones dial directly into our police department, which is extremely convenient. With the integration of the cameras, it allows us to actually see what’s taking place on the scene. On the other hand, if using a cell phone, we’re not going to know exactly what is happening around the person and we won’t necessarily know their location. Talkaphone’s towers provide us with better situational awareness for our campus.”
Talkaphone products are modular by design and available in analog and IP. Darren Paulson, Director of Telecommunications emphasizes the success of the upgrade for UNLV’s emergency communication system. “Prior to Talkaphone, we had emergency phones on campus but they were analog. The main challenge that was maintaining and monitoring without a high level of effort. Also, we wanted the ability to add cameras to the unit so if someone was pushing the button we could immediately see the area and assess the situation,” stated Paulson. Now that UNLV has Talkaphone’s products deployed, safety and security communication is more efficient not only for the safety of the campus but also streamlines the monitoring and accessibility for the staff.
