Quad To Receive Cell Transmitters

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences is negotiating a deal with cell phone companies to install transmitters to improve cell phone service in the Quad, according to spokesman Robert P. Mitchell.

The project, which Mitchell said is being discussed with four major wireless carriers—AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon—would seek to amplify cell signals in an area notorious for poor reception and dropped calls.

Currier House Undergraduate Council representative Geroge J. J. Hayward ’11, who is also a member of The Crimson’s editorial board, spearheaded the effort to improve service. He said he believed that poor cell phone coverage is an important safety concern because of the potential for lost time in an emergency.

“In the instance of a medical emergency, someone could have to find one of those red phones,” Hayward said, referring to the ubiquitous yet rarely-used phones in student suites.

After discussions with the UC, the University contracted a firm in October to study signal strength in the Quad, Mitchell said.

Hayward, who has advocated for the project since joining the UC this semester, praised the administration’s responsiveness.

“For the faculty and administration, there was never a doubt it was a severe security issue and we should work to fix it,” he said.

At a recent UC meeting, the deal was estimated to be worth $1.2 million. Hayward said he had heard that figure but added it was possible the number had changed since then.

Hayward emphasized that the deal could still fall through. A budget proposal will be presented to FAS in the next few weeks, and the administration will then determine how to proceed, according to Mitchell.

Many Quad residents were supportive of improvements to cell coverage.

But several said that while frustrated by phone troubles, they found the issue more of an annoyance than a security concern.

Students served by Verizon Wireless reported experiencing no problems at all.

“I’ve heard stories of people having to leave their rooms to make calls. That hasn’t happened to me, but I never have more than two bars,” said Cabot House resident Tom K. B. Wionzek ’08-’09.

Wionzek added that his service worsened significantly when he switched to AT&T after purchasing an iPhone.

The UC has framed student life reforms as health and safety issues in the past too, a strategy they employed last year in promoting a change in the academic calendar.

Despite the poor reception, not all students were in favor of installing new transmitters in the Quad.

“I don’t want some random antenna being put up,” said Yang Gao ’11, a Pforzheimer resident. Jokingly, he added, “It could give me brain cancer.”