UPDATE Three service providers – Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile – have proposed installing limited-range wireless communications equipment inside the Paradise area at Mount Rainier National Park. Earlier this month, the National Park Service released an Environmental Assessment Study– a formal study of the proposals from the three companies – and park officials have begun a second public comment period ending on July 19, reported The Dispatch.
The Park Service must consider all commercial applications for the installation of wireless facilities on Park Service land per the Telecommunications Act of 1996; it’s considering two options, either using the Jackson Visitor Center as a hub for connectivity or rejecting the proposal altogether. The Paradise section of the park is the most heavily trafficked and is open to year-round visitors; cell phone service is spotty in this area, reported The Dispatch.
According to the Park Service, it’s already been decided that no towers will be constructed in the park. This proposal calls for installing telecom equipment in the attic of the visitor’s center along with antennas on the interior walls, camouflaged by fiberglass panels, according to the companies.
Preliminary public comments solicited last year by the Park Services showed a divide; of 492 comments, 249 people supported more connectivity on the mountain for emergency reasons and severe weather warnings. However, over 200 people, including the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) group, told park officials that cell equipment and increased connectivity while inside the park would contradict the peaceful, tranquil wilderness settings.
The public comment period, ending on July 19, is the last one before the National Park Service makes a final decision on the proposal.
June 20, 2017
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