Busy Summer Ahead as UC Mobile Moves Forward

After a high-profile premier of the new name "UC Mobile" during the "Meet Me on MainStreet" celebration, the partnership behind UC’s connectivity enterprise – offered by UCit, powered by Cincinnati Bell – is now poised for a busy summer of forging plans into reality.

Beginning with Freshman Orientation sessions that start in late June, new UC students will be signing up for UC Mobile cell phone service. When they arrive for classes at the end of summer, not only will they be using UC Mobile cell phone service, but they will be introduced to a slate of specialized UC Mobile applications that will truly put UC’s campus on the cutting edge while making their lives easier and their time more productive.

"Just rolling out a neat phone is not enough," says UC Vice President and Chief Information Officer Fred Siff. "You have to have ‘killer apps,’ and they have to be so compelling that students will want to drop whatever plan they have so they can get this."

So, while standard cell phone options are immediately available – albeit greatly enhanced by the three-bar coverage signal that will be guaranteed on more than 90 percent of UC’s campus areas – it is what is currently in production that will become the defining elements that help UC Mobile draw in Bearcat customers.

• Blackboard Unplugged: Students will receive SMS messages on their phones informing them of changes in their courses and other important information related to academic life here at the university. "That was identified as a feature students wanted in student focus groups we conducted, and we really think it will be viewed as a ‘killer app,’" says Siff.
• Shuttle Bus Notification: You’ll be able to use your phone to determine the real-time locations of UC shuttle buses, as well as their estimated time of arrival at selected pick-up locations. "That was another item the focus groups liked, and student government loved it, so we are aggressively looking into providing that," says Siff.
• Way Finder: Users will be able to navigate around the UC campuses, as well as Greater Cincinnati, by getting directions from their phones.
• UC Mobile Help: Phones will have pre-programmed access to UC Public Safety for campus assistance, making this a portable cousin to the UC Help Phone system.

Each of these features is in development, as UC Mobile works towards the point later this summer when students will begin picking up their phones and using them on campus. Microsoft is helping UC Mobile with the development of the Shuttle Bus Notification and Way Finder applications. Another vendor has come in to help with the Blackboard Unplugged programming.

"We are building these applications from scratch," Siff says. "The words ‘leading edge’ are bandied about quite a bit in our field, but what we are looking to provide will truly be leading edge among all universities."

Incoming students will begin learning about UC Mobile at Orientation, which starts on June 22. Orientation leaders will have the free basic phones on hand that come with enrollment in the UC Mobile plan. They will also have information about phone upgrades that are available that will provide users with more minutes, more services and, if chosen, fully functional smart phones that can match the capabilities of top-level smart device systems available anywhere.

"Some people have asked: why are you doing this in an environment where we have a budget problem?" says Siff. "And the answer is that this won’t cost money. This effort is self-supporting, and what it will do for the university is powerful – it will create a connectivity environment that is world-class."

Once the UC Mobile network is fully in place at more than 650 access points around both the Uptown West and Uptown East campuses, the UC neighborhood will be the largest public access Wi-Fi hotspot in the state of Ohio. Data services including wireless access for PDAs and laptops will extend across the campuses and as far as a half-mile out into the surrounding communities.

"This will be big and it will be seamless," said Siff. "You will be able to travel around and find connectivity throughout the area. We’re building this in part to be fully supportive of the idea of the Uptown region."