The Uni-Mart that closed at 134 W. College Ave. last semester will be replaced with a business which owners hope will be popular to college students.
The location will be filled by Immix Wireless, a cellular retail store opening in early June.
The store will be student-oriented, said Kim Caronchi, director of marketing for PC Management, an affiliate of Keystone Wireless, the company that purchased Immix Wireless.
"We are very excited about our location being right across the street from campus," she said.
Immix Wireless competes against carriers such as AT&T, Verizon and Cingular Wireless. The Florida-based company plans to focus its efforts on the Pennsylvania market, Caronchi said.
"Those carriers are national in scope and cannot focus their efforts on single markets like we are doing in State College and across Pennsylvania," she said.
Immix Wireless uses Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), a type of technology that allows customers to send and receive calls and text messages, as well as data alerts on news, weather, stock prices and sports scores, she said.
Caronchi said GSM reduces static and background sounds, allowing more people to call in a congested area. Additionally, digitally encrypted wireless codes keeps calls and data confidential, she said.
Some of the other cellular phone providers in the State College area say they are not concerned with Immix Wireless. "We haven't heard about [Immix Wireless] yet," said John Marsden, manager of The Communication Station, 118 S. Pugh St. "We have been in the business for a long time, and there is always competition, but we aren't worried about it."
Immix Wireless is a new company that bought Conestoga Wireless, which is familiar to this area.
"I don't think there will be a big difference in sales," said Mike Strait, manager at ACI, 456 E. College Ave. "It all depends upon how they market their products because Conestoga Wireless has been in town before, so I don't think it will affect us because it hasn't in the past."
Marsden also said there will not be a big difference in sales.
"It might take Immix Wireless a while to have much impact on other providers in the area," Marsden said.
