Rotary dials, spiral chords and the ringing of landline phones are on the out in today’s modern media world. The Nielsen Company’s latest study shows a rise in household transitions to wireless-only statuses. The survey collected data from more than 32,000 online and mail respondents in the U.S. ‘While [88 percent] of U.S. households have a wireless phone in 2009, most still maintain a traditional landline at home,’ said the Dec. 21 study. ‘However, this is changing. In the second quarter of 2009, [more than] one in five households reported they are wireless-only – an increase of 16 percent from the past year.’ This increase comes from households which have dropped their landlines and from young adults who start new households with just a wireless phone service, according to Nielsen. ‘I don’t use [landline phones],’ said Dax Johnson, psychology sophomore. ‘I use my cell phone most of the time.’ Johnson said cell phones are more convenient than landline phones, a major reason landline phone usage has decreased. Jay High, Residential Life communications manager, said the trend of mobile phone use only has translated to the University’s residence halls and apartments. ‘A couple of years ago, we did a student survey … and what we learned is more than 95 percent of students use cell phones as their primary source of voice communication, and they rarely, if ever, used their landline phone that was provided in the residence halls and apartments,’ High said. The Residence Hall Association, a student-run organization, requested Residential Life no longer include landline phone service in rent expenses and instead provide wireless Internet in the residence halls and apartments, High said. ‘We now have wireless high-speed connectivity in all residence halls and undergraduate apartments,’ he said. ‘[Students] are pleased with it, but people are expecting to be wireless more and more these days.’ As of fall 2009, all residence halls and apartments had high-speed wireless Internet and no local phone service. Students can contact Information Technology Services to arrange for local, long-distance and answering services, High said. Martina Mayer, history senior, said neither she nor her roommate used the landline phone in their dorm room. ‘A landline phone’s function is purely communication,’ Mayer said. Renee Arostegui, mass communication freshman, said she prefers having high-speed wireless Internet rather than a landline phone service in her dorm. Arostegui said cell phone-only homes will likely become the norm in the U.S. Brandon Orr, leasing agent, said a landline phone plan is included in rent at Oakbrook Apartments and Suites. Orr said residents use the landline phone to open the gate for visitors, but problems arise with the gate because many residents do not use a landline phone or do not have one. Kristine Calongne, Public Affairs assistant vice chancellor, said professors at the University are more likely to use e-mail and the landline phones in their office to communicate during the day. Bobby Pitre, executive director of Facility and Utility Operations, said his department uses a mix of landline phones, personal cell phones and LSU-issued cell phones. ‘Most of our supervisory staff and technicians’ work are spread out on campus,’ Pitre said. ‘When we need them, [having cell phones is] the best way to get in touch with them quickly. It does decrease response time. During an emergency or crisis, it does give us another avenue to communicate. It really helped during [Hurricane] Gustav.’ Pitre said the University gives cell phones to Facility Services employees who are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Cell phone bills vary between $40 and $60 a month within Facility Services, he said. Pitre said Facility Services includes more than 560 employees, and only 39 staff members have LSU-issued phones, varying from standard flip phones to BlackBerry phones. Some employees have campus-issued radios, but the radios are more expensive than the cell phones, Pitre said. Tammy Millican, Facility Services manager, said in an e-mail to The Daily Reveille, the University’s cell phone policy may be changing to a stipend system instead of paying cell-phone bills. Pitre said the cell phone policy change will most likely help the University save money. —- Contact Mary Walker Baus at [email protected]