U of MD keeping landline phones

In a contrarian move, the University of Maryland doesn't plan to get rid of its dorm landlines. Students are puzzled as to why and annoyed at the telecommunications fee they are stuck with to keep the legacy technology up and running.

The vast majority of students - if not nearly all of them - don't bring landline phones to school - they've been mobile for a while, leaning on their cell phone to call friends and family. However, on-campus students are stuck with a $12 telecommunications fee that includes the cost of operating and maintaining a phone line as well as the data network.

University of Maryland officials point out that dialing 911 from an on-campus landline phone connects students directly to a dispatcher with the University of Maryland police, while calling 911 with a cell phone isn't going to get you there. And the University doesn't want to assume everyone has a cell phone when they come to school.

For more:
- LNewsChannel 8 reports that the Terps like their landlines.

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