Woodland Park officials would like Verizon to install an additional cell tower. As KRDO-TV reports, people throughout the region have reported an inability to reach emergency services, a problem that is exacerbated during peak tourist season. A cell tower on wheels would provide a quick fix, but Teller County officials say that a permanent solution is needed.
“It’s affecting the life, health, and safety of our residents because I’ve now heard reports of people trying to call 911 that were never able to connect,” said Teller County Commissioner, Erik Stone. “I talked to one of our dispatchers the other day who stated that people were having to drive to reach the next tower just to connect to 911,” he added.
When contacted by Verizon, KRDO-TV was told that the company would look into the issue, but no further information was provided.
Stone has said he is puzzled by the connectivity problem as he does not believe the number of people accessing the system is notably different from last season. However, he told the source that, “From Friday through Sunday, if you’re trying to use a cell phone on the Verizon network where you’re calling, trying to access data through texting, or accessing apps on your phone, it’s very likely you will not get any response.”
While Stone has indicated that he believes the root of the problem is a capacity issue, “Only Verizon knows truly what the issue is,” he noted.
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