AT&T and American Tower Ask North Carolina City to Allow Towers in Residential Areas

The major wireless carriers along with the tower companies are working together to build up our wireless infrastructure so mobile coverage is easily accessible. AT&T and American Tower have asked the City-County Planning Board of Winston-Salem, North Carolina to change its ordinance and allow communication towers to be built within residential areas.

“Consumers are relying on their wireless devices today for communications, shopping, and accessing information, and will rely on them even more in the future,” said Clifton Metcalf with AT&T. “To meet consumers’ demands for reliable connections, better mobile coverage and faster mobile speeds, wireless carriers must erect various types of antennas in multiple locations.”

If the City-County Planning Board allows this ordinance to pass, then companies will be permitted to construct cell phone towers in residential areas as long as they are concealed. This will help increase the mobile coverage in the area. Access to mobile broadband is becoming increasingly necessary as people switch from landlines to mobile devices. More than one of every four American homes (26.6%) deserted their landline telephone service and now rely exclusively on wireless service. (Source: Wireless Substitution) and CTIA—The Wireless Association reported that, “U.S. wireless data traffic grew 123 percent from 2010 (388 billion megabytes) to 2011 (866.7 billion megabytes).”

Members of the wireless industry, such as AT&T and American Tower, are working with cities, states, and federal governments to reduce the restriction companies must face when proposing to build a cell tower in residential and sometimes even commercial areas.