Longboat Key leaders discuss ways to improve cell service

Town leaders have met with AT&T and Verizon in the past few weeks.

By Mark Bergin
| 11:42 a.m. April 26, 2021

The town rejected the possibility of a 150-foot town on the north end of the island, portrayed in this simulation.

Longboat Key
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It's been years since the notion of a cellular service tower on Longboat Key has been discussed.

And like in 2011, when a 150-foot tower was proposed, the idea wasn't well-received as a means of boosting spotty wireless service, particularly in the northern half of town.

Longboat leaders and a town consultant, KCI Technologies, recently met with AT&T on potential solutions. Town Manager Tom Harmer said AT&T mentioned the possibility of erecting a 100-foot tower to improve the signal.

Power to the people

The town is still on track to complete its underground utilities project by the end of 2022. The southernmost phase is essentially complete, said CDM Smith project consultant Mark Porter, though some street lights still need to be set.

Phase two continues from the northern tip of the island to Dream Island Road. Porter said the most challenging portion of that phase were the northernmost neighborhoods, but work there is now complete.

“That was probably the most [concerning] section of the project that we had going into this project, so we’re excited about that,” he said.

Smith said phase three work is expected to start in the next week or two.

Phase three work goes from Country Club Shores to the county line. Phase four goes from Dream Island Road south to the county line.

However, At-Large Commissioner BJ Bishop recalled previous conflicts over aesthetics, referring to "long and complicated" discussions in front of the Town Commission and Planning and Zoning Board that ultimately led to decisions avoiding such structures. Even camouflaged versions. .

“The only location that the carriers found attractive were not sites that got any support from the community, and quite honestly, I can’t fathom that there would be a different result this time," she said.

The height of lighting rods drew similar arguments last fall, when the Town Commission voted in favor of a special exception atop single-family homes.

Harmer said KCI thinks there are ways wireless companies can improve service through small cells. He said Verizon did not mention building a tower, but brought up the possibility of improving signal by using small cell sites. The town is still waiting to hear back from Verizon.

Harmer said wireless companies have attached towers atop two taller condo buildings, which is why the south end of the island has better signal.

“We just recently met with AT&T,” Harmer said. “They said their primary gap is on the north end, and I would say that’s the north half to one-third of the island.

“They said they have maybe a small gap of coverage in the Longboat Key Club area, but it’s not as bad as the north end.”

The Town Commission has received several emails from residents and working professionals about the woeful cell phone service. Residents have said they have to rely on WiFi connected to hard-wired networks to make and receive phone calls.

“That’s the reality,” District 5 Commissioner Maureen Merrigan said. “We’ve got landlines, and we have to walk to multiple spots in the road. Calls drop.”

While people have struggled to make phone calls for personal or business purposes, commissioners have expressed their concern that poor cell service could be a bigger problem in the event of an emergency.

Longboat Key Public Works Director Isaac Brownman told the Observer in February that the town’s three-phase contract with KCI is not to exceed $16,300.