Irate parent prevails in having antennas removed from school's rooftop
May 29, 2008
STATEN ISLAND, NY - After a parent saw a radio frequency warning sign in a third floor stairwell in his child's school, he became concerned about the effects that it might have upon all students and was successful in having the Department of Education remove numerous antennas and a microwave dish that had recently been installed on top of the school's roof.

Until further information could be presented to parents of children in Staten Island's Intermediate School 34, the DOE requested that Motorola remove the antennas belonging to a city-wide communications network for firefighters and other first responders.

The antennas had never been operational since the radios had not been installed.

Resident questions: Is a cell tower considered an incurable defect?
May 22, 2008
MODESTO, CA - A resident wants to know if a cell tower could be considered an incurable defect since he believes it does deter people from buying a property, in particular a million-dollar property adjacent to what most people would perceive as an unsightly structure, not to mention perceived health risks, even if there are none known.

He also wants to know in real estate circles, if properties like this are less desirable than the exact same properties without a cell tower adjacent to it?

Dr. Thomas Musil, the director of the Shenehon Center for Real Estate in the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, has the answers.
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Council members opine on Sheriff's concealed pine tree
May 19, 2008
AFTON, MI - They are used to concealing their sheriff's vehicles to apprehend speeders, but now the Washington County Sheriff's Department will be concealing one of their 800-megahertz towers behind a stealth pine tree.

After a debate lasting more than three hours on Tuesday, the Afton City Council voted 3-2 to approve a Washington County application to build a public safety radio tower in the city.

The tower would be one of 14 serving Washington County under the new radio system, a state effort to bring counties onto the same radio frequency in the event of a disaster.
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Selectmen say $1.25 million isn't enough for tower
May 7, 2008
NEW FAIRFIELD, CT - Members of the Board of Selectmen have decided not to accept a $1.25 million offer for a long-term lease of the town's cellular tower offered by Unison Site Management of Massachusetts.

While $1.25 million sounded very tempting to some Board members -- especially during a tight budget year - they said they looked at the potential for the future and decided to keep it.

They noted that based upon the current annual revenue, the tower could bring in excess of $5 million to the town in the next 40 years. The tower has added $500,000 to town coffers since it was built about five years ago.

New Jersey judge's ruling in favor of tower to be appealed
April 25, 2008
BARNEGAT, NJ - Dozens of residents had the opportunity to act within 45 days when an ordinance permitting construction of a cell tower was initially proposed in June 2003, but they didn't. Instead, they filed a lawsuit in Ocean County against Barnegat to prevent the structure from being built on Old Lower Shore Rd. Their suit said that the township had not identified exactly where the tower was going to be built.

Superior Court judge Vincent J. Grasso dismissed their complaint this morning, stating that the town notified residents that cell towers could be constructed on various township-owned parcels, which would include the property on Old Lower Shore Road.
Michelle Donato, attorney for the residents, said she would appeal the ruling.

The township zoning board has not yet decided whether it will permit the tower to be built on the site.

You can't put your car on blocks in East Hampton, but possibly a cell site
April 24, 2008
EAST HAMPTON, NY - Tower site developers find that the tony Hamptons are difficult communities to work with when seeking cell site approval, but T-Mobile's recent proposal might calm the permitting seas.

The carrier has presented the East Hampton Planning Department with a proposal to place a cell tower antenna discreetly inside the mast of a dry-docked sailboat at a waterfront location, such as a marina, where a sailboat on blocks would blend in with the scenery.

T-Mobile's transmission equipment would be installed in the underbelly of the boat to completely camouflage the tower and equipment.
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Historic New Hampshire rock tower could double as cell tower
April 24, 2008
RYE, NH  - Travelers traversing the New Hampshire coastline know Pulpit Rock Tower on sight.

At 86 feet tall, the concrete monolith on Route 1A in northern Rye has served many purposes in its 65-year existence - from Navy spy station in 1943 to a New Hampshire Fish and Game outpost most recently.

But a proposal put forth by Verizon Wireless could soon give the landmark a new title - cell tower.
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Folks are getting noisy in Boise about Clearwire's application
April 23, 2008
BOISE, ID -  Residents surrounding Longmont Street and Broadway Avenue are mounting a campaign against a proposed wireless internet antenna that Clearwire wants to erect on top of the Tates Rent building.

The resident leading the charge against the internet provider says that the antenna's RF exposure can cause the following laundry list of health problems: cancer and brain tumors, Alzheimer's senility and dementia, Parkinson's, autism, headaches, sleep disruptions and fatigue, altered memory function, poor concentration and diminished spatial awareness.

"That's really outside our venue," said Jerry Todd, public information manager for Planning and Zoning. • • • more

Orthodox church provides some divine intervention
April 15, 2008
SPRINGFIELD, VT -  Last week the town Planning Commission gave its approval to a presentation from Unicel to replace wooden louvers in a church steeple with fiberglass ones and install three 5-foot panel antennas in an area of town where cell phone users have found poor and sometimes nonexistent service.

The Russian Orthodox church on Park Street is located on a high point in town, and overlooks the downtown area. It will have an equipment room on the third floor in addition to the antennas in the church's bell tower.

There are several other cell towers camouflaged on other downtown buildings, including the Huber Building and the First Congregational Church in Springfield.

With the addition of the Holy Trinity cell site, and recent new towers on Randall Hill and behind the town's sewage treatment plant, the town of Springfield has fewer and fewer dead spots when it comes to cell phone service. Unicel already has a tower along Skitchewaug Trail.

Although there are still pockets of poor coverage in Springfield, such as at the end of Pleasant Valley Road, and on Interstate 91 along the Springfield-Rockingham town line, according to city planners, residents are rejoicing in their ability to call from most areas of town.

Virginia Beach lifts moratorium on new cell sites with approval of monopole
April 10, 2008
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA - Following a short moratorium on new cell towers, the Virginia Beach City Council agreed earlier this week to allow one to be constructed near Laskin Road.

The New Cingular Wireless monopole at the Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club is to be 95 feet tall and located near the club's swimming pool, according to city documents.

The plan was set back last November to give city staffers time to draft a proposal on how to handle requests for new towers.

The city had 10 applications for towers at that point last year; two years earlier, there were three.

Council caves in to avoid Alltel suit scheduled for April 21
April 8, 2008
ALBANY, GA - The Albany City Commission repelled the threat of a lawsuit by Alltel Communications LLC during a special called meeting today when commissioners adopted a resolution authorizing a lease agreement that will allow Alltel to erect a cellular tower on city-owned property off Marlboro Avenue.

Had the council not okayed the resolution, the lawsuit was scheduled to begin April 21.

Alltel Communications had filed suit in U.S. District Court claiming the city had violated the Telecommunications Act of 1996 when it denied a rezoning application in December that would have allowed the company to erect the tower.

Haskell, Slaughter, Young & Rediker, represented Alltel in the legal action.

Illinois School Board holds out for half of cell site's $24,000 annual contract
April 2, 2008
KANKAKEE, IL - The Kankakee School District 111 Board of Education wants half the revenues or will have nothing to do with a proposed $24,000 annual contract to construct a cell antennas on the water tower behind Kankakee High School on 1200 West Jefferey.

The board on Monday sent the contract back to Aqua Illinois Inc. to renegotiate for a greater share of the proceeds from iPCS Wireless, Inc., an affiliate of Sprint.

Aqua Illinois owns the water tower, which is located on school district property, and the two parties have to negotiate their share of the new contract. Aqua Illinois proposed a two-thirds share of the $24,000 antenna contract for itself, which the school board rejected Monday by refusing to vote on the proposal.
 

Residents claim property values will be affected by ill-conceived perceptions
April 1, 2008
PASADENA, CA - Two proposed cell towers are not in their town, but residents at the edge of town are fighting the structures that are not subject to Pasadena's temporary ban against such structures.

Neighbors are worried that the cell towers would reduce their property values and present a health hazard - even though the federal government has determined there is no evidence that cell towers are dangerous, and realtors cannot identify that a home's value will be devaluated.

However, residents say it is the perception of negative health effects that will affect their property values.
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Indiana county seeks to cut out nighttime white strobe lights
March 24, 2008
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, IN - A communications tower in Liberty Township that has generated complaints from neighbors has prompted the Porter County Commissioners to seek new tower lighting regulations.

The proposed ordinance would prohibit flashing white obstruction lights during the nighttime, except if dictated by state or federal agencies. If the lighting is required, the lighting must be duel lighting to consist of red lights for nighttime and medium intensity flashing white lights for daytime and twilight hours, under the proposal.

The county's master plan has a section about tower illumination that states that the lighting should adhere to rules in place by Federal agencies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration. But Porter County Plan Commission Executive Director Robert Thompson believes that the FAA and the Federal Communications Commission appear to have only guidelines on lighting and not set rules.

The commissioners needed to agree to forward their proposed ordinance to the plan commission before further action is taken.

North Carolina county urges carriers to use their water towers
March 22, 2008
HARNETT COUNTY, NC - Harnett County commissioners have approved changes meant to encourage wireless communication companies to alter the way they site their towers in the county.

County Manager Neil Emory said the county has rewritten some sections of their ordinance to strengthen their ability to get companies to co-locate, or do a better job in concealing their towers. Building new tower should be the last option, he said.

Harnett County officials have tried to get wireless companies to locate on county-owned water towers, but they haven't had any takers to date.

Cell tower gets company in Canandaigua, New York
March 18, 2008
CANANDAIGUA, NY -Another cell tower will soon be constructed beside another one outside of the wastewater treatment plant on Saltonstall Street in the city. The City Council recently finalized plans for the Verizon Corp. towerConstruction of the 125-foot structure could begin as soon as the contractor gets a building permit from the city, which should be approved within a week or two of the application's submission, according to Acting City Manager Kay James.

Verizon Corp. will pay an initial annual rent of $13,000 that will be increased 3 percent per year every year following.

Another conflict at Antietam surfaces as tower developer eyes site near historical Maryland battlefield
March 14, 2008
SHARPSBURG, MD - An application to build a controversial cell phone tower a short distance from the Saratoga Battlefield in Schuylerville, NY, was withdrawn this week, but a proposal to build a cell site near the edge of the Antietam National Battlefield is under fire from preservation groups.

However, the developer of the site, Liberty Towers LLC of Rockville, says the new cell site would not overwhelm the battlefield seen nationally as a model of historic preservation since the 120-foot structure would be concealed as a farm silo to blend in with the rolling farmlands of Western Maryland.

Liberty Towers has yet to file for permits, but the company recently floated a tethered trial balloon to illustrate the height of the proposed silo. The site is one of several that the company is considering.
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Illinois funding will assist U.S. Cellular in rural buildout
March 11, 2008
U.S. Cellular Corp. has won approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission to receive universal-service-fund subsidies to help it build cell phone towers in rural locales that are without cell phone service.

State certification is required before a company can receive money from the fund, which is operated under the control of the Federal Communications Commission. While many other states have received tens of millions of dollars from the fund, which is financed by taxes applied to phone bills, Illinois has gotten almost nothing in the past.

John Rooney, U.S. Cellular's chief executive, said last week that his company is eager to begin building cell towers in communities too small to attract wireless services without a subsidy.

Second time is a charm for Sprint Spectrum
March 3, 2008
HOLMDEL, NJ - The Zoning Board of Adjustment recently reversed a September 13, 2006 ruling and approved an application to place a cell tower antenna on top of the Manzo water tank on Deer Path Road.

Sprint Spectrum appealed the denial of their nine panel antennas proposal in state Superior Court, and Judge Louis Locascio ordered that the matter be remanded to the Zoning Board to hear additional testimony and reconsider its denial of the application.

Sprint had originally filed for several variances, including a use variance to locate the cell tower in an R-40B residential/agriculture zone, and a height variance to allow placement on the 140-foot water tower when zoning ordinances set a maximum building height of 35 feet.

DAS provider files suit in Massachusetts
March 1, 2008
EVERETT, MA - Everett's Board of Aldermen rejected NextG's request in November to install about 20 DAS nodes around the city, prompting the company to file a federal lawsuit last Friday calling Everett's denial "particularly egregious" and "completely subjective," and requesting a court order allowing the installations to proceed.

NextG's push into suburbia comes at a time when many communities are struggling with the "double-pole" phenomenon.

Utility companies often bolt a new pole next to a rotting one for months as they wait for other service providers - telephone, cable, street-light, fiber-optic - to remove their wires before the decaying pole is taken down.

The distributed antenna system is being described by one Alderman as, "gym lockers hanging on the side of utility poles."
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Tower capacity problem hits emergency service providers
February 28, 2008
LICKING COUNTY, OH - It's just not cell sites that have capacity problems. The Licking County Emergency Management Agency discovered in October 2007, following a study of their main communications tower, that the structure exceeded its capacity by 271%.

Unfortunately, the study that might shed more light on the tower's situation was stopped in November. City officials are unable to say why at this point.

The tower that sits atop Horns Hill holds equipment used by the Licking County 911 Center, Newark police and fire departments, the Licking County Sheriff's Office, Newark schools, local government and more.

Many municipal towers throughout the country are overloaded since agencies requiring communications are typically allowed to collocate on the structure without the community identifying whether or not the structure is designed for the additional loading.  

Built, but never activated, cell site will be removed in Pennsylvania
February 27, 2008
JESSUP, PA - In a letter sent to the Zoning Hearing Board, Sprint Nextel withdrew an appeal earlier this week to activate 12 cell phone antennas installed on the diocese-run La Salle Academy and agreed to remove the telecommunication facility within six months. The telecommunication facility had never been used.

Jessup had given a permit in error to Sprint Nextel for building the three sectors in a residential area. After realizing the mistake, the borough revoked the company's permit, issued a stop-work order and filed an enforcement notice.

Sprint responded by appealing the decision to the Zoning Hearing Board, but withdrew it following considerable public comment.

Balloon cell sites will keep tower technicians on the ground in rural areas
February 25, 2008
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - Search giant GOOGLE is already involved in the mobile phone and applications business as well as municipal WiFi; they've also  made a lot of clamor about the 700 Mhz auctions, and they are rumored to be working on an undersea cable project.

The most recent rumor, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal, is they are now looking into the work done by Space Data Corp., of Chandler, AZ, with an eye towards buying it, according to one source.

Space Data's cell site scheme is to launch low-orbit balloons that can be used to transmit wireless services to rural communities where it is unprofitable to set up expensive cell sites.

The cost involves using disposable hydrogen balloons and recyclable transmitters that cost $1,500. Space Data says they can cover about 400 miles.

The approach has its share of competitors that are proposing the development of a new breed of zeppelins to deliver wireless services. When Space Data started floating their idea a couple of years ago, vertical realtor technical types quickly investigated the company's business model to ensure that it wouldn't cut into their leasing business.

If anything, they say, it supplements it by providing wireless coverage in areas that they would find to be unprofitable to serve.
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Tower site developer's suit dismissed in South Dakota
February 21, 2008
YANKTON COUNTY, SD - A South Dakota judge ruled yesterday that the Yankton County Board of Adjustment was within its rights last year when it denied a building permit for a cell tower in the Lewis and Clark Lake area.

Circuit Judge Arthur Rusch wrote in his decision that Integrated Towers Networks, Inc., "has not met its burden of proving that the Yankton County Board of Adjustment's decision was improper."

Integrated Tower Networks filed a lawsuit in April 2007, requesting that the Board of Adjustment decision be reversed and the permit granted in accordance with the county zoning ordinance.

In his opinion, Rusch said, "This proposed usage does not meet the test for an accessory use," he wrote. "The tower is not on the same lot as a principal use, and it is not of a nature customarily incidental and subordinate to a principal use because there is no principal use."

Consultant says that a cell tower has no negative impact on property values
February 18, 2008
HOWELL, NJ -  While the proliferation of cell towers has improved communications, especially in rural areas, homeowners in primarily residential communities are finding it a hard pill to swallow.

However, according to Howell Township's wireless communications consultant, it is generally accepted and evidence shows that radio frequency from cell sites are "de minimis." Also, a wane in property value is not an issue from a practical perspective. When you look at the history of these structures, once installed, they become part of scenery and there is no negative impact on property values.
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School district looks at opportunity to generate revenue from towers
February 13, 2008
AMBLER, PA - The Wissahickon School District received approval to enter a cell phone tower consulting agreement Monday.

The school board approved the finance committee's recommendation to permit Axis Partners LLC to conduct a "preliminary investigation that will determine if the service is needed and if the district could generate significant revenue.

Board member Young Park, who chairs the committee, said the agreement does not bind the district to any cell phone tower proposals.

The consultant will locate cell phone companies interested in putting equipment on either Wissahickon High School or Shady Grove Elementary property, according to Business Administrator Robert Salanik.

Maryland lawmakers considering ban on cell towers on school property
February 12, 2008
BALTIMORE, MD - Prompted by controversy over a company's plans to place high-voltag e equipment at a local high school, state lawmakers are considering banning cell phone towers on public school property in Baltimore County.

Baltimore County's Democratic state Sen. Bobby Zirkin has introduced legislation he said will help other communities avoid battles like the ones parents of students at Randallstown High School fought last year over a proposed 11-story cell tower.

"I understand the need for a cell phone service but there are plenty of other places in Randallstown where our kids don't hang out," Zirkin said. "It's one of these no-brainers, as far as I am concerned."
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Zoning board cuts off 30 feet in tower siting compromise
February 8, 2008
UPTON, MA - The Zoning Board of Appeals Wednesday night approved several variances for a proposed cell tower on Pratt Hill, but did not grant everything the company wanted.

Industrial Communications sought five variances from the town's cell tower bylaw, which has many restrictions.

The ZBA gave permission to build a 150-foot tower that also comes within 1,150 feet of the nearest home. Local bylaws prohibit anything over 90-feet high without a variance and require towers to be 2,000 feet from any home. The company had asked to build a 180-foot tower.

The board shot down a request for a lattice tower, which can hold more antennas, wiring and carriers than the monopole required in the bylaw.
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Northway coverage knocked for a loop after Sprint pulls out 
February 5, 2008
ESSEX COUNTY, NY - Temporary cell towers will not be built along the Adirondack Northway this winter.

A company from Albany had planned to install a temporary tower near exit 29 in North Hudson, and on top of the new public safety building in Lewis. They had contracted with Sprint to provide service.

But now Sprint just underwent a major reorganization and can't provide the service.

Verizon is working on plans for more than a dozen permanent cell towers along the uncovered stretch. They will take at least a year to build.

Lights required to be shielded, but few will be seen in WV county
February 4, 2008
LEWISBURG, WV - After months of debate, the Greenbrier County Planning Commission unanimously passed a cell tower ordinance last week that among dozens of other restrictions caps the height of any new towers built at 199 feet. The ordinance also requires obstruction lighting to be shielded so as not to project directly onto surrounding residential property. However, it is doubtful whether the county will see many applications that require lighting since in the majority of cases, unless the structure is near an airport a tower a tower is not required to be lamped.

The ordinance also calls for not allowing commercial messages to be displayed on towers as well all towers must be concealed if they are near a historic district.
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Neighbors want church to forgive and forget $1,800 per month
January 29, 2008
QUINCY, MA - It's church against misstatements. Neighbors of the First Church of Squantum say they're concerned about cell phone radiation and lower property values if the city allows T-Mobile to install cell antennas inside its steeple. However, they do not have any proof that a disguised cell site will create these problems.

But some who live near First Church of Squantum, which struck a deal with T-Mobile to install cell antennas in its steeple, fear health hazards or decreased property values will far outweigh a few dropped calls. For nearly a year, neighbors have fought the installation of the antennas inside the steeple. As part of the deal, T-Mobile would pay the church $1,800 a month to install three antennas, which would be unnoticeable from outside the church, and to house the necessary equipment.

The matter is before the zoning board of appeals again tonight at 7:00 p.m. at city hall.
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Cell phone nod requires lighting, reflectors and demolition bond
January 18, 2008
ELMA, NY - The Elma Town Board has given a 170-foot high cell tower at 881 Schultz Road the go ahead with numerous requirements. The special-use permit requires obstruction lighting at the top of the tower, reflectors on a chain-link fence to alert snowmobilers and a $50,000 demolition bond to be posted along with evidence of insurance.

The board also approved 6-foot antennas to be installed on the handrails at the midpoint of the town's 104-foot water tank on Jamison Road. The antennas are to be used by AT&T Velocitel to help boost cell phone reception for nearby Moog Inc. Originally AT&T wanted a self supporting tower but compromised when neighbors objected to another tower. The town will receive $1,250 a month in rent.

COW incident said to hurt zoning official's reappointment
January 17, 2008
FREDON, NJ - Neil McCaffrey believes he's a victim of someone retaliating after 18 months over a dispute involving public criticism, a cell tower and a campaign flyer.

The cell on wheels (COW) had apparently been on another board member's property for about three years and had been moved by AT&T when the issue of whether it had been there "legally" was broached to the Zoning Board and then brought to the Township Committee by McCaffrey.
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Avant-garde camouflage idea is to eliminate it
January 16, 2008
LINCOLN, AR - The city's business manager might have coined an expression that site acquisition professionals are sure to embrace.

In discussing whether the 190-foot monopole approved last night by the Lincoln Planning Commission was going to be camouflaged, Chuck Wood said, "The absolute best way to camouflage those things is to do nothing to them."

Monopoles over the years have become as expected and ubiquitous as light poles and some of the stealthed structures disguised as monopines draw more attention to the cell site.
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George Washington didn't sleep there, but cell tower will rest there
January 15, 2008
MANCHESTER, CT -  The wool for George Washington's suit for the 1789 inauguration was reportedly manufactured at the historic Hilliard Mills on Hilliard Street, in Manchester.

Three partners that are restoring the mills for office space say the wool was pulled over their eyes because they were not properly contacted during the approval process of a cell phone tower that is going to be built next door this summer.

They say the tower is not going to be historically sensitive to the site. The Connecticut Siting Council disagrees.
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Controversial cell tower decision postponed
January 14, 2008
BONSALL, CA -- The San Diego County Planning Commission postponed a decision Friday about whether to allow T-Mobile to install a 40-foot-tall tower, mounted with 12 cellular phone antennas and disguised as an artificial tree, near Olive Hill Road at 5240 San Jacinto Circle West.

The decision was postponed until Feb. 8 because the chairwoman of the Bonsall Community Sponsor Group, which opposes the new tower, was reportedly ill and unable to attend Friday's meeting.
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Location, location, population are key determiners of rent
January 10, 2008
CAPE CORAL, FL - Earlier this week, the Lee County School Board approved a lease agreement with Sunshine Towers Inc. to install a cell-phone tower on campus at Gulf Elementary School in Cape Coral. The agreement will bring the district $2,000 a month with an option to renew every five years for the next 30 years. 

At the same time the Florida board members were voting upon the cell site, Carterville, Illinois aldermen said they were moving forward in negotiations for approving an at&t cell phone tower to go up near Hillcrest Cemetery. Their lease will be considerably less: $500 a month.

The sizeable difference in lease payments has little to do with the carrier's or tower owner's negotiating skills. It is based upon the location, the number of tenants that will co-locate on the site and the population that will be served, industry site acquisition professionals say.

Population is a key element in determining the number of potential customers that will be served by the cell tower location. The Cape Coral (Population: 151,000) site is in a densely populated residential area with soccer moms wanting to have excellent coverage near two school campuses.

The rural Carterville (Population: 5,200) site is outside of town. The few workers at the town's water treatment plant will clearly enjoy better coverage. The at&t tower will also help to fill in the dead zones surrounding Carterville's two adjoining cemeteries.
 

Light pole cell tower approved in Mission Viejo
January 9, 2008
MISSION VIEJO, CA  - Councilmembers said Monday that, while they empathized with residents' concerns about placing cell towers in parks, they also needed to think about the city's growing technological needs, an unanimously a  request by Sequoia Deployment Services, an agent for T-Mobile, to build a wireless telecommunication facility in the lower area of the Gilleran Park.
Six panel antennas will be attached to a 65-foot-tall field light pole. The antennas will be painted to match the color of the pole. An equipment cabinet, covered in gray split-faced block, will also be installed nearby.
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Controversial toppled tower to be rebuilt again near airport
January 8, 2008
LA MIRADA, CA - The La Mirada City Council late Tuesday unanimously approved a much-debated plan to rebuild a radio tower that fell down three years ago when a plane crashed into it, killing the pilot and his wife.

Clear Channel Communications, which operates KFI radio, will erect a 684-foot tower at 16608 Trojan Wayin La Mirada, less than two miles northwest of the Fullerton Municipal Airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the probable causes of the accident were the pilot's inadequate visual lookout and his failure to maintain altitude/clearance from a transmission tower while on an extended base leg of the traffic pattern. A factor in the accident was the sun glare condition. The NTSB also found that the setting of the altimeter found in the wreckage was in error and the altimeter would have displayed an altitude that was 50 feet higher than the airplane was in actuality.
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Bees will be pleased by Verizon's withdrawal
January 8, 2008
BECKET, MA - Verizon Wireless has withdrawn its application "without prejudice"  for a new 140-foot cell phone tower near Wade Inn Road and Route 8. Pittsfield Cellular Telephone Co. was the applicant for Verizon.

Last month, an engineer working for Verizon attempted to fly an orange balloon at the proposed site to simulate the height of the tower, but wind gusts of up to 40 mph snapped the ropes of two of the test markers, and the simulation was postponed.

Although the wireless industry has collectively said that there are no credible studies that cell towers affect the routines of honeybees, owners of Berkshire Berries who tend several beehives close to the proposed site, said they have documented studies that refute industry claims

This would have been Becket's third cell tower. It is not known if Verizon will reapply to the community for another site in another location.

Montana cell tower growth is high, especially in rural areas
January 7, 2008
GREAT FALLS, MT - Although the lack of cell phone service still vexes many rural Montanans, coverage has improved dramatically in recent years and more new towers and upgrades are in store for 2008. The Great Fall Tribune has provided a look at some area cell phone providers and their new sites that were completed in 2007.
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Trumbull's town cupola to house new cell site despite objections
January 7, 2008
TRUMBULL, CT - A number of town council members who wanted to have further discussions on a cell phone antenna atop Town Hall, were outvoted Monday when a five-year contract, with a possibility of three automatic renewals, succeeded by a vote of 11-6.

Despite a series of questions, including the safety of the installation and the terms of the lease, proponents of the plan approved a contract with Sprint Nextel that calls for the installation of the equipment in the hall's cupola.

Council member Martha Ann Jankovic-Mark said that residents had expressed to her that they did not want the cell site because of concerns about radiation.
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Twelve Verizon Massachusetts and Vermont cell sites ready to be activated
January 6, 2008
BENNINGTON, VT - Verizon Wireless is almost ready to activate 12 cell sites that were held up because of telco and power delays. The towers extend from Williamstown, MA, to Mt. Taber.
 
"I think we're close. I think we have all we need in place, we're just optimizing right now," said Director of Networks for Verizon Wireless Richard Enwright. "We did have some holdups getting lines and power to all of the sites."
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Connecticut forum will discuss responsible tower siting
January 6, 2008
CORNWALL, CT - An educational forum, Responsible Tower Siting: It's More Than Aesthetics, will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, January 12, at the Cornwall Town Hall on Pine Street.

Topics to be discussed include safer tower siting for municipalities, despite preemptions by the Connecticut Siting Council, which has final jurisdiction in this state.

Information will cover zoning and liability issues, as well as the latest research on the health and environmental effects of other wireless technologies, such as WiFi and small wireless computer networks increasingly used in schools, libraries and homes.
Registration for this program begins at 12:30 p.m. Admission is free.
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Rabbi appeals to common sense, attorney says his group will appeal
January 5, 2008
LOWER MORELAND TWP., PA - T-Mobile's application for a 130-foot cell tower on the Grounds of Shalom Memorial Park and Forest Hills Cemetery was unanimously approved by the township's Zoning Hearing Board, but religious leaders still believe it was the incorrect decision.

Rabbi Solomon Issacson of Congregation Beth Solomon Kollel and Community Center said that the tower would represent a desecration of the burial grounds, while acknowledging that he doesn't believe that there is anything in Jewish law that explicitly says so.

"Certain things are appropriate," he said. "You wouldn't walk into a church or synagogue wearing a bikini. There is no law, but it is not appropriate. A cell tower has its place and its uses, but not here."

An attorney representing a neighborhood group opposed to the project promised an appeal.
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Iowa-based telecom company eyes Sioux Falls as a competitive profit center
January 4, 2008
SIOUX FALLS, SD - Long Lines, based in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, has erected 11 wireless phone towers in the Sioux Falls metro area within the past year and is establishing four retail stores to sell its wireless service in the city. It's planning to have at least 23 towers in the area by the end of the year, according to Brian Gaukel, regional retail manager.

"When we open in a market, we're committed for the long term," he said.

Long Lines offers wireless phone service in eastern Iowa, Nebraska, southeastern South Dakota and southern Minnesota.
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Backers say 90-foot tower would only be visible from several points
January 3, 2008
KETCHUM, ID  An official with the U.S. Forest Service could decide as soon as February whether to allow Ketchum-based Idaho Tower Co. to construct a 90-foot cellular tower stealthed as a tree within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area near Galena Summit, north of Ketchum.

Surrounding the site is some of Idaho's most scenic high country. From the roughly 8,800-foot ridge north of Ketchum, undulating slopes fall away into drainages of the Big Wood and Salmon rivers, part of a vast expanse of roadless backcountry.
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T-Riders in Boston get AT&T coverage
January 2, 2008
BOSTON, MA - Passengers riding the T in tunnels underneath downtown Boston will now be able to  chat on their cellphones, text-message their friends, or use hand-held devices to e-mail their bosses from platforms and underground tunnels in and around four of the MBTA's busiest stations.

Last week, AT&T became the third cell phone provider to offer a signal underground. T-Mobile and Verizon both connected their networks earlier this month, but without any announcement from the T, many customers were not aware they could use their phones.

The service is currently being offered in Downtown Crossing, Government Center, State, and Park Street stations, and all the tunnels in between. Expansion to other stations and tunnels is expected as cell phone service providers see demand and are willing to pay for the connection.
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Cell phone reception becoming talk of Montana's small towns
January 1, 2008
GREAT FALLS, MT - Thousands of Montanans still live or travel in the cellular outback, in canyons, coulees and remote prairies beyond the reach of the cellular signals that have become a standard tool for public safety, economic development and quality of life in more populous areas.

"We're becoming a very mobile society to the extent that some populations can't not be mobile and still do what they need to do, whether it's a child who needs to text message or a worker whose work takes them away from wireline access," said Sharon Strover, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who heads a rural telecommunications panel for the Rural Policy Research Institute.
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