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news
Dorm phones actually
cheaper
By Kimberly Pasquis
On-line Forty-Niner
When Annie Morris,
a sophomore liberal studies major, received her phone bill
last month her balance was $37.15, the highest she ever had
to pay. In the amount of minutes that she had used she had
been charged an average of 10 cents a minute.
Residents of the housing system on campus have found their
phone bills to be high and have turned to alternative forms
of communication such as cellular phones and calling cards.
Since many residents are from out of the area, keeping in
contact with family and friends has been expensive.
"I have stopped using the phone in my room because it
is too high," Morris said. "I am now using my cell
phone because I get better rates."
Morris has also been making arrangements with family members
to call her instead of keeping track of cell phone minutes.
There is more to the phone system on campus than what is being
perceived. What seems like a way for the campus to make
money off their residents is actually a more cost-effective
arrangement than the average off-campus student has.
In having a phone provider such as Verizon or AT&T, basic
charges are paid each month just to have phone service.
With Verizon, a phone line with voice mail, call waiting,
an unlisted number and basic service taxes and surcharges
will cost close to $33. Additionally, a separate fee is required
to set up the phone line at the beginning of service.
Residents do not have to pay for these charges. They pay for
only their phone usage.
"The phone service that they receive does get a bad reputation
," said Stan Olin, director of Housing and Residential
Life. "The question is what are residents getting
that they are not paying for."
Residents do not have to pay for all of the services that
are being provided, according to Char Hanky, director of telecommunications
for Information Technology Services.
"We are not just providing a long distance calling card
but a full-service utility," Hanky said.
Rates for phone calls are determined by two factors: how many
miles the call is made to and what time of day the call is
made. All local calls are free and long distance calls are
based on AT&T commercial rates, discounted by 10 percent.
An average for the rate per minute for phone calls is difficult
to determine because the rates are tiered based on those two
factors, Hanky said.
Housing used to have a separate phone provider that was much
more costly. In 1991, GTE was the phone service provider but
residents were not connected to the campus system as phone
lines are now. They could not use the five-digit dialing
to make on-campus calls. All 911 services were directed to
the city of Long Beach dispatchers. Residents had to
individually contact GTE in order for their services to be
connected.
The campus wanted to improve the existing services. In 1992,
the campus selected the Ericsson telephone system, which tied
the dorms into the campus. The system also provided students
with free voice mail and call waiting. Residents are now directly
connected to University Police in the event of an emergency.
Separate bills based on authorization codes for each user
are also provided for each person in the room.
But the use of these telephone lines is beginning to decrease
as cell phones become more popular.
"There has been a drop in usage," Hanky said. "But
this is not unique to our university. The industry is looking
at that trend and the campus has looked at offering cell phones
to students.
"This is a large investment for the campus," Hanky
said. "It is not going to be changed on a whim.
With things changing with the educational budget we will be
affected. But we are not looking to spend money on something
we already have."
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