Help Desk - Allegheny College

Home > GatorNet > GatorPhone

Students living in residence halls on the Allegheny College campus and those living in college owned houses receive their phone service through Alltel. We encourage you to bring your own phone; if you don't have one you will have to check with your RA to arrange for a phone to use while you are at school. These phones must be returned at the end of the school year to avoid being charged.

GatorPhone uses a Centrex phone system that provides many services that you may even have on your home phone right now:

Long Distance Service - you must use the PIN number you receive when you arrive on campus to be able to dial long distance.
Caller ID - this shows you the number of the incoming call so you can decide whether or not you want to answer the phone. You must have a phone with a Caller ID display built in or a seperate Caller ID display unit to use this feature.
Call Waiting - if someone tries to call you while you are on the phone with someone else you will hear a "beep." You can answer, if you want to, by holding down the switchhook (that's the button in the handset or on your phone that you push down to hang up) for about a second before releasing it. You will be on the line with the other caller and the previous caller will be on hold. To go back to the first caller just repeat this process. (NOTE: Some phones now have a "FLASH" button. This button will connect you with the other caller when you hear the beep so that you won't have to press the switchhook.)
Speed Calling 10 - allows you to dial the people you call the most just by pushing one or two buttons. Speed Calling 10 lets you program up to 10 frequently called numbers, whether they're local or long distance.
Three-Way Calling - you can talk to two people at the same time with three-way calling. This is good if you are trying to plan a study session with a couple of your friends. Instead of calling back and forth to decide on a "best time" you can talk to them both at once.
Last Number Redial - allows you to dial the last number you called with just the push of a button.
Message Center Voice Mail - this is probably one of the most favored features. You will have a state of the art, computer based, broadcast voice mail system that allows callers to leave messages in your own private mailbox if you're on the phone or are out when they call. With Message Center, you and your roommates have your own mailboxes; they can't listen to your private messages and you can't listen to theirs.

IMPORTANT: All phone problems must be reported to the Telephone and ID Coordinator's office at (814) 332-2748.