A 120-foot wireless communications tower will be constructed on Griswold Mountain in Tuscarora Township, providing internet service to area residents within an eight-mile zone, reported the Cheboygan Daily Tribune.
The tower will be built on part of the 190 acres of the Griswold Mountain property by RACC Enterprises. Travis Babcock, wireless engineer for RACC told the Cheboygan Daily Tribune, “Basically, we’re just trying to fill a need of the county. We have a lot of phone calls, a lot of people that are looking to move into the county, Cheboygan, Emmet, all of Northern Michigan, and a lot of their criteria relies on them having internet” at the house they are looking at.
The new tower will help bring wireless service to more rural areas, using the the 3.65 gigahertz band of fixed wireless communications service, where the current wireless signals that serve the cities of Cheboygan or Mackinaw City diminish quickly. With the proposed location for the new tower and the size of the property, RACC can eventually construct additional towers and provide even better coverage for its customers.
“A lot of people work from home nowadays, home school, everything needs internet,” said Babcock. “It’s a big problem up here and your options are satellite or nothing if you’re out in the middle of nowhere. We’re trying to help progress that for you guys.”
The size of the 120-foot tower is rather discreet; a wireless technician can wrap his arms completely around the tower. The structure will also be camouflaged by the trees, taking the usual concern about preserving area aesthetics out of the equation.
Since the project met all the requirements set in place by Cheboygan County, the planning commission unanimously approved the plan for construction.
May 4, 2017
Reader Interactions