Lack of Phone Access in
the UP
The UP, and Houghton in particular, is a diverse
area. For being in “the middle of nowhere,” as far as location is concerned,
the area has plenty of “outsiders” and has a constant flow of traveler traffic.
From students who move here to go to school (like me,) to people visiting us
students, to vacationers here for the scenery, the population is consistently
made of various groups of people originating from various places. According to
Detroit Free Press, approximately 20% of Michigan Tech attendees originate from
out of state, and consequently, many of us students have cell phone plans from
companies that don’t service the UP. While
this also has to do with a tower/signal issue, I’m mostly concerned with the
lack of phone stores in the area for us students with non-Michigan serving
phones, and the problems that result from that. The lack of cellphone stores in
the UP leads to a lack of access of technical help and resources.
The definition of access is quite simply just having
connection. (Blackmon) While phones from US Cellular and Cellcom, (the two most
popular Wisconsin-based cell phone companies) do transmit signal to the UP
(barely,) the lack of stores in Upper Michigan and resources to go to for
technical help limits our phone access dramatically. For example, around the second week of school
this year, the USB port in my HTC Merge smartphone broke. With my USB port
cracked and not recognizing anything plugged into it, I wasn’t able to charge
my phone; the only solution to have my phone repaired was to have it analyzed,
and then either sent in for repairs or to be replaced. “No big deal,” I
figured, I’ll just bring it into the nearest US Cellular store. It turns out,
according to US Cellular’s Location Finder, the nearest store is 210 miles
away, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. That clearly wasn’t a trip I could just make one
night after class. I also researched to see if I could find an external battery
charger for my phone, to bypass the USB port; but the HTC Merge is a phone made
specifically for US Cellular, so parts for that phone are only sold in stores.
So, for the next three weeks, until I was able to travel home for the weekend,
I had to live almost cellphone-less. I say almost because I could ration out my battery power over
the course of the weeks, but anyone who has a smartphone knows that a battery
doesn’t last more than a few hours, so essentially; I was left without access. And
if the same would have happened to someone with a Cellcom plan, they would have
been slightly better off, only having
to drive a quick jaunt of 93 miles to reach their store location, (one way of
course.) (Cellcom)
When I interviewed
a friend at Tech who has a plan with Cellcom, he said, “It becomes very
inconvenient when I have questions about my phone. Trying to troubleshoot a
problem with someone over the phone is so much more difficult than if I was
able to walk into a store, where the associate could see and work with my phone
in person, rather than trying to give me step-by-step instructions over the
phone so I can try to fix my phone myself.” Technical problems happen all the
time, especially on pieces of metal that are designed to be short-lived. It’s
as if phones these days are designed to fall apart after a certain amount of
time. So it becomes very problematic when people with technical problems or
questions have nowhere to go for help.
If there is a “plus
side” to be considered, the majority of people who move up here for long
periods of time with an out-of-state provider are tech-savvy young adults. So
at least we can be considered “Digital Natives” and can do a great deal of
problem-shooting ourselves with minor issues on our phones, since we are
characteristically fluent in the ways that our phones are set up. (Palfrey
Gasser) However, if for some reason afamily with older “Digital Settlers” or
“Digital Immigrants,” who didn’t have quite the versed know-how in how to deal
with ever-changing forms of technology, had moved up to the UP and didn’t
switch providers to someone who has a location in the area, they would have no
place to go to ask an assistant for help when they needed it.
But, no matter how tech-savvy
a person is, if a phone is broken, a trip to the store is pretty much the only
solution. Calling an IT help number and having the phone shipped to them to
inspect is an option, but it is a long, expensive, and equally limiting option.
Also, when the
nearest phone store to Houghton is around a hundred miles away, the phone
company assumes that the users don’t leave the radius made by the stores. I do
receive nationwide signal, but as soon as I leave the Green Bay area, I’m
instantly roaming. Roaming can drain a battery from looking for a nearer tower
and can slow loading and downloading times. And, if my family didn’t have a
nationwide plan, having a roaming phone could rack up fees for my phone very fast. For some people who rely
heavily on their phones for minutely updates or impromptu business information,
having a roaming phone could be a deterrent from traveling away from home.
Living almost 300
miles away from home and on my own, having a cellphone is essential. I use my
phone for calling my parents back at home. I use my phone for checking my
emails and newsfeeds between classes. I use my phone for looking up information
during class. I use my phone as a
security system through the school. Without a working phone, all these daily
tasks were revoked from me, and with a phone that only works when the roaming
signal lets it, these access-privileges are only conditional. When my access is
limited or removed completely, I’m not able to function to my full capacity.
Clearly, there is
an easy solution to this problem of lack-of-access. The expansion of a company
to offer services closer to the UP area would be expensive, but might be worth
their while considering how many Wisconsin students attend school up here and
how many visitors the area draws. Access to a fast, reliable, working phone,
and access to help when that phone breaks should not be a privilege, it should
be a right.
Works Cited
Blackmon, Samantha.
"(Cyber)Conspiracy Theories? African-American Students In The Computerized
Writing Environment." Labor,
writing technologies, and the shaping of composition in the academy.
Cresskill: Hampton Press, 2007.
"Find A
Location." Cellcom - Clearly the Best. New Cell, Inc. , 2012.
Web. 13 Oct 2012. <http://www.cellcom.com/location.html>.
Jesse, David.
"Michigan Colleges Go Out of State For Students." Detroit Free Press. (2012).
Levande, Justin.
Personal Interview. 12 10 2012.
Palfrey, John, and Urs
Gasser. Born Digital. New York: Basic Books, 2008. 1-15.
"Store Locator." US
Cellular: Hello Better. US Cellular, 2012. Web. 13 Oct 2012.
<http://www.uscellular.com/storefinder/index.html>.
