Colleges, universities say goodbye to dorm landlines

Ames, Ia. - Two words you won't hear in Iowa State University dormitory rooms this year: dial tone.

ISU is pulling the plug on telephone landlines at a time when students order pizza, plan parties and call Mom and Dad on their cell phones. Colleges nationwide have done the same.

"I haven't used a landline since, like, junior high," said Savannah Palermo, 18, an ISU freshman from Carol Stream, Ill., who moved into Willow Hall last week. Classes start today.

Cell phones and laptop computers keep today's college students connected everywhere, around the clock.

One ISU student sat alone in a Willow Hall lounge last week and talked to a friend via Skype, an Internet video-chat service, from his laptop computer.

It's a far cry from the days when college roommates fought for time on telephones brought from home - or waited in line for hallway pay phones.

Telephone landlines have become a thing of the past at the University of Florida, the University of Nebraska and Penn State University, among others.

ISU officials decided to cut the cord when surveys told them 90 percent of students who live on campus carry cell phones, and more than half didn't use landlines in their dormitory rooms.

In 1999, only about a quarter of U.S. college students used cell phones, according to Student Monitor, a New Jersey market research firm.

"The transition was fast," said Pete Englin, director of ISU's residence department.

University of Northern Iowa student surveys show a similar pattern.

"That's kind of telling us maybe it might not be a good use of their money," said Michael Hager, UNI's assistant vice president for student affairs. "We'll probably evaluate that and make a decision this year."

Landlines have been disconnected in the rooms of about half of ISU's dormitories so far, Englin said. The rest will be phased out and made available by request.

Public telephones also will be available on every dormitory floor for emergencies and long-distance calls made with credit cards, Englin said.

The estimated $140,000 in annual savings will be pumped into other 21st- century dormitory projects, including a $4 million transition to wireless Internet.

ISU students also will notice a new online service that lets them check how much time is left in their washer and dryer cycles without setting foot in the laundry room.

UNI unveiled an online roommate service that matches up students based on their personalities and interests, much like a dating service.