"This arrangement is effectively an outsourcing. AT&T would have to administer billing and customer service in order for this to be offered," Summerall says. The University and Bell Atlantic would continue to control local service and prices for options such as voicemail.
Summerall explains that this program enables students to take advantage of all rate plans advertised by AT&T, including the $0.10 per minute plan.
Though AT&T would take over HSTO, the arrangement would not affect the Admin Telephone Services office, which manages faculty and staff service, nor would HSTO cease to exist.
Summerall says he doesn't see any downsides for students and expects AT&T will bear a decrease in revenue to be competitive.
"There could be a financial or organizational downside for the University. I don't know--I would think that there would be plusses and minuses," Summerall says. "We think this is a good program for students."
Summerall says that this structure has been implemented in a couple of schools in the Northeast as a pilot, though it is new this year. He didn't disclose which schools, however.
"This has become our lead offering in our current negotiations with schools," Summerall says.
University officials could not be reached in time to comment on the AT&T plan, but to students who pay anywhere from a few cents to several thousand dollars in phone bills, it's an easy call.
"My friends at other schools brag about their $0.10 plans," says Michael A. Blaustein '02. "I think Harvard should definitely negotiate and get a better deal."
--Luis S. Hernandez Jr. contributed to the reporting of this article.