Besides the domestic long-distance plans, UIS said international calling rates have been lowered as well--some by more than 50 percent.

The task force, which is made up of council members and UIS officials, has been working on the issue since last fall. Kinchla said she was glad that council representatives brought their perspective to the table.

"I think where they were the most helpful was in helping us understand what kind of plans the students were looking for," Kinchla said.

But one change students have requested--lower fees for the basic local calling plan--was a issue the task force didn't tackle.

"Twenty bucks a month for a phone line is very fair and it's what you're going to pay for Bell Atlantic or anything else," said Todd L. Plants '01, chair of the task force.

Phone rates can only go so low, Kinchla added, because UIS is also recovering the cost of wiring the campus for data and phones in 1990.

But UIS and the council hope students will be satisfied with their smaller phone bills.

"We've done about the best we can do," Kinchla said.