How many cell phone providers can you name? Verizon, Cingular, T-Mobile, Sprint-Nextel, Cincinnati Bell, and University of Cincinnati. No, that is not a typo. With high hopes, UC plans to offer students an urban campus that is without landlines.
At the January meeting, the UC Board of Trustees gave its approval for a contract between UC and Cincinnati Bell that will make cell phones available to UC faculty, staff, and students. This deal went into effect on February 1 and will cost UC $1.5 million a year for five years. This agreement sets up what Fred Siff, UC Vice-President for Information Systems, refers to as the “Mobile Connectivity” project. This project will include the “Bearcat Phone.”
The Mobile Connectivity project is the first step to removing all the landline phones on UC’s uptown campus. More importantly, this project calls for Cincinnati Bell to sell cell phone minutes to UC. UC in turn will set up a “co-branded” marketing arm to resell those packages with cell phones to students and, likely, smart phones to faculty as an official “Bearcat Phone” for a discounted price.
“UC would not own the infrastructure,” Siff said, “but would essentially be a value-added re-seller of cell services–branding, tailoring and managing the offering.”
Testing of the “Mobile Connectivity” project will begin Fall Quarter 2006 for the first time. The project will be installed one residence hall before moving to others. Remember, this project will initially cost UC $1.5 million dollars a year for five years.
With “Mobile Connectivity” still in its planning stages, there are still details to be worked out.