Not so long ago, it was a novelty for muffled ringing to escape suddenly from a fellow student's backpack. But thanks in part to the advent of the digital network, it seems that students taking advantage of cellular technology have become far more commonplace.
Because clarity, quality of service and cost effectiveness have improved greatly since cellular technology first appeared in the mid-1980s, students have found owning a cell phone to be an increasingly attractive alternative to the conventional ground phone line.
Fourth-year College student Betsy Bagnell depends on her Nokia 5160 to contend with her 12-hour workday, which includes trips to and from Grounds, as well as her part-time job at West Main Street's Starr Hill Art Gallery.
Before signing a lease, each of Bagnell's 13 housemates opted to equip herself with an individual cell phone, as opposed to signing on for a regular Sprint ground line. Her housemates now never have to hassle over unknown calls when billing time comes around, or fuss around in drawers to find pens for taking down phone messages.
"There are, in fact, no drawbacks to having a cell phone," Bagnell said, loud and clear in a phone interview over her carrier, the Suncom network. "It's ideal for a busy student because anyone can always reach you."
In addition to convenience, most cellular calling plans offer total-package features such as voice mail, call-waiting and caller ID. It is in the area of cost, however, that some say going cellular is the most attractive option. Prices for a Nokia or Audiovox phone start at $29.95 at the U.S. Cellular retailer in Rio Hill Shopping Center and monthly phone bills also can be as economical.
Since the Charlottesville area is covered by three major cellular networks, providers often undercut each other to win more lessees. Suncom's offering of 600 minutes for $40, for example, can be reasonably pitted against CFW Intelos' 500 minutes for $35 with free in-state long-distance calls.
Alltel, the area's largest provider of analog service, will promote the market even further when it joins its competitors in the digital era later this year.
"It's getting to be that the cell phone is no longer the luxury item but the necessity item," said Jamel Joyner, a sales representative for Alltel's Virginia operation.
Most monthly student phone bills run around $50 for local service, including state and local taxes. The long distance bill for students averages another $30 to $50. In addition, students often pay $12 or more for common extras like call-waiting, caller ID, and call forwarding. In the long run, going cellular can come out to be less expensive by as much as 50 percent. However, cellular technology, for all its advances, remains far from perfect.
"We operate a military-level PCS system, but every network will have problems just because cell phones are basically souped-up CB radios," said Erica Gillespie, a sales representative for Sprint PCS. "Signals get lost."
But even providers of conventional telecommunications seem to recognize that the dawn of cellular technology is at hand. Sprint's "goal is to have every home line changed to a PCS line in the next 10 years," said Gillespie.
Still, the Charlottesville cellular market may change in ways that close observers may not have anticipated.
Dominic Volte, Sales Manager at V-Tec in the Cherry Hill Shopping Center, joked that University students do not frequent his store.
"U.Va. students won't come here. I've got the best deal in town but it's the V-Tec name," Volte said. "I have to change the name."
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