Cell Phone Coverage 6.29.2024

There have been a lot of conversations and concerns over the years regarding the poor cell service in Chinquapin and the Cashiers area. Many have looked to Mark and the Waterfront group to fix the issue; however, it is outside their ability to solve.

Here is some information as background and where we are with potential solutions long term.

Cell phone companies place their equipment on cell towers that are leased. There will often be multiple companies leasing a single tower. The tower is usually owned by a tower company that builds the tower after finding and executing a long-term land lease of a piece of property. There are also brokers who find locations and then recruit a cell tower company to come build the tower. To actually build and operate a cell tower, there are multiple permits required such as FCC, FAA plus local county agencies.  It is a complicated process involving multiple steps and companies.

Our area has several obstacles. We have low population in the Cashiers area (except in tourist season), and therefore are not very attractive to cell companies. In tourist season with a markedly increased population, people’s calls are counted by their provider at home where the account is registered, not in the Cashiers area.  We have mountains. This makes where the tower is located important, (it needs to be at high elevation) but it also makes it more expensive to build because of access to the site and services (power). In addition, much of our area has restrictions that makes finding a location for a cell tower difficult.

Cell service is not good in much of the plateau, from Glenville to Cashiers and beyond. A new cell tower with multiple providers is really needed versus a tower with 1 provider.

There is one area in our own conservancy where a cell tower is allowed (Laurel Mtn) near the water tower; however, the conservation documents require that the tower be built to look like an old fire tower which increases the building cost and makes the cost much more expensive.

To Mark’s credit, he did install a booster tower and equipment in that location to try to improve our service. However, it did not significantly solve the coverage problem. A full cell tower will be needed in our area to get us better cell service.

So where are we currently? Meetings over the past year with Jackson County leadership staff about cell service have resulted in gaining information from the County, advocating for our needs, and offers to help the County, including lobbying for state funds. Cell coverage is an issue for other areas of the county as well. It is a public safety concern. If there is an accident, and you don’t have cell coverage, calling 911 is difficult and may delay help. There are also emergency services locations that have minimal connectivity. The county staff have been meeting with cell companies and tower builders over the last 6 months to provide some public pressure to get additional towers built to improve coverage. To date, one new tower has been built in the county via a partnership with Southwestern Community College and Vogue Towers. Read the article here. https://www.southwesterncc.edu/news/new-cell-tower-atop-scc-campus-bridges-coverage-gap  There are follow-up meetings occurring, and we are in touch with the county to assist in their efforts to get movement for a new tower in our area. We will continue to advocate for our community, and fingers crossed, there will be good news in the next few months. We will keep you informed.

Allen Dobson