You may also view the article at the link below.
Telecommunication Improvements on the Island
Prior to my election as mayor, many expressed having difficulty making cell phone calls from inside their homes or having to go outside to get a signal. Increasingly, residents and visitors resorted to driveways and decks to make and receive cellular calls. The number of complaints at the front desks of the island’s major hotels and conference centers were increasingly related to the lack of cell phone coverage.
Previous town councils strictly limited cell towers because of their appearance; but smartphones and tablets became mainstream, and we had to change our approach. Residents and visitors demanded to be plugged in. Town Council identified the quality of telecommunications as one of its primary priorities and with council's support, a citizen created and led a telecommunications taskforce focused on this issue. We worked with this group to form cooperative relationships with decision makers of cell phone companies such as AT&T, Verizon and with others in the telecommunications industry and to promote improvements in service. The companies informed us that our permitting took too long and our setback requirements were sometimes so large that sites could not even be located.
These standards were appropriate when they were put into place. At that time, the design of towers could have been much more intrusive than the single monopole style used now. Towers were often more like 200-300 feet tall and made of lattice steel structures or with guyed wires stretching hundreds of feet out to each side of a tower as an anchor, all with very large equipment at the base enclosed by a cyclone fence. Tower designs and engineering have improved. Now, towers can safely be designed to be disguised like trees or steeples, even palm trees. Therefore, we decided to make expedited LMO amendments, first, to address the critical issues. Recently, we made changes with the LMO rewrite that better facilitate the installation of new infrastructure that is needed to have quality service here. We have also continued work with the telecommunications taskforce to raise awareness of this issue and to promote investment in the island’s infrastructure with these companies.
Since that time, major carriers have installed over a dozen new wireless sites as well as major network upgrades. Investments by AT&T and Verizon alone, who serve over 80 percent of the wireless calls on Hilton Head Island, have totaled over $10 Million and included support for island-wide LTE coverage. This is just a drop in the bucket for what will be needed moving forward as the number of smartphones and devices increases and technology will inevitably change. We will change with the demands, so that you don’t have to resort to driveways and decks.
No comments:
Post a Comment