Unit 4: phone response

The University of Kentucky and other schools like the University of Nebraska and The College of William and Mary have removed land line phone services from residential halls to save money and relocate funds previously spent on an unnecessary expenditure.

An alternative perspective to land line removal should not be overlooked. An institution concerned with safety, like Western Kentucky University, or one that does not save a discernible amount of money from removing land lines may choose to not follow the cost-saving trend.

While researching this cost saving trend, I assumed all land line service systems were the same and a savings could be made from removing the service altogether. My brother-in-law works for Bellsouth Communications and was able to educate me on the different telecommunication service systems offered to a mass group of people, like those commonly found on a college campus (personal phone conversation, October 16, 2009). College campuses typically use either a T-1 service, trunk line service, or an IP or phone-over-the-Internet service.

A T-1 service system typically has a server box located in various building (i.e. dorms) and can service 100-500 phones lines, depending on the size of the server. This phone system is more modern and expensive than a trunk line system. The University of Kentucky used a T-1 system. A person does not need to dial "9" to reach an external line. A trunk line system was used by many of us during our "dorm days." The trunk line system services the entire campus. A prefix and number pattern from 0001 - 9999 is given all lines; calls can be made internally by simply dialing the appropriate four-digit number. A number like "1" or "9" must be dialed to reach an external line. It is cost efficient, but outdated. An IP phone system is controlled by an Internet service provider and is the most modern system that is widely available. It is not cost-practical to offer this system to an entire campus community. Most college employees use an IP system that offers functions for messaging, call forwarding, and ring tones.

Western Kentucky University, my alma mater and former employer, uses a trunk line service system throughout its campus. The Director of Telecommunications, Edwin Craft, was asked why the university had not followed a similar cost saving approach as the University of Kentucky and removed all landlines in residence halls (Baker, 2008). He responded that the savings would be as noticeable since a flat rate for the trunk line service was paid for the entire campus. The campus currently shares the cost of the land line system between several departments. Furthermore, Craft brought up the issue of safety and its relevance to the land line system. The topic of safety was an original thought found through the literature I read regarding this cost-saving trend.

Western Kentucky University has had some safety concerns over the last 15 years; two were national recognized on major networks. A projected image of campus safety is essential if Western plans to continue its state leading enrollment pace. Craft intelligently squashed the topic of cost saving and diverted the interview dialogue back to safety. He said, "Removing the service would also hinder the effectiveness of Western's new emergency phone notification system that is designed to alert students with a phone call when there is a crisis on campus. It's (campus phone service) still a lifeline and safety device provided to the students. The system makes about 200 calls per minute as part of our crisis communication plan."

Last fall an alleged shooting took place on Western's campus in two different locations on the same day, the Main and South campuses (Dearbone, 2008). A friend of mine was working on campus the day of the incident. She was unable to make a call out or receive a call on her cell phone due to the mass hysteria; cell phone towers were unable to handle the capacity of calls being made and received (personal phone conversation, October 22, 2008). The emergency alert system used to send text messages and call campus phones was the most reliable method for informing people of the campus lockdown. Oddly enough, the interview Craft gave to the local paper justifying the use of landlines as a safety measure happened one month before the alleged shooting took place; impeccable timing Craft.

The point to this post is that campuses will need to continue identifying cost saving measures. It is important to remember institutional priorities when making these decisions. Western could have removed land lines in residence halls and possibly received some public recognition. Administrators realized safety was a higher priority and utilized the phone system accordingly. The campus took a technology that had grown obsolete and made it productive once again through a modern technology.

References:

Baker, J. (2008, September 15). WKU considers nixing dorm phones. The Daily News. Retrieved October 14, 2009, from http://www.bgdailynews.com/articles/2008/09/15/news/news2.txt.

Dearbone, R. (2008, October 23). WKU students coping after alleged shootings. Message posted to http://www.wbko.com/home/headlines/32703384.html.