Katie Ward, Staff Writer

Due to a lack of available phone lines, Appalachian State University students may have problems placing long distance calls between the prime-time hours of 9 and 11:30 p.m, according to a residence life spokesperson.
 
Director of Housing Brad Reid said numerous on-campus students have complained of receiving unexpected busy signals when trying to dial long distance numbers via campus service, AT&T's ACUS system.

 The ACUS system allows students to dial long distance by entering their individual code, Reid said.  However, problems within the system release a busy signal before the code can be entered.

 There are approximatly 1800 available lines, Reid said. This number cannot accommodate the estimated 2000 students who wish to use them during this time frame, he said.

 In order to correct the problem, Reid said AT&T is planning to install a T- 1 line, which will increase the capacity of the system and hopefully accommodate excess users.

 "We are keeping our fingers crossed and hope that is what is causing the problem," Reid said.

 Reid encourages students to report their problems, in order to have them documented and analyzed further.
 
 If a problem is experienced, students need to contact the Department of Residence Life and be prepared to answer a series of questions, which may include the number dialed, the time of the call and how long it took to get through.

 "We hope that students are not just tolerating the problems without reporting them," Reid said.

 Although this is the first time a problem of this sort has been experienced, there were similar difficulties with the phone lines last year, Reed said.

 Parents could not get through to campus during certain times of the day, and students had difficulty making local calls.  Bell South installed NAR lines to eliminate this problem.

 A number of states have also changed their area codes, without reporting the change.  As a result, some students are having trouble calling out of state, if they are unaware of the change.

 "Unless someone reports the change in area codes, the AT&T system will not recognize the problem," Reid said.

 Suzonna Schlenk, a freshman from Asheville, said she has been affected by problems within the ACUS system.

 "I did not know what to do or even how to call long distance (when I first got here)," Schlenk said.

 "After I got the busy signal, I called the ACUS 800 number and they said it would take seven to eight minutes before someone could help me," she said.
 To avoid problems, some students, like freshman Jason Kovalcin, resort to other long-distance calling means.

 "I did not want to deal with the code and trying to get through, so I use my own calling card," said Kovalcin, who is from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

 Although around three dozen students have reported similar problems within the past three weeks, there have been no reports of difficulties outside of the specified time.

 In order to report problems with the ACUS system, students should contact Glenda Wheeler of Residence Life at 262- 2278.

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