DCU STUDENTS last week became the first European guinea pigs for the latest application of telecommunications technology: the virtual phone.
Virtual telephony is basically a voice messaging system where non telephone users are given a telephone number that stores messages from callers which can be retrieved later by the owner of the number. Students picking up their messages use a freephone number and PIN to access them or to change their greeting.
All DCU students have received a directory listing every virtual phone number in the university. So far, more than 2,000 have chosen to make their number "active".
"For the individual student or parents its a great way to keep in contact," says Micheal MacConmara, head of education services in DCU. "But apart from that it's a great way for students to keep in touch with each other."
The possibilities are, of course, endless (messages about going to the pub or needing money or apologising for last night's indiscretion) but given students' penchant for making lengthy phone calls, it's fortunate - that the cost is, so to speak, virtually nil.
The system may be extended to other colleges if the DCU experiment is successful, which means that soon students all over the country may be irritating and possibly offending each other with voicemail messages. Truly, we live in great times.