Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Third in a three-part series on how we use cell phones, the companies seeking our business and the public battle that lies ahead.

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2003 15:58:34 -0400

BUSINESS VS. REALITY
Improved service comes with aesthetic cost

Third in a three-part series on how we use cell phones, the companies seeking our
business and the public battle that lies ahead.

BY SUE ROBINSON
Special to The Free Press

OF INTEREST
Cellular laws
Federal laws, local ordinances, Act 250
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/specialnews/cell/laws.htm

Satellite
Pros and cons of satellite phones and service
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/specialnews/cell/sat.htm

Ed Stanak, District #5 Coordinator of the Environmental Board, stands next to an
informal map he made charting cellular phone towers and proposed sites for
cellular phone towers in Vermont at his offices in Barre. Stanak watched as the
state received more and more cellular tower applications and begged the
Legislature to make some kind of policy on the issue. Alison Redlich, Photographer

During his election campaign, Gov. Jim Douglas vowed to achieve better cell phone
reception for the state and said it was an essential piece of his overall plan to
boost Vermont's economy and make the state a better place to live.

Today's businesses, he said, need cellular service for executives to be reached
anywhere anytime. Without such service, Vermont will fail to become a viable
player in the world's commerce.

Better cellular reception, however, requires more cellular antennas and towers,
more obscured views and more pieces of equipment throwing off radio-magnetic rays
and angering environmentalists and neighbors.

Douglas faces formidable challenges in keeping his promise.

Data about the cellular industry -- consumer use, public opinion, impact and
number of towers -- is incomplete and fuzzy at best. No one in state government
can accurately say how many cellular towers are in the state, where they are, or
how many more might be needed.

No one person deals with the cellular infrastructure issue anywhere in the state,
and no single, consistent policy on cellular phones exists.

The state's power to conjure up a miraculous infrastructure -- particularly one
that can appease all sides of the argument -- is limited, all admit.

The state can't force cell companies to expand their networks, or even to give out
information about what is here so the state can develop a plan to fill in the
gaps.

Authority over cellular sites is divided.

Cellular companies must comply with federal and state laws, but must also ask
permission from communities to put up cellular sites. The state must convince a
skeptical populace to accept more cellular sites in their back yards.

Towns such as Charlotte ask the governor to think about the repercussions his goal
might bring.

"We all want to preserve the rural nature of our town, of our state, right?" said
Jeff MacDonald, Charlotte Planning Board chairman. "We have to keep all of this in
perspective. I mean, how many cellular towers can we tolerate? Where is the line?
Is it three? Six? 20?"

The issue goes deep, touching on the inherent conflict with Vermont and its
residents who long to take part in the global society but who also live here --
and stay here -- because Vermont doesn't look or feel like the rest of the world.

Many Vermonters also want the benefits of that commerce without the congestion and
pollution that are its byproducts. Vermont is known for its serenity and its
landscape.

Cell phones represent the antithesis of all this, with their tall antennas and
their rude ringing -- disrupting the peace, disrupting the view, according to the
standpoint of organizations like the Vermont Natural Resources Council.

Douglas is adamant.

A better telecommunications system by which Vermonters can make use of all the
technologies available in America is key to Vermont's progress, its commerce, and
yes, even to its quality of life, he insists.

"We are very very committed to improving telecommunications infrastructure in
Vermont," the governor said, "so that we can attract more businesses to the state,
to aid in our travel promotion efforts, and so that people can be able to use
their cell phones anywhere."

Perception matters

There are 182,000 Vermonters who care because they are cell phone users who pick
up a signal in only about 20 percent of the state.

Businesses whose executives and employees want to be accessible everywhere cry out
for better coverage. Tourists want to be able to access the Internet from their
cars when they are lost on Vermont's roads. Politicians who are stuck without
offices in the Statehouse curse Vermont's spotty coverage between its largest city
and its capital. Residents want to be able to call a tow truck if they break down
on the side of Interstate 89.

For better service, people need to know what the "telecommunications
infrastructure" will look like, said Stephen Holmes, the sustainable communities
director for the Vermont Natural Resources Council.

"When you are talking about 'infrastructure' it is just like with a highway or a
transmission line: You need to know the impact," Holmes said. "Until we get those
kinds of answers it's hard to say how badly we need these towers. I don't think we
want to see the skyline of the Green Mountains turned into a series of towers."

State officials are scrambling to define the scope of the cell phone service
deficiency.

Dawn Terrill, state deputy secretary of commerce, said much of the problem lies in
perception. When people come from out of state and can't get their cell phones to
work, it makes Vermont look backwoods, she said. All that's known is that the
coverage isn't available.

"People think that because they cannot get coverage on their cell phone we have a
poor telecommunications infrastructure here, and that is just not true," Terrill
said, "but we do have a lot of work to do to fill in the gaps."

What do people want?

Getting a good handle on what people want -- and what is needed -- is part of the
problem. Concrete data are hard to find.

Most of the numbers involving cell phone use are estimates -- the companies
decline to tell the state exactly how many subscribers they have, where those
customers are, where their networks cover and where they need antennas.

The lack of information will make it difficult to fulfill Douglas' mission, said
Chris Campbell, telecommunications planner for the Department of Public Service.
He should know. He has spent years trying to collect the data.

Several initiatives calling for studies either fizzled or are not finished. A
statewide map drawn up at the Legislature's request last year shows all 2,000
broadcast and communications towers, not just cellular sites -- and there is no
way to segment out only the cell towers.

One state administrator with the Environmental Board became so frustrated at the
lack of information, he and his staff hand-drew the known antennas on a giant
piece of paper covering his Barre office. He repeats over and over to visitors
that the map is "not official."

Even if the state could identify where it needs to fill gaps, it cannot force
companies to do it.

"We can help remove barriers, though, and we can incent service providers to build
more towers," Terrill said.

And, of course, the companies must follow procedure and obtain the necessary
permits.

To build a new tower or a structure higher than 20 feet above any existing
structure, a company must go through Act 250 and hearings with the district
environmental boards.

"We spent two years and $2 million in Vermont and ended up with no permits," said
Jack Rupert, vice president and co-owner of Mesa Communications Group in Virginia,
which had contracted ATC Realty to build hundreds of towers up to 160 feet tall
every six miles along Interstate 89, U.S. 2 and U.S. 4 to lease tower space to
cellular companies.

Although that application was denied, most cellular tower applications are
approved, especially those that are on existing buildings, but the process can be
lengthy -- a matter of years.

Most cellular companies try to avoid the Act 250 process, but they must go through
local planning and zoning boards. This is where many companies have faced the most
hurdles.

About 65 of Vermont's 240 towns have adopted cellular ordinances that mirror the
criteria evaluated in Act 250. Those criteria include the impact of a potential
cellular site on the environment and on the aesthetics of the neighborhood and the
horizon.

Those towns that do not have an ordinance may place a moratorium on cell sites
until they enact one, or the town's existing laws are enacted. These laws are
different for every town.

"If Vermont can get this cloud of obstructionism lifted from its reputation with
all the carriers, you could have a competitive war from the standpoint of pricing
and service plans and coverage," Rupert said. "Everyone would benefit."

Wait a minute

Not necessarily, said Charlotte's MacDonald.

Communities have many issues to consider before cellular antennas can be approved.
He ticked them off: electromagnetic radiation, philosophy, town characteristics
and aesthetics.

"If this were being done on a popularity basis, I can assure you we would have
voted against all these," he said, "but legally, we have to bite the bullet" and
accept some of these towers into the Charlotte community.

Charlotte learned this lesson last year when its zoning board denied a permit to
Sprint on the basis that the town had adequate coverage from other companies.

Therefore, Charlotte contended, denying the permit complied with FCC guidelines.
The stance landed the town in court. Charlotte lost but was able to delay Sprint's
application by years.

A spokesman for Sprint could not be reached for comment.

Collected opposition

Then there are the advocacy groups that also have the power to stymie Douglas'
mission to install more cellular antennas and towers.

Citizen groups are allowed to tackle cellular towers' health issues -- which are
off limits for town boards as long as the project meets FCC guidelines. They
obtain party status in both state and local permitting processes.

Local groups such as the Vermont Natural Resources Council published as early as
1997 a report called "Siege on Our Summits" venting about communications towers
and the detrimental aesthetics and health effects.

"We know enough science to get us our inventions but not enough to know, until too
late, what we have wrought," the report read.

Another point, MacDonald said: What happens when all these cellular companies die
or when some other technology makes towers unnecessary? Most are losing money.
Will Vermont be left with a bunch of ugly structures dotting its countryside?

Charlotte officials vowed to work with the companies to abide by the law -- but
they don't like it.

"Yeah, these companies have to do more work when they come here. That's a good
thing. More towns should deal with it our way. I don't see why we need to make it
real easy for them," MacDonald said. "Let's think this through to what this really
means for Vermont."

An interesting challenge

Douglas admitted his hands are tied as long as communities dig in their heels. He
said he would stop short of passing a law mandating that towns accept towers.
That, he added, would go against Vermont's prized sense of independent governance.

Instead, he's hoping two new initiatives will convince Vermont communities about
the need for improvement.

The state has hired a director of telecommunications infrastructure and plans to
spend $150,000 next year on improving broadband and cellular networks.

"One of the first things we need to do is look at policy or administrative
barriers that we have," Terrill said, hinting that the new Legislature would
probably have a bill or two to debate on the subject.

Douglas hopes the new information and innovation commissioner in the state, hired
in August, will provide leadership. Douglas could not say what that leadership
will entail.

Public Service Commissioner David O'Brien said state leaders need to educate
people about how important a telecommunications network is to the economy, but
also encourage cellular companies to invest in Vermont.

For example, state regulators rubber-stamped an application by Unicel, Vermont's
largest cellular company, to obtain federal money -- as much as $1 million a year
-- in return for expanding its network here.

This approval was given to help Unicel establish an emergency 911 network on its
sites so that any 911 call on any Unicel cellular phone would be able to give the
caller's location.

Douglas has also asked his agencies to look into creating policy that would allow
building of cell towers on state land.

"It is an interesting challenge because one of the real advantages of living and
working in Vermont is the lifestyle and our natural beauty and its relative
sparseness of population and the ability to telecommute while enjoying all that,"
Douglas said, "but in order to do that, there has to be a telecommunications
infrastructure to make it possible."

Contact Sue Robinson at [email-masked]

  DAY 2
TOWER DILEMMA
Cellular companies battle towns to reach underserved market

OF INTEREST
Selling cellular
Cellular companies in Vermont
Opponents question towers' health effects
Small group takes fight to FCC and the courts
Patience pays off with Shelburne tower

DAY 1
A CELLULAR LIFE
Spencer Velott lives by his cell phone - until service quits

OF INTEREST
Cell technology brings us closer, but isolates us, too
A constantly connected, mobile society may lose its sense of community
Shopper's Corner
Choosing the right cell phone and service plan
Cell timeline

Readers respond
Cell phone pet peeves

Movie etiquette
My friend was seated in the movies behind a woman who received a cell phone call.
The woman proceeded to give the caller a scene-by-scene description of what was
going on in the movie.

Annette Zeff

Bad signals
My biggest cell-phone pet peeve is finding a location where I can receive a good
connection without a fade-out of the signal. My home base is in the New North End
of Burlington and the reception is terrible. At home I can find only one location
where the signal is marginally acceptable, and that location is on the lawn in the
middle of my back yard. In the winter this would be totally unacceptable.

Thomas McHugh

Driving while talking
My frustration is that there is no good way to use them in a car, unless someone
else is driving. At the same time, using them in the car is essential. I have no
solution to this paradox, as studies have shown that it's the distraction of using
the phone that causes driving problems, not just holding it in your hand.

Jeff Wagg

Rate scams?
When I have used (my) phone on occasion, I found that the "low" rate of 10 cents a
minute is often compounded to 15 or even 30 cents a minute. For some reason, my
cell phone picks up the St. Albans tower instead of the local tower so now it is
considered a long-distance call.

Linda A. Shiffler

DAY 1
How do you use your phone?

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/specialnews/cell/index.htm

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