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Cellular and smartphones
Yale ITS Network Services can furnish cell phone service at a negotiated rate. Because we manage all phones for the university, our rates are driven by the number of university users. The more cellular users, the lower the monthly charges.
The purchase of a cellular telephone from a different provider without involvement of the Network Services Department may not be reimbursable by the University. Please be sure to call 432-2001 for assistance before purchase.
Pre-purchase advice
For some, the new breed of Smartphones offers a good combination of mobile communications and personal data management tools. Others find smartphones too cumbersome—they may prefer basic cell phones for voice communication and PDAs for their data requirements. Yale Telecomm offers several cell phone and smartphone models for domestic and/or international use that should be ordered via START. Other PDAs and mobile devices may be purchased online using the Yale ePortal.
If you work with health information, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliance may limit your choices for smart phones or mobile devices. For more information on Security and compliance issues, please see this page, Contact Yale Telecom or your ITS support provider for additional advice in choosing a device that meets your needs and will provide functionality to comply with applicable University policy.
Yale University supported vendors
Verizon (Cell phones, Blackberry, Palm, Smartphones)
Nextel (Cell phones, Blackberry, Two-way radio communication)
T-Mobile (International voice & data via Blackberry and Smartphones)
AT&T (iPhones)
Personal use - Yale discount for employees plan
In addition to providing cellular service for business related issues, we have negotiated plans with our cellular service providers, Verizon, Nextel, T-Mobile and AT&T to provide cellular telephone service for personal use for all Yale University employees. Contact information for personal use:
Verizon - Jennifer Palmer (203-258-2198)
Nextel - Maria Xaiver (860-513-5483 work or 860-867-7164 cell)
T-Mobile - TJ Murphy (203-435-5976)
AT&T - Corey Barrett (860-513-7866 work or 860-280-6079 cell) or click here for internet ordering.
Please stop by 221 Whitney Avenue, 1st floor to pick up information regarding the employee cellular plan or call 432-2001 to request information be faxed to you.
How do I choose a calling plan?
Your business manager or department head has given their approval for you to get a wireless phone for you to use for business purposes here at Yale. What calling plan is right for your needs? You don't want to select a plan with too few or too many minutes, or worse yet, a calling plan that doesn't fit the areas where you call and where your calls originate. So how do you select the calling plan that's right for you? Ask yourself these 2 simple questions and you'll be well on your way in settling on the perfect plan.
1) How are you going to use the phone?
Will it be used for emergencies only? Will it be used for calling back to the office while you're on the road or roaming the campus? Do you make a lot of local calls (local calls for cell phones here in Connecticut include the ENTIRE state of Connecticut for the calling area) or will you be making a lot of long distance calls outside of the state? Do you travel a lot? When traveling, are you in constant touch with the office, or is the office in constant touch with you?
Now that you've figured out how you're using the phone ask yourself:
2) How many calls am I going to make and receive each month?
Asking yourself this question will help you determine the number of minutes you'll need per month. Don't forget, if someone calls you on your cell phone those minutes spent talking are charged to you. Combining this with the first question will help you determine the type of minutes you'll need. "I only call within the state and I stay within the state" - I need local minutes only. "I travel a lot and call back to the office frequently" or to other states - I need national minutes. On average, a business call is 3 minutes in duration. Using this average plus the amount of calls you make or receive each month can help you get a handle on your minute needs.
When it comes to minutes, more isn't necessarily better. While the average number of cell phone minutes used per month in the U.S. jumped 74% to 422 (about seven hours) last year from 242 in 1999, according to J.D. Power, the number of minutes paid for but unused more than quadrupled, to 333 per month from 75.
In summary, once you've figured out what type of plan suits your calling volume, think about the type of calls you'll be making.
If you use the cell phone just to keep up with what's going on at work or to check your voice mail, a local package might be the best choice, but you'll pay extra for long-distance calls.
If you're going to make frequent long-distance calls or travel a lot and make frequent calls back to the office, a national plan is the best choice.
Please click here to view the calling plans available at Yale.
Order or change service
Faculty & Staff
To order, change, relocate, or remove service, please click here to use START. Please include the following information:
- Make and model of cell phone
- Name of person who will be using the cell phone
- Calling plan desired (How do I choose a plan?)
- Name and telephone number of the "contact person" - used for delivery purposes
Repair
For repairs, please contact:
Andrea Capelli - 432-6987
Randy Wanciak - 432-2016
Billing inquiries
For billing inquiries, please contact:
Andrea Capelli - 432-6987
Randy Wanciak - 432-2016
