By: Lizsandra Trastoy / Contributing Writer
The battle for cell phone reception at Biscayne Bay Campus remains a day to day struggle for some students at Biscayne Bay Campus. Students demand cell phone reception for daily social interaction. Usage may also pertain to access to Internet and email while on campus.
Goldie James, sophomore Hospitality and Tourism Management major recently changed cell phone carriers from T-mobile to Sprint because she believes T-mobile delivers poor service on campus.
“Cell phone reception is very limited here at Biscayne Bay Campus. If I had no reception, I would go to any office and ask a clerk for a phone,” James said.
In emergency situations, students would need to step outside and further away from the building. Yet, at the Modesto Maidique Campus, cell phone reception problems are virtually non-existent.
“I sometimes find missed calls and emails at the library and in every corner because of poor reception.” Carold Casimyr, a senior in the civil engineering program said. “I would [need to] find a computer and I would use email as a way of communicating.”
The problem, however, does not apply to all students with different cell phone carriers.
Some students like Christina Yidi, a sophomore student majoring in Biology, has no issues with the cell phone reception at BBC.
“I’ve heard Verizon is the best, yet my family has AT&T and it’s really good in reception.”
Madison Moreno, a sophomore student majoring in public relations, believes the lack of cell phone reception is on purpose.
“I’ve heard that most schools do it on purpose. It’s a cell phone block in reception in order to prevent students from using their cell phones in class,” Moreno said.
According to the Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dr. Shekhar Bhansali, the reason BBC may have an issue providing decent cell phone reception relates to the building’s physical structure.
“The problem with cell phone signal at the campus is due to the iron and metal in the buildings, and that’s when shielding happens,” said Bhansali. “No one likes to put antennas inside of a building.”
“Shielding” refers to a barrier that blocks the signal.
“The middle of the building is called a dead zone. A dead zone means there is no signal,” Bhansali said, “I would doubt it’s a problem with cell phone companies.”
Although some phone companies may be superior to others in signal, if the problem with reception persists, students can find reception by leaving the Academic One and Two for the Hubert Library and other areas around the main buildings.
Its true the cell reception at BBC is terrible.