Flow of data drives request for more cellphone towers in Cumberland County
Posted: Thursday, December 19, 2013 10:05 pm
Eventually, every neighborhood will have its own cellphone tower, albeit shorter than the ones you'll see blinking in the sky tonight.
That was a vision of the future presented to the Cumberland County Board of Adjustment, which approved a special-use permit Thursday night for a 195-foot unsupported tower off Huckleberry Road, just east of Interstate 95 in the Eastover area.
Planning staff said it was one of about 10 antenna applications approved this year.
"Even existing towers cover less space than they did because more people are using them," said Tom Johnson, a lawyer for American Towers Inc.
AT&T is the carrier that wants the tower, but other carriers are expected to lease space on it.
By December 2012, there were 326.4 million wireless devices in use in the U.S., according to CTIA - The Wireless Association, formerly the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association.
There are five towers in Cumberland County registered with the Federal Communications Commission, and more than 500 antennas not connected to towers. Not all towers and antennas are registered.
The flow of data, rather than voice calls, is driving the need for more towers, Johnson said. An Internet-accessing smartphone uses 50 times more bandwidth than a regular voice call, Johnson said, and a laptop uses 368 times more than a phone call.
The heavier usage limits a tower's range.
"When the iPhone was released in 2007, the use of phones for data - to be able to access the Internet, use applications - skyrocketed," Johnson said.
By 2012, 38 percent of U.S. households had dropped their land line phones and gone all wireless, according to CTIA.
"A lot of households are (dropping) their land line phones because they don't want to pay two bills," Johnson said. "People are moving to wireless devices they can do so many different things with."
Cellphones use electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range. The huge increase in their use over the past decade has prompted much study into their potential effects on human health. Results so far have been inconclusive.
Marvin Hammond, who lives next to the site of the proposed tower in Eastover, said at the meeting that he wasn't opposed to it but had concerns.
"Are there any hazards I should be worried about?" he said.
Johnson said the tower plans are certified by the FCC and will produce a fraction of 1 percent of the maximum amount of radio frequency allowed.
Staff writer Gregory Phillips can be reached at phillipsg@fayobserver.com or 486-3596.
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