Freshmen at Auburn University in Alabama who want to know how their cell phones really work can dedicate the next four years of their lives to studying it.
This fall, Auburn will become the first school in the country to offer a four-year bachelor's degree in the study of wireless technology. The program, offered in the university's school of engineering, was jump-started by a $25 million donation by Auburn alumnus and former Vodafone chairman Samuel Ginn.
It's perhaps an idea whose time has come, but while the wireless technology industry has grown exponentially in recent years, the future isn't as clear as some phone companies would like you to believe your calls will be.
There are currently 137 million wireless phone subscribers in the United States, but Probe Research recently said the market was near saturation. The wireless phone industry is in such disarray that Merrill Lynch recently made the unusual move of recommending that its investors reduce or sell their shares in companies offering mobile-phone services.
Other non-cellular wireless systems are facing similar problems -- at least in the private sector. For example, the global positioning system (GPS), which the military and police use to track people's location by using satellites in space, has been considered for possible consumer use. But because of its cost and concern over loss of privacy, it has been limited to installation in high-end cars and cell phones.
Victor Nelson, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Auburn University, said the school is well aware of the current economic state of the industry. The program's advisory board, including members Verizon Wireless, Nortel Networks, Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola and Vodafone, have written letters acknowledging that things are a "little shaky," Nelson said.
But they have also consoled the school that the shakiness won't last and that, yes, they are still interested in hiring graduates, Nelson said.
Auburn's wireless degree program "shows that there is agreement that this (the wireless industry) is something that will grow as we go along," said Nokia spokesman Keith Nowak.
The school's wireless engineering program is a joint venture between the departments of electrical engineering and computer engineering, Nelson said. All engineering students are expected to complete liberal arts and general engineering classes the first two years of school. They then can focus on wireless during their last two years of study by taking courses such as Wireless Design Lab, RF Devices and Circuits, and 3G and 4G Wireless.
Ed Reynolds, president of network operations for Cingular Wireless and a member of Auburn's electrical engineering advisory board, said majoring in wireless engineering is "a good idea" for students who want to work at firms such as Cingular. However, he and members of other firms noted that they hire workers with other engineering degrees as well.
"The wireless industry, notwithstanding the current economic climate, is a solid enterprise for the future," Reynolds said. "We're going to have wireless for a long, long time."
Nelson estimated that between 30 and 50 students have signed up for Auburn's wireless engineering program since its inception three months ago.
"We expect many freshmen to transfer into the program this fall," Nelson said.
While John Jansen, a 20-year-old student enrolled in the program, said he is concerned that "I am limiting myself in specializing in wireless and not working on a double electrical engineering degree," he was excited about partaking in the unique program.
Jansen said he has wanted to work in the wireless industry since his high school days when he did technical support for a small cell-phone company in rural southwest Alabama.
Chris Trueblood, 20, another student at Auburn University, is mulling signing up for the program. Out of patriotic duty, he says, he wants to work on the wireless systems of the Department of Defense. On the commercial side, he likes the idea of working for a cell-phone service provider.
"It's really neat that you can communicate just through the air," Trueblood said in an interview over his cell phone. "Without wires you aren't limited to one specific area. Wherever I go, people can call me. There are a lot of advantages to that."
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