Keeping with the growing demand for interpersonal communication, UNITS has added new services this year to benefit the Ohio State community, especially off-campus residents.
In addition to on-campus residential phone, long-distance and cable service, UNITS now offers OSU Wireless and OSU.web.net, its new cellular and Internet services.
Most of UNITS older services were marketed to benefit people living or working on campus, but the new services will also benefit off-campus residents.
OSU Wireless has contracts with both Sprint and Cingular cellular phone companies. UNITS offers personal and business calling plans from both companies at a discounted rate, said Lisa Calcara, spokeswoman for UNITS.
“We looked for the companies with the best deals to bring back to the students,” Calcara said.
Sprint offers its customers 300 anytime minutes, with free nights and weekends for $30 a month. OSU Wireless offers the same plan for $1 less, a savings of $12 a year.
Calacra said the monthly savings are the primary benefit for students.
OSU.web.net offers three different plans to off-campus residents, with the most expensive being $8.95 for unlimited dial-up Internet access. Like OSU Wireless, UNITS takes care of all billing and customer service matters for OSU.web.net.
Janet Bauer, a senior in athletic training, said her family has no need for either of the new services, but admits that the prices of the Internet plans attract her.
“$8.95 is as good of a price as you’re going to get,” she said.
Calcara said 836 students use OSU Wireless and 1,115 students subscribe to OSU.web.net. She said UNITS is constantly changing its services and plans to keep up with consumer demand.
Calvin Keller, a junior in animal science, said he subscribed to OSU.web.net before transferring from the Ohio State Agricultural Technology Institute at Wooster.
“It did everything I needed it to do,” Keller said. “The speed was even comparable to the broadband cable modem services.” He said he will subscribe again when he buys a new computer.
