FirstNet on Hold as Parties Battle on Cedar Mountain Battlefield

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

The Cedar Mountain Battlefield in Culpeper, VA, already hosts one cell tower. Tower owner SBA says the site can handle extra equipment and their rents are reasonable. AT&T disagrees on both counts and wants to build a new cell tower. As the Culpeper Star-Exponent reports, the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted in favor of a 90-day delay on AT&T’s request in hopes that AT&T and SBA can settle their differences.

“You guys need to sit down and get this hashed out, give it one more shot before I am in favor of it,” said Catalpa Supervisor, Paul Bates.

Both towers, the existing one and the proposed new one would be equally tall:  195 feet.  If built, the new tower, like the current one, would be an unlighted monopole discreetly hiding in the treeline. The two structures would only be about 1,000 feet apart.  

“The idea of a twin tower, a redundant tower in this location is what it is,” said Edward Donohue, a lawyer representing SBA. He defended SBA’s rates, saying they’re in line with the market standard. He added that the Piedmont Environmental Council has opposed the application since the proposed tower would be very near a historic byway. Donohue also advised that a second tower was not needed since the existing one could accommodate the new FirstNet equipment.

Speaking in support of a second cell tower, Cedar Mountain Supervisor, Jack Frazier, said that approving AT&T’s request would result in better connectivity in the county. “We are in desperate need,” he explained.

AT&T representative, Garrett McGuire, said: “We want to add new technologies … for us it’s about making investments in Culpeper County.” McGuire further elaborated that AT&T was not asking for assistance in resolving the rate dispute with SBA. AT&T contradicted SBA’s claim that its tower was prepared to handle the additional equipment needed to operate the FirstNet network. If approved, AT&T’s new cell tower would be built by Tillman Infrastructure and would be FirstNet compatible. The 20-year lease with Tillman would also save AT&T over $2 million versus what they are being asked to pay to SBA for similar service, according to the Culpeper Star-Exponent.

“The parties are at an impasse,” said attorney Lisa Murphy, representing AT&T, reported the Culpeper Star-Exponent.

“I’m not sure we have ever done that before – approve it [AT&T’s request for a second cell tower] from a market competition standpoint,” said County Board Chairman, Gary Deal.

Given the unusual nature of the request, the Board voted 9-0 in favor of a 90-day delay to consider the matter more thoroughly.  

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.