AT&T Erects Cellphone Tower on Bay Ridge Road
The new tower located behind the Annapolis Neck Fire Station should be providing service in about one to six months.
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AT&T is building a 130-foot cellphone tower behind the Annapolis Neck Fire Station on Bay Ridge Road that could be operational within a month, said WesTower Communications' Mike Butler who is the construction manager on site.
"It's probably going to be probably within a month to six months tops," Butler said. "It all depends on the integration schedule."
The new tower has to be able to talk to other area towers in order to ensure the continuity of service for callers.
"It's 4G LTE also," Butler said. "So it's going to be fiber, which means it will be faster."
Anne Arundel County leased the property behind the fire station to AT&T, and it will be collecting monthly rent for the space.
Butler said concerns and complaints about the aesthetics of the pole, made this installation a high profile job.
"Most of the time the branches start up at the top third of the pole, but this one here the branches are going to start much lower," Butler said. "This one here is going to have a lot more foliage on it to where it will be very unnoticeable other than it's a pine tree."
The "limbs" for the faux tree should be going up Wednesday and Thursday, once painting is completed on the antennas.
The tower is setup to have up to four carriers on the tower, but there are no plans for anyone but AT&T at the moment.
"That's usually how it goes. Someone will find a location and put in a cellphone tower," Butler said. "Then the other cellphone companies pick up on it."
Bobman70
3:40 pm on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
AT&T is not building the tower.
Spencer Leech
9:41 am on Thursday, July 12, 2012
Quite right. People working for their subcontractors are building the tower.
Wrenn Gooding
8:29 am on Thursday, July 12, 2012
We always get the best local news from patch. Thank you
M French
11:54 am on Thursday, July 12, 2012
May I suggest that the public request the expected Electro Magnetic Field report for this tower? EMF's are responsible for microwaves radiating for atleast a mile or more, which change human cell structure, leading to cancer. That is why these cell towers are not allowed to be built within 5 miles of schools, for the very young are even more vulnerable to getting cancer from them than adults. We here on the Eastern Shore, asked for the EMF report from Verizon, when they wanted to erect a cell tower outside our neighborhood gates. They never gave us the report - instead they shut down the project. These telephone companies know the dangers that come from any equipment that emits radio waves or microwaves, like the huge electrical hubs with high towers. Just talk to people who live near these things, and you will find many with cancer. Annapolis residents who live within 4 miles of this cell tower must ask for the EMF report and find out which developments will be within their power range. The range can be anywhere between one mile to several miles. If they find out they are within this field, I'd move immediately, or fight the cell phone company to place the tower somewhere else where it won't endanger people. I really feel sorry for the people who work at the Annapolis Neck Fire Station!!
A Camp
1:54 pm on Sunday, July 22, 2012
M French - in 2004, the international association of firefighters adopted a resolution to oppose the installation of cell towers on Fire Stations. You can read their resolution at: http://www.iaff.org/hs/Facts/CellTowerFinal.asp If you want access to a wealth of free information about the adverse impact from cell towers, go to AntiCellTowerLawyers.com and see their "questions and Answers" and "Links" pages.
C J
2:21 pm on Monday, December 10, 2012
I think the tower is finally on! Reception in Bay Ridge is awesome.