Bixby began researching VOIP more than a year ago and has deployed about 300 IP telephones, half the number being rolled out. Costs for the district will total US$300,000 over five years, but Bixby has not calculated the value from added emergency preparedness and other benefits, including the need for fewer PCs.

In the future, the school district hopes to use Alcatel's IP telephony to interface with SIP-based videoconferencing technology, which would be invaluable for distance learning, he said. Tests of three videoconferencing systems are under way.

In comparison, some businesses have saved money on maintenance and toll calls. PPL Corp., for instance, saved more than $1 million a year with a VOIP system put in place two years ago, said Dave Stever, manager of communications technologies at PPL, an electricity supplier in Allentown, Pa.

Vantis Credit Union in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is basing a projection of a 15 percent to 20 percent improvement in revenue on Nortel Networks Ltd. IP-based videoconferencing kiosks that will be deployed in eight locations over the next two months, said CEO Michel Audette. The revenue boost would come from not having to staff offices in remote locations, as well as attracting competitors who might be interested in merging with Vantis, he said.

Another Nortel customer, Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga, Tenn., has seen productivity gains from Nortel technology, since nurses can respond quicker when a patient needs assistance, said John Haltom, network manager for the health care provider. The health system has 1,500 IP phone users, about 20 percent of the total it plans to deploy, he said.