CELL PHONE COVERAGE
The Challenge
To be an innovative region, Silicon Valley needs a reliable cell phone network.Unfortunately, we don't have one. Visitors from Europe and Asia remark on the unreliability of the network; residents complain to city councils about safety concerns in rural areas; and business executives report how frustrating (and embarrassing) it is when calls to clients and partners are dropped, routinely. It hurts our economy and our competitive position, and it even poses threats to our safety.
Joint Venture is working to understand the problem in all its complexity, and identify solutions. We have partnered with business and community leaders, and gathered inputs from city planners and the cell phone service providers. Our project is aimed at improving cell phone coverage through a collaborative process that brings the public and private sectors together.
Why We Have This Problem
Basically speaking, we have a problem because our use of cell phones has increased exponentially, and the infrastructure isn't keeping pace. Mapping services, text messaging, Internet access, and traffic information can all be accessed on cell phones. People are using their phones to take pictures of worksites and friends, and sending them to the office and family members. Today’s cell phone is also a music player and gaming device. Growing numbers of people are disconnecting their home wireline phone and going 100% wireless.
As a result, the number of wireless subscribers has increased dramatically. Today there are over 233 million users in the United States – over 70% percent of the U.S. population – compared to 24 million users in 1994. Last year subscribers talked for over 1.6 trillion minutes on their cell phones. The number of subscribers and the volume of cell phone use has loaded the wireless networks to the point where we can no longer rely on the network being available when we need it.
What the Carriers Can do to Improve Cell Phone Coverage
To improve service we need more cell sites. With the growing popularity of wireless in the home, the service providers have to build cell sites in residential neighborhoods. This means creating towers that are compatible with neighborhood aesthetics, or better yet, camouflaging the sites. The industry is responding to this trend, buiding sites that pass as trees, flag poles, or chimneys, and hiding them behind signs and inside church steeples.
What our Cities can do to Improve Cell Phone Coverage
Cities can help by pinpointing gaps in coverage, and encouraing service providers in their efforts to fill those gaps.
Fortunately, many cities have already approved guidelines for the design and location of cell sites in their communities. Others are becoming more experienced at reviewing permit applications for cell sites and working with service providers to ensure that community standards are being met. They also ensure that the proposed equipment meets guidelines established by the Federal Communications Commission.
City Councils and County Boards need to support their staffs as they implement the guidelines the council or board has approved.
What Residents Can do to Improve Cell Phone Coverage
Residents who have a problem with service are most helpful when they inform both the carrier and their city or county planning department. When a cell phone company submits an application for a new or improved cell site in our neighborhood, it makes a difference when residents voice support Write a letter, attend a meeting. Make your voice heard.
What We at Joint Venture are Doing to Improve Coverage
Joint Venture is working alongside the cities and carriers to identify gaps in coverage, and facilitating a process to fill those gaps.The effort has a number of components:
- We have convened the major carriers for ongoing discussions about challenges and strategies.
- We are facilitating informal, off-line meetings between the carriers and planning officials to discuss issues and concerns.
- We are providing materials and expert testimony to elected officials at council meetings and public hearings.
- We are publishing a tower citing "primer" for use by cities and their planning staffs, which addresses concerns, debunks myths, and answers frequently asked questions.
- We are preparing a website which highlights the region's dead zones.
- We are mobilizing residents and businesses to weigh in with statements and support letters when towers come up for approval.
Leadership
Dean Warshawsky, Council Member, Town of Los Altos Hills
Ellen Becht, SVB Financial
Project Leader
Seth Fearey, 408-278-2220