As new cell towers continue to crop up around the state, access to cellular services appears to be improving for Mainers living in areas that long have lingered as wireless “dead zones.”
But as anyone who travels around the state can attest, Maine still has large areas where cell reception is spotty or nonexistent. And forecasting which areas of Maine soon will benefit from stronger cell signals is difficult, even for those who closely monitor the industry, given the highly competitive cellular industry’s secrecy.
“There has been significant and continual expansion of coverage,” said Wayne Jortner, senior counsel with the Maine Public Advocate’s Office, who handles telecommunications issues. “But there are still plenty of places where the coverage still is inadequate.”
Cell service providers such as U.S. Cellular, Verizon and AT&T have spent tens of millions of dollars — some of it federal funds — upgrading and expanding their networks in recent years. And at least one company, U.S. Cellular, already is offering the next generation of high-speed wireless service, known as 4G, in more populated areas of the state.
Determining the exact number of cell towers already standing in Maine — much less those in the works — is difficult, however, because there is no central agency that regulates towers or keeps tracks of those figures.
Permitting often is handled by individual towns although the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the Land Use Regulation Commission process some proposals. Cellular service providers also often decline to release exact figures or future plans, citing concerns over the competition. And many towers are built and owned by a myriad of smaller telecommunications infrastructure companies operating in the state which then lease space to service providers.
AT&T spokeswoman Kate MacKinnon said the company has spent roughly $60 million in Maine on 400 “wireless system upgrades” between 2009 and 2011. U.S. Cellular has “more than 350 towers” in the state and has added 20 to 30 towers to its network each year for the past five years, according to spokeswoman Kelly Cioe.
Verizon Wireless spokesman Michael Murphy declined to provide tower figures, saying the number of towers in a particular area is not relevant when comparing coverage because low-frequency systems require less infrastructure than high-frequency systems. But Murphy said the company spent $297 million in New England in 2011.
One area where reception has improved is Hancock County’s Blue Hill peninsula, where for years “dead zones” seemed to outnumber the places where cellphones could pick up a basic signal, much less the more advanced networks used by most smartphones that provide Internet access.
At least three cell towers in Deer Isle and Brooksville have come online over the past year and more are planned, including one in Sedgwick that is under construction.
But reception problems persist in some areas popular with tourists, including downtown Stonington.
Town Manager Kathleen Billings-Pezaris said there has been a “vast improvement” in areas of Stonington that sit on higher ground since a U.S. Cellular tower in Sunset came online earlier this winter. Unfortunately most of the shops, restaurants, inns and other businesses are located on the wrong side of the hill.
“The only unfortunate thing is that right down here where we drop down to the ocean it is still very spotty,” said Billings-Pezaris, who is looking into options for “boosters” or other technology that would strengthen the signal downtown.
Kelly Kolysher, innkeeper at Inn on the Harbor in downtown Stonington, laughed that she sometimes can get a weak signal when the wind is blowing in the right direction. But she typically points people up the hill when they need to use their cellphones.
She and the owner are very upfront about the lack of cell service at the inn proper. While an inconvenience, the lack of reception is not a major problem and is regarded as a benefit by some visitors looking to truly get away, she said.
“More than you would imagine,” Kolysher said.
One obvious answer to the reception problem would be to locate a tower closer to downtown Stonington — a proposal almost guaranteed to encounter local opposition.
Cell tower siting can be tricky, especially in areas where 200-foot-tall metallic, latticed towers may mar the scenery that draws tourists. But those same visitors as well as local residents often want — even expect — to be able to use their cellphones.
That challenge is perhaps most acutely felt on Mount Desert Island, where Acadia National Park officials are exploring ways to expand cell service without detracting from the park’s natural beauty.
John Kelly, park planner at Acadia, said the intention is not to extend service throughout the park but to target key high-traffic areas such as Jordan Pond, Sand Beach and the top of Cadillac Mountain. In addition to enhancing emergency communications, advanced cell service could enhance visitors’ park experience by allowing those with smartphones to access special sites or apps about Acadia, Kelly said.
Kelly stressed that any discussions are still preliminary and that park officials will explore ways to expand cell coverage in the least disruptive ways possible, including by mounting antennas on existing buildings or using towers that are designed to blend into natural settings.
“We would not be putting cell towers everywhere or jeopardizing scenic views or resources,” Kelly said. “We are still in the very early stages of this plan and there are no commitments with any providers at this point.”
MacKinnon, spokeswoman for AT&T, said the company has identified eight potential sites both within the park or adjacent to it, although she said none are planned for this year. AT&T and any provider would need to work with the park service and therefore within federal processes to obtain authorization to build within the park.
“Expanding our wireless network to our customers who vacation in the park and who live and work in the area is something we are interested in pursuing, and we’re exploring all options to make this a reality,” MacKinnon said.
Verizon Wireless recently activated two new cell sites in the Bar Harbor area to increase coverage and capacity, according to a company spokesman.
The latest data from the U.S. Census showed that Maine was the nation’s most rural state in 2010, with more than 61 percent of the population living in areas with populations of less than 2,500. The state’s size and terrain present additional logistical and financial challenges for cell companies, although those challenges are by no means unique to Maine.
MacKinnon said her company and others face the same challenges in upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. In the case of New York, AT&T has worked with state officials to expand the company’s infrastructure within Adirondack Park, an area that encompasses approximately 6 million acres of state and private land, half of which must stay “forever wild.”
“But this is what we do,” MacKinnon said of expanding in rural areas.
Cell service providers often receive substantial help from the federal government when building infrastructure in rural areas. That assistance comes from the Universal Service Fund, which is an assessment on telecommunications providers used to help pay for telecommunications services in rural areas.
In Maine, U.S. Cellular is the sole cell service provider participating in the Universal Service Fund, receiving $9.4 million for infrastructure projects in 2010 alone, according to state reports.
Cioe, the U.S. Cellular spokeswoman, said the company has tapped into roughly $8 million per year from the fund since 2007 to build and maintain 56 wireless cell sites in rural Maine. The company now has more than 350 cell towers or infrastructure sites across the state.
Cioe said the majority of those towns that benefited from the projects financed through the fund had populations of less than 5,000.
“Without USF for wireless, it would have been impossible to support infrastructure investment in these areas,” Cioe said in an email.
Of course, cell companies also are expanding services aggressively in Maine’s more populated areas.
U.S. Cellular recently launched the company’s 4G service in Portland, Bangor, Lewiston-Auburn, Ellsworth and the Presque Isle-Houlton area. 4G refers to the latest, ultrabroadband service capable of offering users with 4G-compatible devices much faster download and upload speeds than 3G service. Verizon and AT&T offer 4G service elsewhere around New England and plan to expand the higher-level service into Maine.
Darren Colvin, director of network operations for U.S. Cellular’s northeastern region, said upgrading to a 4G system requires new antennas that typically are added to existing towers. So while 4G is an entirely new system, it does not require companies to build new towers or other infrastructure, Colvin said.
you would think passamaquoddy Indians would be all over cell phone towers and high speed internet on there land to help get more development but they seem to have a one track mind on casinos and nothing else to grow the economy. Dont the pleasant point and Indian township areas need cell phone service
That whole downeast region is starved for lack of wireless connections for both cell phones and basic internet. It became even worse when US Cellular had to cut back on the signal strength because of pressure from Canada complaining that the signals leaked there. Meanwhile, Canadian signals are in some places the only signals there are, but using them as international connections are prohibitively expensive.
A growing part of the problem is that infrastructure suffers where land trusts are deliberately driving population down for preservationism as they arrogantly dictate where people and basic civilized activity are not to be allowed.
My cell will pick up a Canadian tower when I’m a good 15 miles from the border. If I go to Calais, Eastport or Lubec my cell phone is useless for the most part. As often as I called Verizon asking them if they could fix the problem, they cannot.
I have nothing against Canada but why do we have to deal with their cell coverage taking over our phones in the United States?
You’re not alone in that question, but the Canadian interference is not the only cause of the poor communications infrastructure, including wireless internet that Axiom claims to have covered but does not.
Verizon couldn’t do anything because apparently US Cellular controls the two towers near Machias and Dennysville, but they aren’t allowed to fix it either.
If you are stuck at the end of the line in Lubec with no cell phone signal try the parking lot for the fire dept at the top of the hill.
yep, right by the water tower…..
Downeast has struggled with poverty since Boston replaced Eastport as the east coast’s preferred deep harbor. Eastport is just now recovering from generations of poverty since the best available job used to be cutting the heads off sardines and putting them in a can.
Land preservation trust, imho, increase land values by assuring open spaces.
PS. Land preservation takes both a buyer and a seller of land. I suggest you do as they do: find some like minded individuals, spend years navigating the regulatory landscape, then tirelessly raising funds.
SingleTrackGirl 4/122/12 06:22 AM in reply to msscv: “Downeast has struggled with poverty since Boston replaced Eastport as the east coast’s preferred deep harbor. Eastport is just now recovering from generations of poverty since the best available job used to be cutting the heads off sardines and putting them in a can.”
Your disparaging remarks about Eastport show a poor understanding of the region, its history and economic state. Eastport, Lubec and the surrounding areas were very prosperous will into the 1960s and included a lot more than “cutting heads off sardines”. The whole area is gradually being stifled under preservationist controls. It has nothing to do with “Boston” other than for those like the Boston-based Conservation Law Foundation and its wealthy supporters seeking political control over rural Maine.
“Land preservation trust, imho, increase land values by assuring open spaces.”
Increases whose land values for the benefit of whom? State preservationist restrictions on normal use of private property are not helping those subjected to the regulatory takings, most recently for example by the Audubon ‘bird habitat’ scam originally aimed primarily at Washington County. The preservationist economic strangulation of rural areas like Washington County are driving people out because they can’t live there anymore. Land values where people can’t live are a lot less than in the mid and southern coast even though there is a shortage because of all the preservationism.
One effect of this is the disintegration of infrasture where the population is artificially driven down, making it harder and harder for people to live under this downward spiral. You can observe this all over the country where the preservationist elitists are strangling the economy, for example in the Adirondacks which has been promoted as a “model” for Greenline land use prohibitions in Maine for 25 years. The pretense that this is “for the economy” is a farce. The viro elitists want the land for their playground and they want the rural “riff raff” out.
“PS. Land preservation takes both a buyer and a seller of land. I suggest you do as they do: find some like minded individuals, spend years navigating the regulatory landscape, then tirelessly raising funds.”
Land preservation does not take either a buyer or a seller at all under regulatory takings. The owner keeps the deed and the tax bill and the viros get the control. That is why the viro lobby has done everything it can to undermine and destroy, for example, the regulatory taking bill LD1810. They don’t want to have to pay for what they steal.
Calling this “navigating the regulatory landscape” is a cynical euphemism for hijacking the power of government to take what they want.
They also know how to exploit the process to create “willing sellers” under economic strangulation and regulatory pressure. The true “willing sellers” have predominantly been “trust fund babies” and wealthy, out of state elitists collaborating with land trusts like the Maine Coast Heritage Trust.
Their “tireless raising of funds” has been state and Federal subsidies and grants from out of state wealthy non-profits like the Richard Mellon King Foundation funneled through the likes of the arrogant, politically-connected Maine Coast Heritage Trust and its affiliates and satellites. MCHT first tried to get the National Park Service to seize the whole area, then turned to US Fish & Wildlife and then a long-term, gradual process of economic strangulation to arrogantly drive people off the land they want.
The arrogant political class out to dictate where other people can and cannot live has the money and power to devote to these pressure tactics over long periods of time to get what they want. Normal people do not.
I guess then, what you’re saying is, you’re not a Sierra Club member. Gosh.
Like US 1 going north to Calais, Canada has towers in the clouds across the St. Croix River! We should demand they lower them, and reduce power. You can get grabbed by a Canadian tower anywhere near Calais.
My wife has to call US Cell every month and have roaming charges removed from our bill, because of the Canadian towers.
I turn my phone off when I hit the Calais area, drove by the Knock on Wood the other day , phone beeps, would you like to accept Canadian network charges, I just turned it off.
I even have a problem with my phone going to the Canadian time a lot.
Isn’t there a setting in your phone’s menu to turn off roaming, I know that there is on mine. Seems like that would solve the problem. I know with Verizon you have to choose whether you want international roaming, if you don’t the tower list sent to your phone is only domestic ones and will not recognize foreign towers.
Feel free to build towers wherever you want as far as I’m concerned! Sure beats useless Wind Turbines popping up all over the State! At least Cell Towers serve a purpose!
ADVANTAGES OF WIND POWER:
1. The wind is free and with modern technology it can be captured efficiently.
2. Once the wind turbine is built the energy it produces does not cause green house gases or other pollutants.
3. Although wind turbines can be very tall each takes up only a small plot of land. This means that the land below can still be used. This is especially the case in agricultural areas as farming can still continue.
4. Many people find wind farms an interesting feature of the landscape.
5. Remote areas that are not connected to the electricity power grid can use wind turbines to produce their own supply.
6. Wind turbines have a role to play in both the developed and third world.
7. Wind turbines are available in a range of sizes which means a vast range of people and businesses can use them. Single households to small towns and villages can make good use of range of wind turbines available today.
Wind turbines cannot sustain a base load.
Wind turbines create noise.
Wind turbines kill bats.
Wind turbines have 20+ year payoffs with subsidies.
Many people find wind farms an abomination on the Earth’s landscape.
You forgot that turbines kill birds. Remember that for next time!
So does my turkey fryer
throw a few up along Route 9 “The Airline”….from the Snack Bar to Calais there are a few of those Dead Spots……..ayah!
And some 3G in that area would be nice too….
You can have the 3G and all the remote service, until I can use my basic cell phone in my driveway only 10 miles west of Augusta without driving to the end of the road, there is a serious problem!
Amen!
Verizon spent 297 Mil in New England in 2011 – too bad all of it was Boston south – they have a lot of gall charging what they do for such a lousy setup in most of Maine.
Try using AT&T. Verizon’s coverage in Maine is 300x times better than AT&T. Since Verizon and US Cellular share towers, I don’t think you’ll find any better coverage with one than the other.
AT&T provided me with a micro cell tower that hooks up to my highspeed internet connection. I have really good reception at my house in Winterport. It doesn’t take up much space and works fine. Thanks AT&T.
So AT&T is using your internet service instead of their network, but are still subtracting the minutes from your plan, correct? So they are providing you with no signal, but still charging you minutes. Sounds like a pretty good scam. I do agree that this is better than nothing.
Many phones now will work off your wifi if it has a better signal. I don’t think it uses your minutes up.
These aren’t working off your regular wifi. These are small boxes provided by your wireless provider and uses your regular cellular signal, except it is routed through your high speed internet connection instead of one of their towers, still subtracting minutes from your plan.
Many smart phones can use wifi but don’t come equipped to make calls over wifi, there are apps that will make that happen, but in the few cases that the cellular companies have made this available out of the box, it does use minutes.
My last Blackberry on Tmobil worked the way i described.
That only works if you live in an area with high speed internet. O_0
Than why is it that I have US Cellular for my personal phone but by “work” phone is Verizon and when one doesn’t work, I grab the other one and use it?
Depends on the plan. With Verizon, I have no trouble roaming on US Cellular. US Cellular plans may or may not have roaming agreements depending on plan. Verizon prepaid, and prepaid companies that use their signal don’t usually have the ability to roam. Also one of your phones may have a stronger radio than the other, we have two phones of different brands that pull signal differently.
That’s my point. Dave said “I don’t think you’ll find any better coverage with one than the other.”
Signal will also depend upon what you’re using for a phone, a Motorolla typically has far better signal strength than something like a Samsung.
Maine is one of the only places that I go where I pay any attention to my signal meter. I have Verizon with roaming on Us Cellular up there, it is leaps and bounds better than it was just 5 years ago, but still spotty. Pretty much wherever else I go, the phone just works. In my home area I cannot remember the last time I dropped a call. Went to downeast Maine last summer and my phone gave me a “no signal” message, not something that I am used to seeing.
Sullivan has a tower. But it is not in use. Seems some Florida capitalists own the tower and want exorbitant sums of money that no cell carrier wants to pay. So our view is marred by a useless tower. Give it time and maybe our reception will improve with the tower going up in Gouldsboro. Not holding my breath tho.
come to monson you’ll have a warm welcome by me…i barely get service here and often use my wifi to access the wireless on my phone…although i do get 3G here
We have a track phone that is useless at the house (dead zone). We only use it when we take a trip to Bangor. I really don’t mind because I don’t feel a rage to be in constant contact with the world in general.
Not if the economy stays like this. Or maybe unless Moose start buying cell phones
I would kill for only 5bars of a 1G system in Eastport. US Cellular’s engineers must have been drinking when they located the tower for this part of Washington county in Cooper. All those pine trees and black flies have great reception, but here on the coast, forget it, NADA….If I had a Canadian cell phone I would be fine. I get more bars than Hersey makes, but they are all from Canada.
I hear you, cant even get 3G at my cabin in Washington county….Still get 1X…..
US Cellular is so adamant about not doing anything here, they will give you 100 free Canadian roaming minutes. To get this you do have to a lot of complaining, and months of making them take off roaming charges, but in the end, you can get a bit of relief. I did have to be on their $70 a month plan to get that perk, and in the end, it just wasn’t worth it because of still spotty service.
Had great reception in northwest Maine before they took away my “bag” phone.
There is no money to be made providing service to Dead Zones. Very low population and a poor rural population, no money to be found there.
That’s something that many Mainers can’t seem to wrap their head around. The city that I live in has about the same population as the entire state of Maine, but only needs a fraction of the towers to serve all of us. We pay the same as those living in Maine. Looking at it this way, Mainers should be paying much bigger cell phone bills. it costs much more to provide service to far fewer people. It’s amazing that there is any cellular competition up there at all.
who really cares about the scenic beauty of Acadia…there is “SO” much of it. Put in a few towers and possibly save someones life when 911 might be needed. Get no service from just outside Bar Harbor to almost into Southwest Harbor and Seal Cove… totally none in Somesville
For all the hoopla about increasing the coverage on the Blue Hill peninsula, I haven’t seen much difference! My son has to go to the highest point in Castine and then stand on one foot with his hand on his head to get a signal. When the MMA Parent’s Association looked into getting a cell phone booster for the dorms it was going to cost close to $50,000. Then we were told that there would be 2 new towers built in the next year. Here we are 2 years later and still no change. For the resident’s sake I hope things improve!!
I get reception at my house in Hudson on the first TracFone i bought ~5 yrs. Ago,then i bought a new one cause ‘it had a camera in it’…but i don’t get reception at the house with the newer one. I guess having a camera in your phone has its drawbacks in Maine…
We need something out toward Ambajejus/Millinocket Lake area and towards Baxter Park. It’s as much a safety issue as anything.
The Milli area is a true and total DEAD ZONE. Dream on about any new cellphone service. You need a phone that bad, buy a satellite phone like most third world countries.
we need one near the sullivan bridge to hacock
USF is a tax, look on your phone bill for it. however, I think expanding affordable wireless phones and internet are good for education and good for business and its worth subsidizing construction.
Many phones can now use wifi if the cell signal is poor. Often this does not use up your minutes. There are also units you can buy (not cheap) with an outdoor antenna and an indoor antenna that can bring service into a home or building where it doesn’t work
The same people who whine about bad coverage will cry bloody murder when someone wants to build a tower within their sight. The good folks of Veazie even denied the state police and their own fire department a tower that would have benefited their own neighbors.