Some students are still having trouble making and receiving calls on campus phones, even though TuftsConnect says it has fixed the problems that have plagued the campus telephone network since the start of school.
Students in dorms from Miller Hall to South Hall still get busy signals when dialing out, and off campus callers cannot reach them.
"I've been getting a busy signal for weeks," freshman John Glidden said last night.
Some students suspected their phone lines were disconnected because they had not paid for service, but even paying customers have experienced problems.
"My bill has been paid and I still can't receive any calls," said sophomore Adam Stahl, who lives in Bush Hall. "It's really getting frustrating."
Director of networks and telecommunications Lesley Tolman denied there was still a problem. "My understanding is that [the phones have] been working up and properly now," she said. "The problem was resolved last Thursday."
Campuslink, which provides phone service to student rooms, was unaware of the problem at Tufts until it was reported last week. When officials began working to restore service, they said the complications may have been a "ghost" problem in network software which would be tough to diagnose and difficult to repair. "You've fixed everything you can fix and its still not working," Marj Minnigh, Manager of Networks and Specific Projects, told the Daily last week.
TuftsConnect determined that the problem lay in the connection between Tufts' four phone systems, including the administration and student phone networks. But TuftsConnect could not find the cause of the blocked connection and turned to the hardware manufacturer for a solution.
Technicians changed the electronic hardware and wiring involved in the tie-lines between phone systems. But the problem remained and repairs attempted last Monday accidentally connected many students to the New England Medical Center instead of the on-campus number they had dialed. The center, which is affiliated with Tufts' medical school, makes use of the University's phone system.
