Can you hear me now? E. Hampton crafts plan to tackle cell service problems
East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, left, holds a copy of the town’s wireless telecommunication master plan alongside Eric Schantz, the current town housing director who formerly was with the planning department and helped design the blueprint for better cell service. Credit: East Hampton Town
Springs resident Stephen Adler says cell service is so spotty in the Town of East Hampton that he's had better luck making phone calls in the remote wilderness.
“I have gotten better cell phone service when my wife and I were on safari in Africa,” Adler, 78, said in a recent interview.
He is among residents who have complained about a long-standing problem East Hampton Town Board soon may address by adopting a wireless telecommunications master plan. It is intended as a road map for the town to work with cellular providers to identify and address coverage gaps.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent East End population boom and remote work surge exacerbated the problem and “put a focus on the inadequacy that had grown over the years,” Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc said during a May meeting that featured a presentation of a draft plan.
But opposition to new cell towers in the community has led to contentious negotiations in years past between communication companies and the town over placement of towers and also has sparked litigation.
The final plan states that part of its aim is to find future tower locations that will cause the least opposition in the community since wireless providers "are not as motivated to add" facilities in areas where they suspect pushback.
The municipality hired CityScape Consultants Inc. in November 2020 to analyze the town’s existing wireless network and provide solutions to meet the growing service demand.
The Orlando, Florida-based company, in consultation with the town’s planning department, developed an 83-page final plan that the town board will consider adopting at an upcoming meeting.
“This is a big step to modernizing town regulations with regard to wireless,” Eric Schantz, the town’s housing director, said at an Oct. 19 public hearing.
He helped develop the final plan in his previous role as assistant planning director.
It recommends adding 10 macro wireless facilities throughout the town. They are towers with a typical height of 100 to 140 feet and are the most common infrastructure used in cellular service.
Macro facilities are the “backbone” of the wireless network and provide the strongest coverage, according to Susan Rabold, a project manager for CityScape, who presented the draft plan in May.
The final plan also recommends adding 44 small wireless facilities, which are antennas typically mounted on utility poles. It says those antennas could be added to existing Long Island Power Authority poles.
The small wireless facilities work with macro cell cites “to increase network capacity and take the pressure off already overloaded systems,” according to the final plan.
During the May presentation, Rabold estimated the infrastructure could be added in the next 10 years.
To streamline the review process for cellular facilities on town-owned property, the final plan suggests the town prepare standard lease agreements with "pre-approved terms."
While the town works “to foster a public-private partnership,” it does not build wireless service facilities, the document notes.
“To the degree that we can help facilitate better coverage, we’re doing so. But ultimately that ability and responsibility falls upon the carriers themselves," Van Scoyoc said at the recent public hearing.
CityScape conducted a community survey in August 2021 that got 1,601 responses. The survey found 71% of respondents agreed cell coverage while traveling around town was poor.
“Our goal, as described in this plan, is to have complete coverage throughout the town,” town planning director Jeremy Samuelson said at the public hearing.
The final plan says most towers and base stations are located in clusters, such as along Montauk Highway. Equipment mounted on a structure such a rooftop or water tank is considered a base station as opposed to a stand-alone tower.
The final plan cites areas of southeast Sag Harbor, Northwest Harbor, eastern Montauk and Springs as having poor coverage “due to the significant distances from wireless facilities to residential areas.”
Adler, who has owned his Springs home for three decades, said he believes poor cell coverage is a safety issue.
The retired hospital administrator said he often relies on Wi-Fi to make calls at home because his cell service is so poor — meaning a power outage could knock out all communications and pose a danger.
Adler said he's heard the pushback from fellow residents opposed to new towers because they fear a dip in property value or intrusion on a scenic view.
"It probably does spoil the view a little bit," Alder said. "But you know, do you trade a human life for that?"
Springs resident Stephen Adler says cell service is so spotty in the Town of East Hampton that he's had better luck making phone calls in the remote wilderness.
“I have gotten better cell phone service when my wife and I were on safari in Africa,” Adler, 78, said in a recent interview.
He is among residents who have complained about a long-standing problem East Hampton Town Board soon may address by adopting a wireless telecommunications master plan. It is intended as a road map for the town to work with cellular providers to identify and address coverage gaps.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent East End population boom and remote work surge exacerbated the problem and “put a focus on the inadequacy that had grown over the years,” Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc said during a May meeting that featured a presentation of a draft plan.
But opposition to new cell towers in the community has led to contentious negotiations in years past between communication companies and the town over placement of towers and also has sparked litigation.
The final plan states that part of its aim is to find future tower locations that will cause the least opposition in the community since wireless providers "are not as motivated to add" facilities in areas where they suspect pushback.
The municipality hired CityScape Consultants Inc. in November 2020 to analyze the town’s existing wireless network and provide solutions to meet the growing service demand.
The Orlando, Florida-based company, in consultation with the town’s planning department, developed an 83-page final plan that the town board will consider adopting at an upcoming meeting.
“This is a big step to modernizing town regulations with regard to wireless,” Eric Schantz, the town’s housing director, said at an Oct. 19 public hearing.
He helped develop the final plan in his previous role as assistant planning director.
It recommends adding 10 macro wireless facilities throughout the town. They are towers with a typical height of 100 to 140 feet and are the most common infrastructure used in cellular service.
Macro facilities are the “backbone” of the wireless network and provide the strongest coverage, according to Susan Rabold, a project manager for CityScape, who presented the draft plan in May.
The final plan also recommends adding 44 small wireless facilities, which are antennas typically mounted on utility poles. It says those antennas could be added to existing Long Island Power Authority poles.
The small wireless facilities work with macro cell cites “to increase network capacity and take the pressure off already overloaded systems,” according to the final plan.
During the May presentation, Rabold estimated the infrastructure could be added in the next 10 years.
To streamline the review process for cellular facilities on town-owned property, the final plan suggests the town prepare standard lease agreements with "pre-approved terms."
While the town works “to foster a public-private partnership,” it does not build wireless service facilities, the document notes.
“To the degree that we can help facilitate better coverage, we’re doing so. But ultimately that ability and responsibility falls upon the carriers themselves," Van Scoyoc said at the recent public hearing.
CityScape conducted a community survey in August 2021 that got 1,601 responses. The survey found 71% of respondents agreed cell coverage while traveling around town was poor.
“Our goal, as described in this plan, is to have complete coverage throughout the town,” town planning director Jeremy Samuelson said at the public hearing.
The final plan says most towers and base stations are located in clusters, such as along Montauk Highway. Equipment mounted on a structure such a rooftop or water tank is considered a base station as opposed to a stand-alone tower.
The final plan cites areas of southeast Sag Harbor, Northwest Harbor, eastern Montauk and Springs as having poor coverage “due to the significant distances from wireless facilities to residential areas.”
Adler, who has owned his Springs home for three decades, said he believes poor cell coverage is a safety issue.
The retired hospital administrator said he often relies on Wi-Fi to make calls at home because his cell service is so poor — meaning a power outage could knock out all communications and pose a danger.
Adler said he's heard the pushback from fellow residents opposed to new towers because they fear a dip in property value or intrusion on a scenic view.
"It probably does spoil the view a little bit," Alder said. "But you know, do you trade a human life for that?"
At a glance
- East Hampton Town soon could adopt a master plan for improving wireless communications.
- The pandemic led to a population boom and remote work surge that made cell service even worse.
- The plan recommends adding 10 cell towers, with a typical height of 100 to 140 feet, in the next decade.
- It also recommends adding 44 small wireless facilities — antennas typically mounted on utility poles.
Joe Werkmeister covers the towns of Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.
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