News

Hanging up on land lines

Varnit Khanna
September 23, 2002

A few years ago cell phones were the size of bread boxes and owned only by Zack Morris.

But with wireless phones replacing land lines, the results are anything but “Saved by the Bell.”

“It won’t be long until land lines completely disappear,” said Lon Wilcox, manager of Radio Shack, 1405 Buckeye Ave.

As wireless prices drop and minutes-per-month soar, more students are abandoning land lines.

Brian Fiscus, junior in computer engineering, and his three roommates don’t have a phone in their apartment – instead, they use their cell phones to make personal calls.

“There’s lots of ease in using a cell phone, especially when you are constantly moving,” Fiscus said. “You don’t need to deal with $125 deposits every time you move into a new apartment.”

In addition, many students are giving up their land lines to save money on long distance calls.

“I save hundreds of dollars a year on long distance,” said Isaac Schoff, freshman in elementary education. “I already have a cell phone, so why should I use my room phone and pay long distance charges twice?”

Land line providers are feeling the effects of cellular phone popularity – especially Iowa State.

“There’s been a 60 percent decrease in long-distance calls made through the university in the last five years,” said John Kingland, director of ISU Telecommunications. “Students can buy phone cards from Wal-Mart, use e-mail or call long distance on their cell phones. The use of room phones is definitely declining, at least for using long distance.”

With all these changes, Kingland said it’s a real possibility that the ISU residence halls will become completely wireless.

But he said before land lines disappear, cell phones must improve in two ways.

“The first reason is security,” Kingland said. “If you call 911 on a land line, they instantly know your location, but if you use your cellular phone, you have to tell them your address.” He also said cell phones are “less reliable than land lines” because they need “constant charging.”

However, with both issues being resolved, Kingland said he could foresee a wireless campus in the future.

Other than long distance costs, students are willing to give up their land lines for other reasons.

“Phones are fast becoming an all-in-one device,” said Brad Wilson, employee at Digital Connect, 213 Duff Ave. “Everything that you would have to buy separately – such as a PDA, MP3 player, caller ID and laptop – can be found on one phone.”

Some students find new innovative features (wireless Web surfing) and others not so innovative (voice equalizers).

“Most people don’t buy the newest phone for those features, but simply to have the newest phone,” Wilson said.

“You don’t need to buy the most expensive phone available,” Schoff said. “I did and I use very few of the features on my phone.”

While the use of such features is debatable, Wilcox is optimistic about the future of wireless. He foresees the end of land lines in homes in 10 years.

“If a $35 monthly cellular phone bill is the same price as your land line, what’s the point of having both?” he said.

“Wired phones will soon be a thing of the past in houses, and Iowa State is not far behind that trend.”

Mobile vs. Land

MOBILE

U.S. Cellular

Local 450 Plan

Cost per month: $35, 450 anytime minutes, unlimited night and weekend minutes

$25 activation fee

$150 early termination fee

$0.35 each additional minute

nationwide long distance

Verizon (verizonwireless.com)