UNR plans to install cell service site in knowledge center
A mini cell service site will be installed inside the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center by mid-January, so people can dial 9-1-1 in the brick building. Until the cell site is installed, people can dial 9-1-1 on a landline at the help desks throughout the knowledge center.
Students said they are frustrated with the lack of cell phone service and some said they worry about how to call out in the case of an emergency.
“How am I supposed to make a call?” said Tyler Cravines, an 18-year-old jazz studies major. “What are people supposed to do if there is an emergency? You can’t get calls in or out.”
With the installation of the mini cell site, safety and convenience will no longer be an issue, Kenneth Hull, the UNR cell phone support manager, said. Once the deal is finalized, AT&T will put phone lines through the building that will create full service for AT&T cell phones and other users with similar technology. Cell phone users who don’t get full service will still be able to call 9-1-1.
“This is not a police initiative, but I wholeheartedly support the installation of equipment in the Knowledge Center that would increase the ability to communicate via cell phone,” UNRPD Director Adam Garcia wrote in an e-mail.
The cell support team works with AT&T to ensure that all buildings have service available for students. Plans to install the mini cell site have been pending for several months, but have been slow due to various surveys and tests.
AT&T surveyed the area to determine what kind of equipment would be most beneficial, Hull said. AT&T decided that a mini cell site would be more useful than a cell phone repeater, which duplicates surrounding reception for cell phones to pick up.
The cell phone support team did not expect there to be a problem with service and have been working to fix the problem since last spring, Hull said.
“The initial surveys of the building (before it opened August) showed that we did have cell coverage,” Hull said. “We do realize now that (cell phone service) is poor and almost nonexistent.”
The support team expects service to get worse due to the increasing amount of students who go to the knowledge center and split up the already limited service, Hull said.
The mini cell site will cost $141,000, but due to deals with the university, AT&T will pay for 85 percent, or $120,000, of the cost.
The Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center building fund, which was supported by donations from the Nevada State Legislature and Chuck and Ann Mathewson from International Game Technology, will cover the remaining $21,000.
Throughout the long installation process, students are upset about the building’s inconvenience.
“It’s good they are fixing the problem,” Dana Bautista, an 18-year-old pre-nursing major, said. “If I am ever expecting a call, I have to go upstairs or wait outside. It’s such a hassle.”
Tara Verderosa can be reached at tverderosa@nevadasagebrush.com.
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November 25th, 2008 at 2:14 am
So while a 25% tuition increase is being considered we spend $21k for students to text. I may be the only one to notice that there are “blue light” systems in the library plus land lines, as well as people, to call on for help on each floor. By the way, my Verizon service has been fine in the building except in the media center downstairs.
November 25th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
I’m glad to see that Ken Hull and company were able to get this taken care of. It is a minor annoyance to not have cell service in the KC compared to the litany of problems that were being experienced on a daily basis in Getchell. Now, if only AT&T would improve coverage near Sierra Hall…