With nine out of 10 college students carrying cell phones these days, a growing number of schools are pulling traditional telephone landlines from dormitories, setting up special cellular service, and providing college-specific cell phones.

Technical experts say most U.S. schools are at least considering these and other changes.

"In many cases, students and student expectations are driving what schools need to do," said Greg Tritsch, director of communications technologies for Acentech, a consulting company that has worked with schools on the issue. "Some are waiting to see which competing technology will win the horse race, but most are aware that this issue will need serious attention in the future."

Some schools aren't waiting.

Morrisville State College in upstate New York has replaced landlines in dormitories with cell phones. The University of Scranton in Pennsylvania plans to drop the traditional phone service in dorms this fall, except for a few house phones, and stay in touch with students via their personal cell phones. Austin College in Sherman, Texas, plans to use mainly eMail to contact students.

The University of Cincinnati (UC) is preparing to offer a free "Bearcat Phone" to an estimated 4,000 incoming freshmen at its June orientation through a partnership with Cincinnati Bell.

"The landline probably will be obsolete in five years or so, and we want to be in the forefront of new technology," said Frederick Siff, UC vice president and chief information officer, who believes multifunctional cell phones will overtake laptops. "Students don't carry laptops around constantly, but they always have their cell phones."

Under the voluntary UC program, which is still being fine-tuned, students could get a free standard phone offering basic voice and mobile text and instant-messaging services, buy a trendier thin phone that could offer more data services, or upgrade to a more expensive, multifunctional "smart phone" with a keyboard and features such as Windows technology.

Students also would get access to features such as five-digit, on-campus dialing; wireless access to grades and other academic and campus information; and unlimited local calling to other Bell phones, depending on the rate plan they purchase. Students could reach campus emergency services with the push of one button. Siff said the plan is eventually to use a Global Positioning System to locate a student on campus who presses a mobile help button.

Pricing is still being developed for the rate plans and phones that would be sold to students at discounts. A $510 smart phone with discounts might cost about $420 under the UC program, but Siff thinks that cost could be driven down even more.

UC will invest the equivalent of $1.5 million a year for five years--much of that as new customers for Bell--and Bell will create new wireless internet points and upgrade cellular coverage across campus.