Nittany Lions Neighborhood Gets Cell Saturated

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The Borough Council in State College, home of the Penn State Nittany Lions, on Monday unanimously approved a proposal to use city-owned streetlight poles to increase and expand the town’s wireless infrastructure. The council first heard the proposal last November when Crown Castle International submitted its application to amplify the borough’s data capabilities with a dozen antennas in the downtown area, according to CentreDaily.com.

“We’re looking to make an investment in your wireless network,” Crown Castle representative Paul Gilbert said, “and by doing so, installing what we call a ‘small-cell network.’” The need for the small installations is driven by national trends, Gilbert said, according to CentreDaily.com, as 40 percent of homes no longer have a dedicated landline and 70 percent of 911 calls are made by a wireless device. He added Crown Castle sees an issue of capacity. Traditional wireless could accommodate users who were only using voice and text, but now, more people rely on streaming services.

State College borough will receive a base annual fee of $1,200 from Crown Castle. The borough will also receive $3,600 for the use of nine poles and another $4,500 in rent for using borough structures, bringing a total of $9,300 per year. The network will support the four major cellular carriers, Gilbert said, but also welcomes additional networks as well.
Crown Castle has installed similar networks in Erie, Altoona and Johnstown, Gilbert said. Locally, an eight-antenna network was recently activated in Patton Township.