The tower was built in the woods behind Old Stage Coach Road in Ridgefield where officials gathered on Tuesday to talk about how the tower would benefit the area. Town and AT&T officials say the 150-foot structure will aid in 911 calls and communication between emergency services providers. The tower is barely visible behind thick trees at the north end of town. AT&T Operations Manager Robert Klein told NewsTimes the tower extended coverage to the underserved western section of town and into New York.
“Cell coverage is kind of like an umbrella,” Klein said amid falling morning rain. “We’re covering west beyond the New York border. It will meet up with cell sites in the east, south and north to create a contiguous coverage all around it.” The coverage area now includes Ridgefield High School and nearby Scotts Ridge Middle School, which Fire Chief Kevin Tappe said will ensure a quick response to the schools’ athletic facilities. Previously there was no way to communicate and call for help unless someone could get into the school, Tappe said.
AT&T Connecticut President John Emra told NewsTimes the Ridgefield tower is part of a $750 million investment the company has put into Connecticut networks. It will carry approximately 228 hours of voice calls. He added that five years ago if a company wanted to build a tower anywhere, there was always an issue. Today, more often than not, there is a lot of support for public safety reasons. People talk on their cell phones now more often than they talk on home phones. At least one other cell provider is likely to utilize the new tower sometime next year.
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