The citizens of Priest Lake, ID banded together recently, like those in days of yore to demand their MTV, to petition Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg for a cell tower. According to MoveOn.org the residents of “Idaho’s Crown Jewel” were still 100 signatures short, at 901 and counting, before they could send it out. The petition’s author is listed as Michael Latourette.
The letter reads:
To be delivered to Hans Vestberg, Verizon Board of Directors
Background
We, the people of Priest Lake, have cellular service so inadequate as to render phone calls unreliable from April through October, and virtually unusable data. People have been unable to call 911, which poses a risk to both residents and tourists. We are resolved that this situation needs to be rectified by placing a second cell tower in the area in order to provide bandwidth sufficient to meet the needs of Verizon customers and provide the service we pay for.
Signers’ comments included:
- KC from Spokane, WA Sep 22, 2019
“My boyfriend works in Priest Lake often and I have family up there that own a business up there and I go up there once in awhile. It’s very frustrating when I can’t reach them or they can’t reach me until they are able to get into an area that their phone will work and to sometimes have our calls dropped.”
- LF Sep 17, 2019
“Cell service coverage has continually gotten worse over the last couple years, not only in the Priest Lake area, but throughout the entire upper North Idaho area. We also run a business in the local area and are continually frustrated over dropping customer or associate calls.”
- DB from Coeur d’Alene, ID Sep 17, 2019
“We have had extreme difficulty in getting internet service at our Priest Lake cabin this summer. My daughter who is an attorney in Coeur d’Alene often brings her lap top to the cabin so she can work during the weekend. On many occasions it has been impossible for her to do that. It’s been an extreme inconvenience for her and us. We’ve never had this problem in past summers.”
- JJ from Oldtown, ID Sep 17, 2019
“Our phone loses calls every time someone calls us, I answer and there isn’t anyone there. Have to try to call people back!”
- HJ from Oldtown, ID Sep 17, 2019
“We haven’t had good service since last year, if our service doesn’t get fixed we will be dropping Verizon. We run our business on cell phones and not getting calls or texts really infuriates me. It hurts our business. I’ve called several times and no one has done anything!”
- JB from Coolin, ID Sep 17, 2019
“Year round resident. We struggle with service most of the year. During the tourist seasons, I cannot make a call without being hooked up to the WiFi calling.”
October 18, 2019
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