Cellular FAQ

All cellular requests (phones, Smartphones, aircards) require supervisor approval. Devices over $250.00 require Division level approval. We will accept an email from your Director, Deputy Director, Business Manager or Designate. New users must also sign the Cellular Phone Procedure.

All upgrades require supervisor approval. Upgrades for devices over $250.00 require Division level approval Division level approval. We will accept an email from your Director, Deputy Director, Business Manager or Designate. Send your request to Telephone Services along with the proper approval.

Yes. You may make personal calls as stated in the Lab’s Cellular Phone Procedure and are responsible for personal usage. Examples of allowed calls are: 1) calls to notify family of changes in work schedules or for emergencies 2) to speak to spouse/children/family members/companion regarding their safety or well-being or 3) brief calls within the local commuting area that can be made only during normal business hours such as to a physician, local government agency or repairs for an automobile.

Notify Telephone Services to cancel or suspend the service.  Please have your division inform us if they wish to procure a new phone for you.

Notify Telephone Services. Please have your division inform us if they wish to procure a new phone for you.

Telephone Services has cellular phones available for short term use. Go here for more information.

Yes, if your supervisor has given approval in an email sent to TSC@lbl.gov. Once approved, contact your cellular service provider and advise them you are releasing the number to Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Your cellular number can only be transferred to the Lab’s account if it is the only one on your personal account or is not the primary phone number on your personal account.

Yes, we can release the cellular phone number into your name. You will then need to contact your cellular provider to request that they take over the service. Please note: the actual phone equipment will stay with the Lab. You have 30 calendar days to take over the service before it will be disconnected by the Lab.

The Lab will reimburse for work related calls if they cause a person to go over their calling plan, at the rate of $.06/minute. If the person does not go over their calling plan, the Lab will not reimburse, regardless of the amount of work related calls.

For example:

• A person has a 600 minute calling plan and they went over it by 200 minutes. Their business calls amounted to 100 minutes of their overage minutes. The lab will approve reimbursement for 100 minutes at $.06/minute or $6.00 total.

The Lab will reimburse you for a percentage of your data plan fees depending on the approval you receive from your division.

Coverage varies on the hill due to the challenging topography and use of low-E windows. Adequate coverage is generally available however we recommend using WiFi calling from your cellular phone if your device model supports it and your vendor has enabled it. Please click here for instructions on setting up WiFi calling.

There are voice, data and text messaging plans that can minimize your costs during travel. Contact Telephone Services to let us know your travel dates and which countries you will be in and we can add the appropriate plans.

Contact Telephone Services to make arrangements specific to your needs. We highly recommend you schedule an appointment with us. We can assist you in the process, including such things as backing up, erasing or transferring information to another phone, ensure that billing stops or transfer service to another Lab employee, among other things.

For iPad requests please visit go.lbl.gov/mobile.

There is no Lab account for Apple or Google. You can either use your own if you already have one or set up a brand new one with either your Lab email address or personal email address.

For MiFi requests, please visit our Cellular Internet, Data Services and Remote Internet page for more information.

Send email to us at TSC@lbl.gov and we will provide you with instructions. Let us know if you are an Android or iPhone user.