Weinberg senior Steven Eilers thinks there should be someone outside of the Technological Institute to warn students, in a scene straight out of a Verizon commercial, "Don't go in - it's a dead zone."
Though Tech might remain a dead zone, NU Information Technology is working to improve the "hit or miss" cell phone reception on other parts of campus, said Wendy Woodward, director of technology support services. A distributive antenna signal will expand cell phone coverage in residence halls by mid-October, she said.
The signal will improve service from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless in the Communications Residential College, International Studies Residential College, Kemper Hall, Bobb Hall, Slivka Residential College and University Career Services, Woodward said.
The buildings were chosen based on the results of a survey given to students living in residence halls last spring.
Marjorie Gallagher, a Weinberg junior, lived in Bobb last year and had trouble finding a place where she could make calls, she said. Even when the call went through, it was often dropped, she said.
"My phone would cut out every two seconds," she said. "My parents would get mad."
Improved cell phone service will make parents happy they can reach students in their rooms, which was a goal of the project, Woodward said. For areas that still have problems, she said the university is revising landline plans to give students another option.
But campus will still see some dropped calls. Tech and Norris University Center still have little to no reception with many providers.
With enough student demand, the cell phone improvements could spread beyond dorms if funding is available for the project, Woodward said.
She added that the service providers themselves need to make changes as well.
"We have no control over where the carriers choose to improve their services, but we can do things inside buildings and have started doing that," she said.
AT&T is working on improving its reception in Evanston, said Jesse Lam, a sales representative at the Evanston store. The store recently received an e-mail from AT&T saying the provider was installing "repeaters" in Evanston starting last month. The signal bounces off the repeaters to expand reception in the area, he said.
As a store that serves a lot of NU students, the Evanston location will continue to work to make sure students are getting good reception, but it might not be perfect all the time, Lam said.
"People think that if you don't have full bars, you won't be able to make a call," he said. "You still can."
Except when you can't, said Cailie Lauesen. The SESP sophomore, who has an AT&T iPhone, has had trouble making calls in Norris University Center to meet with group members for class projects, she said.
"It's a pain when I didn't get service," she said. "I would have to walk outside in the cold."
Shannon Rosenauer, an international student from Singapore, talked to friends at NU before choosing Verizon as her service provider.
"I heard Verizon was the best on campus," the McCormick freshman said. "I even get service in the basement of Norris."
As a NU tour guide, Eilers, who has AT&T, draws on his own bad experience with missing calls to warn prospective students that their new iPhones might not be the best choice for NU, he said.
When his friend went to the emergency room after a football accident recently, he called Eilers to come pick him up. But Eilers was in the Big Ten Room of Norris and was a victim of spotty reception.
"I didn't get the phone call," he said. "He walked home with a broken nose."
kirstensalyer2007@u.northwestern.edu
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