Nationally, the use of traditional landline telephones has declined sharply.
That decline is prevalent at local college dorms where cell phones are the preferred way to communicate.
Lizzie Bradley, a UD sophomore, said her roommate’s landline phone has yet to be plugged in a year later.
Bradley says they rely strictly on cell phones and computers to communicate.
Of landlines she says: “I think it will end up where you will have to request one if you want one.”
That is already the case at Miami and Ohio State universities, but locally UD and Wright State University still offer traditional phone services that school officials say are preserved primarily for safety reasons.
“While several universities with older phone systems have discussed dropping landlines because of the age of their systems, and because many students have cell phones, we have decided to keep landlines for safety notifications in the event of an emergency,” said Dan Bertsos, WSU director of residence services, in an e-mail message.
Both schools use an emergency contact system that can place thousands of calls an hour to student phones to broadcast a message in the event of an emergency.
McCabe said UD periodically tests its messaging system that calls, e-mails and text messages students in the event of an emergency.
“Hopefully we’ll never have to use it,” she said.
The Columbus Dispatch contributed to this story.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2342 or cmagan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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