Miami University is an extreme example, where only six out of 7,000 students in dorms requested landline phones this year after the system was upgraded for Internet phones in 2008.
The University of Dayton and Wright State University still offer local phone service to students free of charge.
The access may be there, but the schools say usage among students is down. Long distance use on UD’s campus has decreased by “well over half” in recent years, said Susan McCabe, associate information officer.
Lizzie Bradley, a UD sophomore, said her roommate brought a landline phone to campus a year ago and never plugged it in.
“You are just more connected with your cell phone; it is with you everywhere you go,” Bradley said.
Young people are less likely to have a landline, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics, which estimates that more than 65 million people live in wireless households.
About the Author