As cellular phone use increases, so does the number of requests to construct new wireless telecommunication facilities in the county.
The county hired a consultant to inventory existing telecommunication towers and monopoles in the county and identify where future facilities are needed as part of the Countywide Telecommunications/Monopole Study. The Board of Supervisors authorized the study in late 2001 and heard the report at its April 15 board meeting.
“Since the public first gained access to personal mobile communications in the 1980s, demand has steadily risen,” said the study, which was conducted by Atlantic Group of Companies in Ashland.
Six commercial wireless service providers use about 50 antenna sites in the county, most of them clustered along Routes 7 and 28 and the Dulles Greenway, the study states. The majority of antenna sites are in the Suburban Policy Area in the eastern end of the county. According to the study, the site map likely will change as demand for service increases.
Service providers are expected to establish service in high-volume corridors, such as Routes 7, 9, 15, 20, 50 and 287, and in residential and commercial developments where service does not exist. The providers are expected to consider as second priority serving the rural communities and high volume secondary road corridors in the Transition and Rural Policy Areas, outlined in the county’s 20-year general plan, adopted in July 2001.
CURRENTLY, AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Nextel, Sprint PCS, Verizon Wireless and Voice Stream Wireless are licensed to provide service in the county, each using their own networks.
“Only where they have their antennas can they get service,” said Joseph Vidunas, director of planning for the Atlantic Group of Companies, adding that roaming extends service by using another service provider’s facilities. “None of the carriers have identical coverage. There is a great variance … based on proprietary plans, availability of sites, capital to develop sites and demand for service.”
For complete coverage, the county would need 20 new telecommunication structures, as long as they were high-rise structures capable of supporting at least six service providers, according to the study. Low-rise structures of 80 feet or less typically can support one service provider.
“We ought to look at better landscaping requirements,” said Chairman Scott York (R-At Large).
The Board of Supervisors will take action on the study at the May 6 meeting. The board is expected to form a joint committee of members from the planning commission and the board-appointed Citizens Committee for Telecommunications.