By AUDREY WOOD
BYU students are feeling the brunt of the two-week-long US West strike. Students requesting phone hook-ups are waiting two to three days beyond the normal 24-hour service period, and students who need a new phone line or re-wiring can expect to wait up to three weeks.
Apartment manager for Summerhays apartments, Connie Myers said students are complaining about the lack of phone service.
'I had a girl call me last night, saying she was upset about not having her telephone hooked up. I told her there was nothing we could do,' Myers said.
US West spokesperson Michael Frandsen said there are ways to avoid delays in phone hook-ups.
'We (US West) suggest you don't wait in line, but use the internet. Students have access to the internet. A lot can be done over the internet,' Frandsen said.
US West customers can go online to do the intial 'paperwork' to set up or transfer services. Once the information is received by US West, they will contact the customer with specific information about the new or changed service and arrange installation.
A US West press release said this new option saves customers time by letting them go on-line instead of having to wait in line to order new phone service.
'It saves customers having to call in to our business office to give us basic information about their order,' the press release said.
Wayne Voorheis, manager of BYU telephone services, said they cannot help students who need their telephone hooked up.
'In 1989, BYU set up its own phone system to service all BYU-related facilities. For off-campus housing, we have no authority, no stewardship and no jurisdiction,' Voorheis said.
Other telecommunications companies, such as AT&T, cannot service local residents. They service long distance, local businesses, wireless telephones and paging. AT&T spokesperson Sarah Duiskik said AT&T wants to provide residential service, which would be beneficial to residents at this time, but US West doesn't want to sell its market share in residential phone service.
'Right now they (US West) are stonewalling and doing everything they can to block us from offering local services. It (residential phone service) will happen; that's evolution. It takes time, (but) the stalling can't go on forever,' Duiskik said.