Bell Tower Update

This post was the request of Larry Jacobs.

Update on Communications Tower Proposal

I spoke with the Director of Real Estate and Government Relations at Bell Mobility today.  I asked about the status of the potential application for a tower at Leech Lake.  Bell Mobility has no plans to place a tower anywhere in the service area at this time. 

And the company has no plans for the entire area through at least the end of 2020, which is as far forward as the company plans capital expenditures.

We had requested that Bell Mobility should look at a location on Hwy 118 East which would have increased their potential customer base fourfold but would negatively impact many fewer property owners.  No alternate site was researched after our summary of research and property owner comments was received by the Federal Minister.

There is exciting new technology emerging called “Air Gig” which could render towers obsolete.  This is being tested by AT&T and could be the answer for under-serviced areas.  The technology may be commercial in about two years.

Reliable internet service is available at Leech Lake through Xplornet.  With the exception of one ice storm, we have not had a service outage in more than two years after satellite upgrades.