Two cell towers proposed in Morrisville

AT&T plans to file a permit application for the towers with the Vermont Public Service Board next month. Once an application has been filed, the company will create a proposed construction timeline.

Under Act 248, permit applications for proposed cell phone towers bypass the Act 250 environmental review process and local zoning reviews and go straight to the Public Service Board. However, municipalities may choose to provide comments to the Public Service Board.

Act 248 is set to expire in July 2014 unless the Vermont Legislature extends it.

AT&T representatives met with Morristown officials in December to discuss the tower proposals, said Morristown Zoning Officer Todd Thomas.

“They wanted to make sure we were willing to work with them,” Thomas said.

The proposed towers are intended to help meet unprecedented demand for high-speed wireless service, said Will Keyser, spokesman for AT&T New England.

Between 2011 and 2012, the total amount of wireless data transferred on nationwide networks doubled, according to Keyser.

AT&T has a three-year plan to expand and bolster its national wireless network, Keyser said.

The company plans to spend $66 billion to build 10,000 new cell towers across the country with the goal of meeting consumer demand for mobile technology, he said.

“Our engineers on the network side are constantly looking for areas where we may have gaps in our service — areas where the demand exceeds the ability to service it with existing towers,” Keyser said.

The two cell towers planned for Morristown meet those criteria, he said.

The proposed towers would improve existing cellular coverage for Morristown and outlying areas along Routes 100 and 15.

Additionally, they would provide cell phone customers with increased capacity for data and faster download speeds for email and Internet access, Keyser said.

It’s difficult to determine exactly how many customers would be affected by the towers because of Vermont’s mountainous topography, which can impact cell coverage, Keyser said.

AT&T will commission a study to create a coverage map of the geographic area and provide a sense of the current mobile traffic based on past trends.

The company is working out lease agreements with property owners on whose land the towers would be constructed.

AT&T will work directly with abutting property owners to provide them with information about the project and visual descriptions, Keyser said.

For instance, the company conducts “balloon tests” where a balloon is floated to the height of the proposed tower so that neighbors can gauge the visual impact. One such test was conducted at the LaPorte Road site on Dec. 29.

“Whenever we site a tower, we do whatever we can to solicit feedback and address concerns while meeting the coverage goals of improving our network,” Keyser said.