After lightning struck the cell tower equipment concealed in the steeple of the New Highland Baptist Church in 2020, reception in Hanover, VA has suffered. As WWBT-TV reports, a temporary tower was installed to replace the damaged church tower, but county residents say that the service is underwhelming, especially for Verizon clients.
The new tower is designed to interact with multiple carriers, but Verizon customers have complained that their calls drop with regularity. In its research, Verizon believes that the problem was exacerbated by birds. The company added a layer of mesh wiring to keep the birds out of the equipment which may have solved one problem and created another. Verizon has told customers that it is aware of the service issues and has been working to come up with a solution.
The wiring is due to come off in the near future, which it thinks may help with the tangled signals. Verizon has said that it is looking into placing a new cell tower near the original, damaged church tower.
“It was good that Verizon is finally addressing the issue and admitting that they do have an issue, but it’s a shame it took some politicians to get involved,” resident and Verizon user, James Burns told WWBT-TV. “I have drop calls all the time in my home less than a mile from the tower,” he said, adding, “It was okay with the old tower, but the problem started when that tower went down.”
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