Although NIU provides a telephone in every residence hall room, these phones are being used less as cell phone use is on the rise.

“Over the past four years, NIUTEL has observed a steady decline in long distance calls made from residence hall phones,” said Elizabeth Leake, associate director of ITS customer support services.

The decline is largely due to the increasing popularity of cell phones because they are mobile and offer attractive free-nights-and-weekend packages, Leake said.

NIUTEL has generated less revenue due to more cell phone use, but they have not lost money, she said.

“We haven’t been able to investigate as many new technologies or easily upgrade existing ones because we have less money to work with,” Leake said.

While cell phone use is increasing, some students, such as Michael Izzo, a sophomore business management major, still use the residence hall phones, as there is no charge for “753” numbers.

“I use the dorm phone for all numbers that are ‘753,’” Izzo said.

There is also no charge to receive phone calls, only a charge to call out.

“I think the best part of having the phone here is being able to call people [who] live in the dorms,” said Jacklyn Trznadel, a freshman pre-elementary education major. “I’m not wasting my cell-phone minutes, which is good.”

Although many students use cell phones, Trznadel and Izzo both say they are irritated by them.

“At first I liked having a cell phone a lot because I thought it would be cool to have all this stuff on it,” Trznadel said. “But now I actually hate it because I’m just spending more money that I don’t have.”

Izzo said the only reason he bought a cell phone was for his job.

“I hate all cell phones in general,” he said.

To recover some of the revenue lost from the decreased use of residence hall phones, NIUTEL is looking for service options that will be more attractive to students.

One service ITS is offering to students is the Ruckus Network. Ruckus is a campus entertainment network that provides access to a large collection of movies, music, TV shows, reviews and local entertainment listings.

“Ruckus is currently being provided by ITS for free in a test environment in Grant Towers,” Leake said. “If the response to our test is favorable, Ruckus service could be offered to all residents.”

Residence hall telephone rates

Local calls – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Rate: $0.15 per minute

Type of call: In-state Daytime/Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Rate: $0.10 per minute

Type of call: In-state night/Weekend/Monday-Friday 11 p.m. to 8 a.m.

Weekend/Friday 11 p.m. to Monday 8 a.m.

Rate: $0.08 per minute

Type of call: Out of State Night / Weekend / Monday-Friday 11 p.m. to 8 a.m.

Weekend / Friday 11 p.m. to Monday 8 a.m.

Rate: $0.09 per minute

Type of call: Directory Assistance

Rate: $0.75 per minute

Source: www.its.niu.edu/its/niutel/rates.shtml