Word: toweritis
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...pristine peak from unsightly antennas, agreed to buy it for $2.5 million last summer. In the town-by-town battle between improving cell-phone coverage and preserving precious skylines, few places have had the resolve--not to mention the resources--of Mount Watatic's neighbors. But such aversion to tower building is becoming the norm in cities and suburbs across the country. From Lakeland, Fla., to Winnetka, Ill., more and more communities are demanding some sort of antenna concealment. Even Microsoft's tech-friendly hometown, Redmond, Wash., requires that new towers be camouflaged in residential areas...
Suburban stonewalling was a hot topic at the wireless industry's recent Tower Summit and Trade Show in New Orleans. "Wireless companies have already paid the Federal Government over $20 billion for licenses that are tied up in local disputes," lamented Laura Altschul, government affairs director for T-Mobile USA. "We need to break the logjam in residential areas." To speed the process, the Bush Administration is trying to give the industry unfettered access to the public right of way. Municipalities could lose control over tower siting along major roads, but it's unlikely that citizens will have...
Even if the feds step in, the only way tower builders are moving into cell-phone-rich, aesthetically guarded communities is through camouflage. Sprint PCS recently agreed to pay an estimated $150,000 to fix up--and wire up--a century-old windmill in a ritzy section of Fairfield, Conn. The mansions there have lousy cellular reception because well-heeled neighbors don't want a tower in their backyard. "We've got millionaires sitting in their driveways just so they can use their cell phones," says an exasperated resident...
...Although tower building has fallen off more than 70% since the late '90s, business is holding steady at major camouflage shops, with San Diego's TeleFlage enjoying a 75% sales increase this year. Cash-strapped carriers are still willing to cough up the extra 15% to 20% that it costs to hide an antenna in a high-rent neighborhood...
...cheapest stealth design, a stocky flagpole with room inside for antennas, accounts for roughly half the camouflage market and adds $10,000 to $20,000 to the price of a tower. Trees cost double or triple that amount. "You pretty much blow your profit margins on camouflage," says Jim Fryer, the industry's chief data tracker, who runs TowerSource.com "But if you can close the deal and not have to go through another year of zoning battles, it's probably worth...