Friday's Internet Edition, July 04, 2008.
for U.S. 119 south
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Editor - People living or traveling along U.S. 119 south of Spencer will no longer be in a dead zone when it comes to cellular phone service.
Cellere LLC recently obtained county building permits to erect four cell towers between Spencer and I-79 at Clendenin. Cellere is an agent of Central States Towers, the company building the towers.
Brian Meier, chief operating officer of Central States, said the new towers should vastly improve cell service that is now limited to only a few spots on the approximately 25-mile stretch of highway.
“The idea is to provide seamless coverage up and down that road,” Meier said.
Land acquisition and environmental studies for the towers began last fall, Meier said. Work on access roads, site preparation and actual construction should begin later this month once the anticipated final environmental clearance is given.
Each tower carries a price tag of approximately $350,000, Meier said.
AT&T customers will be the first to be able to use the new service, which is set to become operational sometime this fall. Other wireless customers could benefit later.
“The towers are built for multiple customers,” Meier said. “Usually, once a company goes into a place another one follows. If another comes around, it will be available to them.”
The towers will be located at 2574 Charleston Rd., Spencer; 4866 Charleston Rd., Gandeeville; 7217 Charleston Rd., Walton; and 9761 Charleston Rd., Clendenin.
