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Date: 3/9/2022
SOUTHWICK – A wireless com munications facilities consultant presented the Planning Board with data March 1 on cell phone service throughout Southwick to help with bylaw changes the board hopes to make to the Wireless Communications Service District bylaw.
David Maxson of Isotrope LLC showed the board overlay map data based on the cell phone service strength of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile on just about every street in Southwick. That data, Maxson said, will help inform the board of how to go about changing the wireless communications district bylaw that allows wireless carriers to provide better coverage throughout the town, but also gives the town better control over where new facilities can go so that there isn’t an overabundance of cell phone towers.
For AT&T, Maxson said Southwick had a fair amount of service, but that some areas with relatively dense populations have poor coverage, and may require future cell phone service infrastructure. The area around Deer Run, for example, has a relatively high number of residents, but has some of the worst cell phone service in the town on all three carriers.
“I could see that being a target for a wireless carrier down the road,” said Maxson, “But there is no way to predict when or who.”
South Loomis Street had the worst cell phone service in Southwick on all three carriers, by a wide margin, according to Maxson’s data. Most of the street either has the worst service one can have while still having a connection, or no service at all. Maxson pointed out that there are large areas on either side of South Loomis that have little to no development, which may be a reason for the poor service. He said that it would make sense to put a wireless facility on either end of the street.
The areas with the best service in Southwick varied somewhat by each carrier. AT&T had peak service in the area of College Highway and Tannery Road. T-Mobile, which Maxson said had the worst overall service of the three in Southwick, otherwise had great service going up and down College Highway.
Excluding the South Loomis and Deer Run areas, Verizon had at least decent coverage throughout most of Southwick.
Maxson said that, for the most part, areas with good coverage are areas that have a wireless facility nearby, which Planning Board Chair Michael Doherty said corresponds well with the data.
Maxson said that he would recommend a change in the bylaws to help the board find ways to expand wireless overlay districts to help wireless carriers find optimal spots to put towers. The town would still have control over aspects like the height of the tower, its appearance, and how visible it is.
He said that he would pick Deer Run for a new tower if he were a wireless carrier. Though it has slightly better overall service than South Loomis Street, it is more densely populated.
The discussion was continued to March 15 with the hopes of having a public hearing in time to get bylaw change proposals onto the Annual Town Meeting warrant.