By RYAN TUNKS

Staff Writer

Faculty, students and staff have the chance to jump aboard the new cell phone package being offered at Niagara College.

John Levay, director of information technology services at Niagara, has been in contact with Telus, Rogers and Bell to find an affordable cell phone package to be offered at the school.

 Bell offered the best plan with a $22 a month deal.

A large number of dead zones have become present at the Niagara-on-the-Lake and Welland campuses. 

 “The students would program their Blackberry’s then go outside so they could get a signal,” Levay said.

 To eliminate the dead zones and provide three bars of service, the college is allocating $100,000 to each campus for Bell to delete the drop calls by installing cell repeaters and booster antennas at both locations, to produce a better signal throughout the campuses. 

The upgrades are taking place over the summer months.

 The deal for the college came into existence on June 1.

Levay applied for request for proposal to Convergent Telecom to see if the college can obtain government pricing. Convergent Telecom is an affiliate of Bell.

Roland Bissell, president of Convergent Telecom said, Niagara Purchasing Committee developed the deal that is being offered at Niagara College. 

The college works with Convergent Telecom, which is a commercial partner in the Niagara Research services at the Niagara-on-the-Lake campus. 

With Bell, the college had to sign a three-year contract for the service.

But if Bell cannot offer what the college needs, then the college is free to look elsewhere for service.

“It’s another service offered to improve student life at Niagara College,” said Jacquelynn Perzul, student council president at the Welland campus. 

It’s important to save money with the economy in its current position, she said. 

The $22 a month includes 250 base minutes, unlimited text messages, voicemail, and unlimited weekend and evening calling after 6 p.m. The cost for additional minutes is 10 cents; long distance within Canada is 10 cents and 15 cents for the United States. 

“This will eliminate financial burden as the cost is quite low compared to other service plans and include popular features,” Lana Hardwick, financial aid adviser said.

For more information or if you have questions about the Convergent Telecom deal log on to www.convergewireless.com/niagaracollege. 

Convergent Telecom will be on site for 2009-2010 orientation.