Verizon to add 10 cell towers in the northern region

By KIM SMITH DEDAM
Staff Writer

June 01, 2009 02:03 pm

— LAKE PLACID — Verizon Wireless plans to install 10 new cell-phone towers in the North Country this summer.
“They will go up throughout the region; we’ll have them turned on by the end of the year,” Verizon spokesman John O’Malley said today.
Not all the towers are inside the Adirondack Park. And O’Malley would not release exact locations, citing proprietary reasons.
But all of the planned towers are new construction, he said, expanding the company’s northern cellular telephone network to 90 towers, 26 of which are in the Adirondack Park.
Three new Verizon towers are undergoing Adirondack Park Agency staff review: one in Westport and two in the Town of Wells, according to spokesman Keith McKeever.
A Verizon tower designed to resemble a pine tree was recently approved by the APA for construction on land owned by Paul Smith’s College.
And the Duane Fire Department Inc. has negotiated a lease agreement for a tower at their fire hall in the Town of Duane.
At an average cost of $550,000 each, the new expansion effort reflects an investment of more than $5 million, O’Malley said today.
“It’s a pretty big investment for us this year and part of our continuing effort to make sure people who live, work and vacation in the area have reliable access to their wireless network.”
Marquett Smith, president of Verizon Wireless’s Upstate New York Region, issued a statement today saying the expansion reflects a commitment to the local economy.
“We’ve taken the lead on expanding wireless service throughout the Adirondacks Region — both inside the Adirondack Park and outside.
“We believe wireless service is essential to the people who live in the region, the first-responders who protect them and the businesses that drive that region’s economy.”
Verizon’s cell network also delivers access to the company’s Mobile Broadband, a high-speed wireless Internet service.
The company has fared well even through the difficult economy.
“We continue to bring on new customers,” O’Malley said. “That’s why we’re able to continue to fund expansion projects like this.”
Four towers of a 13-tower Verizon network planned along the Adirondack Northway, are already operational, with a site approved by the APA for Poke-O-Moonshine in Chesterfield slated for construction this summer.

E-mail Kim Smith Dedam at:
kdedam@pressrepublican.com