Some Cingular Wireless users on campus lost mobile phone service for much of the weekend while the company performed maintenance upgrades.

There were two overnight interruptions in wireless network coverage in the New Haven area during the weekend, although certain areas in the Elm City may have experienced longer breaks in service, Cingular Director of Regional Public Relations Kate MacKinnon said. Students with Cingular Wireless cell phones said they were disappointed with the unexpected interruptions to their service.

MacKinnon said the interruptions were necessary to improve the company’s service.

“One of [the interruptions] was on Friday from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. and one … was on Sunday from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m.,” she said. “There are some very small pockets … where the maintenance was still being done [after that], but these were upgrades. For the majority of customers, it was well within the maintenance window.”

Still, some students said they were confused by the lack of notice from Cingular prior to the interruption.

“It would have been nice if they had told us beforehand that they would cut off our service,” Lee Komeda ’09 said.

Kimberly Bloom-Fesbach ’09 said she was still able to complete outgoing calls, albeit with difficulty, but was unable to receive incoming calls.

“I would press ‘Call’ and it would say ‘Call failed’ … a couple of times before I got through,” she said. “When people tried to call me, it would go straight to my voicemail.”

Leon Kotlyar ’07, who reported similar problems with his cell phone during the weekend, said he found the interruptions disruptive but short-lived.

“I couldn’t get any reception the night of Saturday into Sunday,” he said. “It was annoying, but it didn’t last long, fortunately.”

Students with other network providers said they did not experience any disruption in their service.

Martha Legocki ’08, a Verizon Wireless subscriber, said she saw no change in her service.

“I can’t remember a time I’ve ever experienced that sort of problem,” she said.

Cingular Wireless performs most of its maintenance upgrades during off-peak hours, MacKinnon said.