<p>Any suggestions on cellphone service providers for cellphone use within dorms? </p>
<p>Alltel is currently very good (not perfect) in areas around Chapel Hill (personal experience) but we've heard both good and bad things about it on campus itself. Good rates/service for those with a focus on the Carolinas.</p>
<p>Cingular is rumored to have good service on campus but not so good off campus. They partnered with UNC on the "Carolina Wireless Initiative" that stopped in 2006. I heard they have a tower on campus as a result of the CWI, but I'm not sure who/what to believe.</p>
<p>Haven't heard much either way about Verizon</p>
<p>Anybody have any "real" experience they would be willing to share about service within dorms or maybe other buildings on campus?</p>
<p>cingular and verizon both work well. i know sprit is kinda shi*ty but dont know about altell. i know within UNC hospitals that both verizon and cingular work decently. and you can get a discount at cingular with your one card (or you could before anyway).</p>
<p>My d has very good service with Cingular. Just don't count on getting many phone calls through during the week of OOS CTOPS which overlaps with the opening of the dorms. What a zoo....nothing but busy circuit signals for days.</p>
<p>My son originally went to UNC with our existing Alltel service. He had a horrible time getting service at most locations on campus, so we switched him to Cingular. He has had no problems since then...Many of his friends have Verizon, and that works fine too.</p>
<p>Verizon tends to be kind of crappy out in Carrboro, but I had great coverage on campus!</p>
<p>I never was able to get Verizon reception in my off campus apartment (in Carrboro on Smith Level Rd). When I called to complain about it, they mentioned there was a new tower going up sometime this year (too late for me, but it should help reception overall in the area).</p>
<p>Cingular is the accepted wireless network on campus, but I do have a friend who doesn't get some of my calls for mysterious reasons (such as getting the missed call the next day).</p>
<p>Bottom line, I'd go with whatever family plan your family subscribes to as it won't make much of a difference either way and would be cheaper for your family that way.</p>
<p>"and you can get a discount at cingular with your one card (or you could before anyway)."</p>
<p>can anyone elaborate on this whether this is still true or whats the discount amount? and is there anyway i can buy one now and get the discount? (i'm going to attend in the fall as freshman but i'm visiting this week). </p>
<p>oh and for oos ppl did you guys keep your old phone numbers+area code or did you switch to the new area code and get a new number</p>
<p>hinvestorp, I don't know about UNC students. But my d. attends a school where almost everyone is OOS--they all seemed to keep their home cell numbers--after all everyone stores in their phone book, so its not like you have to look up.</p>
<p>There was (and may still be) a program offered by Cingular to UNC students for a wireless program price that included a good price for phone and a bundled service package that was better than one could get on their own. It included free long distance, mobile-to-mobile, text messages etc at a slightly better price than our local (Texas) plans offered. There was a fairly good discount on the phone itself and I think there were several phones and packages available. The only problem for some might be that it was done through the local division of Cingular so you got a local (NC) phone number.</p>
<p>It was called the Carolina Wireless Initiative and there was a link on the Carolina website for it. Incidentally it still shows that it is there under "Student Services" but when I just clicked on it, it showed "URL not found." They may be modifying the program. As I recall, we got a mailer during the summer before freshman year that outlined the details of the program and you could sign up online and pick up your phone during move-in or orientation, whichever came first.</p>
<p>I just found this on doing further digging:</p>
<p>"Carolina Wireless Initiative (CWI)</p>
<p>The Carolina Wireless Initiative (CWI) was a partnership between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Cingular Wireless created for the purpose of enhancing the educational experience of UNC-CH students by providing integrated wireless and wire line telecommunications services. This included a variety of competitively priced wireless products and services which provide the ability to wirelessly access a number of University provided technology services.</p>
<p>**The CWI program was discontinued as of April 2006, and is no longer supported by ITS. Please contact your preferred wireless service provider for information on available service plans and pricing. [more info]"</p>