Vermont Residents Protest Temporary Cell Site

AT&T is trying to put a temporary cell tower on Route 5 in Vermont to restore telephone and Internet coverage that was lost because a roaming agreement fell through. Even though this tower is temporary, the residents of Putney, VT are upset over the placement of the tower complaining that it is an eyesore and goes against the city’s tower regulations.

“It’s dreadful siting; it’s the most visible part of that site, and it’s very much in conflict with the cell tower regulations that we have, which are very explicit about the location of cell phone towers in the hills. It runs completely counter to that, and they acknowledge that,” Planning Commission Chair Phillip Bannister said. (Source: Commons News)

AT&T explained that this temporary tower would only be up for 18 months while they searched for a more permanent location that would increase network coverage. An AT&T spokesman agreed to attend the Selectboard’s next meeting on September 11^th to discuss the matter for thoroughly and discuss particulars with the members of the community.