Alton cell tower

[Steveo]

Can anyone tell me if the cell tower in Alton has been put up. If so, how is the reception for Verizon. If not, any idea when it will be.

Thanks

[RLW]

No workie as yet and I do not believe they have even started construction on the tower.

[upthesaukee]

I know a lady who lives next door to its location. area has been cleared and as of a few weeks ago, construction has not started on the small building that will be there.

Heard that it should be this spring...spring is here... Maybe April or May.

[Gearhead]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

I know a lady who lives next door to its location. area has been cleared and as of a few weeks ago, construction has not started on the small building that will be there.

Heard that it should be this spring...spring is here... Maybe April or May.

Please update us if you hear more. I'd really appreciate it!
Thanks, GH

[upthesaukee]

I saw the abutter last night, and because of weight limit road posting on the dirt roads leading in, construction is at a standstill. Once the roads firm up, there is no longer 6 in of mud on the road, and the load limit is lifted, construction is set to resume.

Come on warm dry weather...

[RLW]

If the contractor goes to the road agent and he is in a good mood (RA) he can give dispensation to the 6 ton road limit and in this case I am sure he would, as it is more tax revenue for the town just as soon as it gets completed...

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by RLW

If the contractor goes to the road agent and he is in a good mood (RA) he can give dispensation to the 6 ton road limit and in this case I am sure he would, as it is more tax revenue for the town just as soon as it gets completed...

Property is assessed for its value as of April 1st year to year. So it does not matter tax wise if the work is done next week or 6 months from now and even when completed a cell tower is not a big deal. That aside the tax revenue would not be a consideration for the road agent in any decision to wave the load limit.

[AmantiDelLago]

We took a ride by last week and noticed that they had some more logs stacked and ready to be hauled out. Also saw what appeared to be conduit coming out of the ground. I'm guessing the conduit was installed in the area where either the building or a generator will be. Sure hope the tower improves service out by the Alton/Gilford line on Rte 11

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by RLW

If the contractor goes to the road agent and he is in a good mood (RA) he can give dispensation to the 6 ton road limit and in this case I am sure he would, as it is more tax revenue for the town just as soon as it gets completed...

Per my friend, there is literally several inches of mud to drive through...heavy equipment would ruin the road...

Patience is the word here...once they get in there, the work is supposed to go very quickly,

[Little Bear]

Where are they putting this tower?

[Just Sold]

Originally Posted by Little Bear

Where are they putting this tower?

From what I remember it will be off of Silver Lake Trail which comes off Rte. 28. That places it above Dan Kelley Rd which is off East Side Drive. You can see the location on Google maps

[upthesaukee]

it is off Bowman Rd, and Jude Hill. It is above rte 28A (East Side Dr.) between Leigh Dr and Cathy Ln, almost directly above The Cascades.

[lagoon]

Since the Town of Alton has spent over $ 100,000 on legal fees to fight the tower perhaps they should have the privilege of cutting the ribbon once it opens?

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by lagoon

Since the Town of Alton has spent over $ 100,000 on legal fees to fight the tower perhaps they should have the privilege of cutting the ribbon once it opens?

Maybe Mr. & Mrs. Slade would like to join the Town of Alton in having the privilege of cutting the ribbon once it is finished.

Can you imagine how the Slade's are going to feel once the Tower is up and they have to look at it to remind them of the 2-3 year battle (maybe more) they had with Industrial Communications and Electronics, Inc.
According to the Slade's the Tower will interfere with their panoramic view of Lake Winnipesaukee and the surrounding mountains.

[Merrymeeting]

Anyone know if they have started since the mud cleared?

[riverat]

I took a ride over to Jude Hill rd. the other day to check out the progress of the tower, first of all those residents on that road are undergoing a major disruption from their little peaceful dead end street in the woods.
By the looks of the crushed stone mixed in with the dirt, the road must have been at one time a huge mudhole.
I drove in as far as I could without getting in the way of the construction to the access road, still being worked on.
It seems the land has been cleared and staked out, and possibly footing excavations underway. But the access road is still in the impassable stages for regular work or construction vehicles in my opinion.

[upthesaukee]

Article about the planning board meeting had quick update on the tower. They hope to be operational by the end of the summer.

Best info I can pass on at this time.

[Ride & Dive]

Originally Posted by Steveo

Can anyone tell me if the cell tower in Alton has been put up. If so, how is the reception for Verizon. If not, any idea when it will be.

Thanks

Most of the time the towers will provide service for all carriers. So it should help everyone.

[Ben's Grampa]

It would sure be nice to be able to stream over the cell phone. As it is now my cell speed when in the lakes isn't any faster than my DSL which on a good day is less than 500k

[nj2nh]

Anything new on the cell tower?

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by nj2nh

Anything new on the cell tower?

Just what is in the previous post to you...late summer...I am guessing August or Sept...late summer to me...I want to see it so bad too.

[nj2nh]

Thanks. Was hoping it would be done when we get there in three weeks.

[upthesaukee]

I was up at the dump...er landfill...er transfer station..er....well, that place you take the trash, and tried to call my wife to say I was on my way home. Signal, drove 50 yards, call dropped, no signal. Got one bar again, called..drove a little bit...call dropped, no signal...put the phone down, and when I got home, said sorry it took so long to go to the dump er...etc...tried to call couldn't...The new tower should help right there.

It will be a boon at my house across the bay...it looks like it will just beam down the hill and across the bay into my back yard.

Maybe it will get done in two weeks.

[nj2nh]

We are just down from the dump, er, recycling center, on Echo Point. Only signal is about ten feet into the water.

[upthesaukee]

On our way down the bay yesterday, and noticed the vertical tower is up.
The second picture is without cropping, to show how it looks from the bay. Location is just inside Echo Point, almost over "The Cascades", on the west side of the bay.

[Merrymeeting]

Does anyone have information on which wireless companies will be leasing space on the tower? AT&T and Verizon at minimum, I hope...

[Gearhead]

I don't know but it's lovely. When it goes live I think I'll have a little party.

[Den65]

Originally Posted by Merrymeeting

Does anyone have information on which wireless companies will be leasing space on the tower? AT&T and Verizon at minimum, I hope...

at&t will be the first cell carrier on the new alton tower, picture of first power meter at site. No info on when turn up will be not any antenna's on the tower yet. Will keep you updated as any info comes my way

[upthesaukee]

As mentioned earlier, the tower is up, no antenna arrays up yet.

I spoke with a Planning Board member today, who told me that best recollection is that it will be ATT, Verizon, Sprint, and TMobile on the tower. Last date for being in operation given was mid-September.

[Legionnaire70]

I finally saw the tower today, coming around the scenic view headed towards Alton. I sure hope Verizon is part of this tower and it eliminates the "dropped call, dead zone" from sandy point to Jesus valley road..

[Steveo]

There are a couple of arrays on the tower. Hopefully it won't be long now

[riverat]

For the last several weeks they have been power trucks along rt 28 and down bowman rd. running wires and for the last week or so they have been working on grading and widening bowman rd. I hope solves those dead spots in services going through hills.

[Den65]

Originally Posted by Steveo

There are a couple of arrays on the tower. Hopefully it won't be long now

We are waiting on Fairpoint to get the telco part of the site running, maybe by the end of the month.

[RLW]

The week before last I was watching the pole getting it's antennas being mounted while I was driving down Alton mountain. One day there would be one being mounted and 2 days later another. I haven't seen any additional being added this past week. Hopefully it will help us 1/2 way down the other side of the mountain.

[mcdude]

Why was the other thread closed?

ALTON — It’s been a long process, but a new cell phone tower has been erected on Miramichie Hill and one antenna has already been installed.
The cell phone tower is located near East Side Drive and according to Kevin Delaney, of Industrial Communications, the hardware and an AT&T antenna has been installed and should be up and running very soon if it’s not already in operation.
Delaney said that a Verizon antenna is planned to be installed and should be providing cell phone service by the end of the calendar year.

Let the distracted driving begin!

[RLW]

Originally Posted by mcdude

Why was the other thread closed?



Let the distracted driving begin!

Regarding more phone usage while driving or people looking at the tower, which is had to pick out even after you know where it is.

[LakeSnake]

Noticed I think two weeks ago that they have added "fake" branaches to the tower, so now it looks like a somewhat oversized pine tree. Makes it harder to see, which is a good thing as long as you are not speeding down the hill looking for it.

[IslandRadio]

Originally Posted by LakeSnake

Noticed I think two weeks ago that they have added "fake" branaches to the tower, so now it looks like a somewhat oversized pine tree. Makes it harder to see, which is a good thing as long as you are not speeding down the hill looking for it.

Hard to say. When I'm driving, if I see one of these "giant trees", I tend to look at it, thinking to myself "is that a tree?" and might study it for a split second. If I see a tower, I might (or might not) notice it, but otherwise ignore it because it's a tower, and they're everywhere and we're used to seeing them.

It's probably the un-naturalness of the "really big" tree - out of place on the landscape - that naturally draws attention.

Hopefully no one drives around staring at these things!!!

[RLW]

Originally Posted by LakeSnake

Noticed I think two weeks ago that they have added "fake" branaches to the tower, so now it looks like a somewhat oversized pine tree. Makes it harder to see, which is a good thing as long as you are not speeding down the hill looking for it.

From my viewing point on Alton Mountain it sure doesn't look like any type of foliage (Fake branches) have been added. It looks just like a plain old cell tower to me.

[LakeSnake]

RLW from my place on the mountain with binoculars there is definitely foliage added. Check it out. Still has the white transmitter but looks better than I thought it was going to.

[Merrymeeting]

It's not clear where McDude's quoted article comes from, or when.

Does anyone know if the tower is active yet or not?

[RLW]

Originally Posted by LakeSnake

RLW from my place on the mountain with binoculars there is definitely foliage added. Check it out. Still has the white transmitter but looks better than I thought it was going to.

I gotcha,. I'm not using binoculars just the naked eye. If it has fake branches, they do not make much of a difference as it still looks like a cell tower when driving down the mountain to this ole geezer.

[RLW]

Originally Posted by LakeSnake

RLW from my place on the mountain with binoculars there is definitely foliage added. Check it out. Still has the white transmitter but looks better than I thought it was going to.

I have to put this note in as I have seen the tower you are talking about. I didn't realize that there are 2 towers over in the same direction. A little to the right there is another tower. I'm guessing that the one you see in the correct tower. Just hope the whole darn thing is up and working very soon and it helps many individuals get better signals.

[AYF]

Originally Posted by Den65

We are waiting on Fairpoint to get the telco part of the site running, maybe by the end of the month.

I realize this thread is going on three years old, but does anyone know if there is optical fiber running to this tower?

[Weekend Pundit]

If I had to make an educated guess, I'd say the answer is yes. There's plenty of dark fiber running nearby and fiber backhaul for cell sites is something both Metrocast and TDS offer to the carriers. RF backhaul is generally used of fiber isn't available, but that's not the case here. A lot of 4G/LTE traffic is not easily handled by microwave backhaul, particularly if the path length between cells is long and the potential for very high data demand.

[AYF]

Originally Posted by Weekend Pundit

If I had to make an educated guess, I'd say the answer is yes. There's plenty of dark fiber running nearby and fiber backhaul for cell sites is something both Metrocast and TDS offer to the carriers. RF backhaul is generally used of fiber isn't available, but that's not the case here. A lot of 4G/LTE traffic is not easily handled by microwave backhaul, particularly if the path length between cells is long and the potential for very high data demand.

Thanks for the information. The organization I work for is looking to put in equipment that can do long distance wireless Internet to our location. It needs line of sight to do so and I've been looking for an appropriate transmission point that has a fiber connection. This cell tower look like a prime candidate.

[Weekend Pundit]

Originally Posted by AYF

The organization I work for is looking to put in equipment that can do long distance wireless Internet to our location. It needs line of sight to do so and I've been looking for an appropriate transmission point that has a fiber connection. This cell tower look like a prime candidate.

Are you looking to install something in the 2.4GHz or 5.8GHz bands, the 600MHz/700MHz LTE bands, or in some other band?

Is it WiFi, some form of WiMax, or a point-to-point private link?

[AYF]

Originally Posted by Weekend Pundit

Are you looking to install something in the 2.4GHz or 5.8GHz bands, the 600MHz/700MHz LTE bands, or in some other band?

Is it WiFi, some form of WiMax, or a point-to-point private link?

We are looking to use the AirFiber 5 from Ubiquiti which uses the 5 GHz band. These units have a good history of operation in all parts of the world:

https://www.ubnt.com/airfiber/airfiber5/



It would be a private point-to point link with paired devices. The AirFiber 5 needs line of sight, but does have a rated maximum distance of 100 kilometers. It has a maximum of 600 Mbps transmission capability under ideal conditions. We calculate we can get a minimum of 100 Mbps in this instance where we will be transmitting 25 kilometers.

The price of the AirFIber 5 is extremely reasonable - about $1000 for each unit.

[wifi]

I hope you can stand the sticker shock of renting a spot on a commercial tower and the costs of using their fiber. All the big guy cell companies require at least $1M insurance, plus approved installers, etc, etc. It's not like putting ham gear on your own stick. It looks like what you are planning to spend on equipment might be about what I would expect your monthly costs would run. Not intending to talk down, you may know everything there is to know about tower rentals.

Good Luck with your endeavor.

[AYF]

Originally Posted by wifi

I hope you can stand the sticker shock of renting a spot on a commercial tower and the costs of using their fiber. All the big guy cell companies require at least $1M insurance, plus approved installers, etc, etc. It's not like putting ham gear on your own stick. It looks like what you are planning to spend on equipment might be about what I would expect your monthly costs would run. Not intending to talk down, you may know everything there is to know about tower rentals.

Good Luck with your endeavor.

Yes, you are absolutely correct on the costs. We will be starting a similar install in Michigan shortly and the equipment price is the cheapest part of the deal. Tower rent is $375/month, 100 Mbps fiber is $950/month, tower installation is $4500, electrical work $3000, cable $1000, two UPS $1400, two switches $1000, tower inspection after installation $1000, and the one million dollar insurance policy.

The motivation for doing this is that the building complex in Michigan that will be the recipient of the connection currently uses three T1 lines to get 4.5 Mbps at a cost of $1000/month. The new setup will give them 100 Mbps for $1325/month. A 32% increase in monthly cost for a 22x increase in Internet speed.

If all goes well with the Michigan project, then next spring we will tackle the New Hampshire project for a complex that has similar needs.

[Weekend Pundit]

Originally Posted by AYF

It would be a private point-to point link with paired devices. The AirFiber 5 needs line of sight, but does have a rated maximum distance of 100 kilometers. It has a maximum of 600 Mbps transmission capability under ideal conditions. We calculate we can get a minimum of 100 Mbps in this instance where we will be transmitting 25 kilometers.

I think you'll find that "maximum of 100 kilometers" is under ideal conditions. Your path of 25 km sounds do-able, but I do have to ask whether a path loss analysis has been or will be done. You may find that the connection may be slow, spotty or unavailable during rain or snow if it is heavy enough. This is particularly true at 5GHz. It also depends upon the modulation and FEC scheme that is used (assuming Forward Error Correction is used). Some modulation schemes are quite robust while others are more susceptible to weather related path loss and could lead to a rollback of data speed.

In any case, good luck with the RF link!

[Den65]

Look this site to be turned on for at&t tomorrow as long as the weather doesn't get to bad for final inspection.

[Den65]

Ok after a few more tweak's and a couple of drive around's today the cell site for at&t should be on the air. Not sure what the coverage will be because of all the hills but we will see. Don't yell at me if it isn't perfect I don't design them I just keep them working...........sometimes

[Lakeboater]

Any idea when Verizon will be up and running on the new tower?

[Den65]

Originally Posted by Lakeboater

Any idea when Verizon will be up and running on the new tower?

Not sure the only thing that is there is a concrete pad for there building

[Lakeboater]

With only a pad I guess it will be awhile even with a pre-fab building.
Thanks Den

[Merrymeeting]

Originally Posted by Den65

Ok after a few more tweak's and a couple of drive around's today the cell site for at&t should be on the air. Not sure what the coverage will be because of all the hills but we will see. Don't yell at me if it isn't perfect I don't design them I just keep them working...........sometimes

No joy here. Still no signal at the house. Oh well...back to the mini-tower. Hopefully coverage when out on the roads will have improved.

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by Merrymeeting

No joy here. Still no signal at the house. Oh well...back to the mini-tower. Hopefully coverage when out on the roads will have improved.

I live on the other side of the bay from the tower and I am not seeing any signal either...same old single bar of coverage.

[RLW]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

I live on the other side of the bay from the tower and I am not seeing any signal either...same old single bar of coverage.

Me neither, but I'm on the other side of Alton mountain. By what is being inputted about the signal, I'm wondering if it really has been activated

[BroadHopper]

Is it GSM, CDMA, TDMA or LTE signal? If it broadcast all then you should see a difference. If not it depends on your phone carrier.

[Den65]

Originally Posted by BroadHopper

Is it GSM, CDMA, TDMA or LTE signal? If it broadcast all then you should see a difference. If not it depends on your phone carrier.

It is CDMA (3g) only at this time Lte is in the process.

[Legionnaire70]

There is no way that thing is up and running.. Service hasn't changed a bit from sandy point on towards West Alton

[Den65]

Originally Posted by Legionnaire70

There is no way that thing is up and running.. Service hasn't changed a bit from sandy point on towards West Alton

you are correct sir, they turned it back down due to RF issues, they will address them on Monday............sorry told you there was some tweak's to do to it. Always tough right before a holiday. We'll try again on Monday

[Legionnaire70]

3G service tonight from sandy point on! I'm guessing verizon is up and running!!?

And 3G all the way through West Alton! Sweet!!

[magicrobotmonkey]

I had full bars on both AT&T and VZW while duck hunting on the merrymeeting this morning

[Pineedles]

Originally Posted by magicrobotmonkey

I had full bars on both AT&T and VZW while duck hunting on the merrymeeting this morning

How did you do? Planning on some duck burritos I hope.

[upthesaukee]

In a PM with Den65, he told me that the tower is ATT only right now, and that Verizon hopes to be up by the end of this month. He also informed me that Att and Verizon do not have a roaming agreement in this area.

As I stood at the end of Lakewood, at the intersection of Rte 11, looking at the tower across the bay, I had one bar of 3G on my Verizon Droid.

Coverage at the Merrymeeting is off of Prospect Mt. Tower.

Not trying to cause an argument, and maybe Den65 will jump back in and explain further what is going on with the new Alton Tower.

I will be very happy to see the tower functional with Verizon.

[Legionnaire70]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

In a PM with Den65, he told me that the tower is ATT only right now, and that Verizon hopes to be up by the end of this month. He also informed me that Att and Verizon do not have a roaming agreement in this area.

As I stood at the end of Lakewood, at the intersection of Rte 11, looking at the tower across the bay, I had one bar of 3G on my Verizon Droid.

Coverage at the Merrymeeting is off of Prospect Mt. Tower.

Not trying to cause an argument, and maybe Den65 will jump back in and explain further what is going on with the new Alton Tower.

I will be very happy to see the tower functional with Verizon.

Interesting, maybe my phone was just having a good day and all the stars were aligned... I had 3 bars of 3G at the west Alton marina entrance, that never happens!

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by Legionnaire70

Interesting, maybe my phone was just having a good day and all the stars were aligned... I had 3 bars of 3G at the west Alton marina entrance, that never happens!

I had dropped my car off in Laconia for some servicing, and so my wife was driving. I thought about your post on the way home, and had just gone past the west end of 11D heading to Alton. I held my phone in my hand, and watched the bars. I too had 3 to 4 bars, which I think may have been from the Roberts Cove Campground tower.

After the scenic views, and getting onto the long straightaway to the east end of 11D, I was down to my standard 1, sometimes, 2 bars of 3G. Went by Rand Hill Rd, past Precious Gardens, and turned onto Lakewood, all with just 1 bar.

I just hope that Den65 was given good info about Verizon. Since this whole debacle about the tower started, through the long overdue agreement, it seemed that everyone was in a rush to get the tower up and running. Since the agreement, and the start of construction, it has been one delay after the next, and the consumer is the one to suffer.

Hopefully, at the start of the new year, we can "clink" our Androids together and toast each other with a text on how great our signal in Alton Bay has finally come to fruition. Or maybe just a good stein of libation!

[Den65]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

In a PM with Den65, he told me that the tower is ATT only right now, and that Verizon hopes to be up by the end of this month. He also informed me that Att and Verizon do not have a roaming agreement in this area.

As I stood at the end of Lakewood, at the intersection of Rte 11, looking at the tower across the bay, I had one bar of 3G on my Verizon Droid.

Coverage at the Merrymeeting is off of Prospect Mt. Tower.

Not trying to cause an argument, and maybe Den65 will jump back in and explain further what is going on with the new Alton Tower.

I will be very happy to see the tower functional with Verizon.

All the issues have been resolved and the at&t site is on the air now. Verizon is up on prospect mt (if that is where they grow the blueberries) and on overcast days rf signals seem to work better also Verizon is 800 MHz up here which gives them better signal. So some days you may work better than others.

[Merrymeeting]

Originally Posted by Den65

All the issues have been resolved and the at&t site is on the air now. Verizon is up on prospect mt (if that is where they grow the blueberries) and on overcast days rf signals seem to work better also Verizon is 800 MHz up here which gives them better signal. So some days you may work better than others.

Thanks for the continued updates. Is AT&T on with all protocols, or still just CDMA?

[upthesaukee]

My neighbor posted on FB to me that it seemed that Verizon was up and running on the tower.

I have been watching the signal, and I am varying between 3G 1 bar to 3G 4bars. My wife has 4G with 2 bars and varying as well. Hopefully, they have turned it on, and are now tweeking it, like Den65 said they were doing with ATT a few months ago. In the past, I have not had 3G, so this is encouraging.

Hopefully I will see the 3-4 bars my kids had at Christmas on ATT.

[AmantiDelLago]

Upthesaukee, good to hear. Please keep us updated.
Thanks

[Keng3]

No, Verizon is not on yet. I'll know because my son will no longer be texting his girl friend and be calling her on his cell phone from our house. I live on Trask Side Rd. Here's a picture of the tower from last Monday.

[upthesaukee]

I was talking with some friends tonight. One from close to East Side Drive on Trask Rd has 4G four bars at his house, and has had since Tuesday. Never had that kind of signal before until this week.

I have 2 bars of 3G as we speak, and my wife has 2 bars of 4G, something we have never had. We have had 1 bar of coverage, at 1x or just 1x until this week.

I do think that Verizon is up and running. I just hope that they tweak it up just a bit. I would like to see the 4 bars that my kids have on ATT off the same tower.

[AmantiDelLago]

Upthesaukee where in the bay are you located?

[upthesaukee]

Rand Hill Rd, also know as Old Laconia Rd to the old, old-timers. It starts at Busy Corner, by Amilynne's and JP China, goes up to Alton Mt Rd, and then comes out on Rte 11 again about a half mile before Jesus Valley Rd / Rte 11D intersection.

Pinning it down a little more, I am just west of Lakewood Dr, and just under a half mile off the lake.

To pin it down even more, I am here "X" .

[upthesaukee]

Just took this picture a few minutes ago. As I said, we have never had 3G or 4G coverage at the house, until this week.

[AmantiDelLago]

I know the area well. Let's hope they tweak the signal so you end up with 4 bars like your children on AT&T. Thanks again.

[Keng3]

My wife is out with her friends tonight, so I took the kids over to the Rusty Moose for dinner. On the way back we stopped at the corner of Rt. 28 and Bowman Rd. I had no signal and my son only had 1 bar. We drove down Bowman and turned onto Jude Hill Rd. I got 1 bar my son got 2. Drove up Jude Hill right to the base of the new tower, I got 2 bars my son got 3. We should have seen a bigger jump in bars back at Rt. 28 and Bowman. I think what we are getting is either the Old Wolfeboro Rd. Tower or the Roberts cove Tower. We got back home to Trask Side Rd. and back to no bars.

Upthesaukee, might you be picking up someone's network extender/home cell phone repeater? We have a couple of these on Trask Side Rd. Some overlapping between the homes. They seem to be getting more common. This could be giving someone else the impression the they have more cell service than they really do.

[upthesaukee]

As I sit here tonight, I have 1-2 bars, still 3G. Not sure why... I am on an acre and a half of land, and the cell phone extenders are good for about 4500 sq ft. That would be a 40 ft radius.

I borrowed one from a friend, and could not go out of the house to the porch on the side of our garage and get a signal. Not sure what is going on... but I notice the signal is a little less tonight than during the day.

Not sure if they are working (daytime hours) on getting it up and running. I guess time will tell. I certainly do not have the signal to contemplate getting rid of my landline.

Your picture of the new array being installed is certainly a positive sign, and from what I heard a few weeks or so ago, maybe just a little longer, was they were trying to get TDS to get the phone lines in to the site.

From my end, it appears it is up... but not nearly as good as ATT... as I said, I hope they are still working on it.

And thanks for your input, Keng3. Between us, we will be able to sort it out eventually.

[AmantiDelLago]

Is Verizon even on the old wolfeboro rd tower? I drove right by it to the end of the road across from 28A the other day and wasn't getting much for service

[Legionnaire70]

Originally Posted by Keng3

No, Verizon is not on yet. I'll know because my son will no longer be texting his girl friend and be calling her on his cell phone from our house. I live on Trask Side Rd. Here's a picture of the tower from last Monday.

It has to be on now, 4 bars of service going by sandy point and I'm able to access the internet too... Unheard of till a few days ago...

[playinghooky]

I still don't see any improvement off of Echo Point Rd. Same as before, lucky to pick up one bar.

[ghfromaltonbay]

Originally Posted by Legionnaire70

It has to be on now, 4 bars of service going by sandy point and I'm able to access the internet too... Unheard of till a few days ago...

I was getting 3 and sometimes 4 bars at the top of the hill at Sandy Point last summer and also could access the internet on my phone. I even could access the internet via cell phone near the cottages just below the wall behind the restaurant.

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by ghfromaltonbay

I was getting 3 and sometimes 4 bars at the top of the hill at Sandy Point last summer and also could access the internet on my phone. I even could access the internet via cell phone near the cottages just below the wall behind the restaurant.

The tower at Prospect Mt. gave pretty good coverage further out the bay than by the town docks. The terrain behind JP China was enough of a block to knock down the signal some. Out by Sandy Point, the signal was much better. On really windy days where we would just anchor on the town dock side of Sandy Point, we would have 3-4 bars there as well.

The new tower will help on East Side dr. and rte 11 with their little nooks and crannies. Also, up on the hills on the west side of the bay.

[jjackman]

Has anyone got an update on the cell phone service in West Alton? Thanks!

[Gearhead]

As far as I can tell there isn't any Verizon on the tower yet. AT&T is working though.

They said that it should be up and running by the end of the month. Which month is the question, I guess.

[Gearhead]

As I type on my iPhone 4, I have 2 bars. Even with occasional 3 bars my phone will not call from my house in East Alton. My mother-in-law however was here this evening and she had full signal with her iPhone 5C. Is it a 4G or LTE thing? I don't need data, I just need my phone.

Does anyone in the know have any ideas? Maybe I need to update my roaming tomorrow when I get a signal and try again.

Thanks,
GH

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by Gearhead

As I type on my iPhone 4, I have 2 bars. Even with occasional 3 bars my phone will not call from my house in East Alton. My mother-in-law however was here this evening and she had full signal with her iPhone 5C. Is it a 4G or LTE thing? I don't need data, I just need my phone.

Does anyone in the know have any ideas? Maybe I need to update my roaming tomorrow when I get a signal and try again.

Thanks,
GH

I am still sitting here with 1 bar of 3G on my Verizon Droid. When the kids were here the other day, 4 bars 4G AT&T. Grrrrrrrr.

Does the mother in law have AT&T, Sprint, or TMobile? Those are the other services that are supposed to be on the tower.

[Gearhead]

That's the kicker! She has Verizon. I think it's a 4G tower or something.
Maybe new installations are 4G because they are the newest technology and anyone with a 4G phone is backwards compatible in case there aren't 4G sites nearby Burt if you have a 3G phone then you are out of luck.

I'm just guessing though.

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by Gearhead

That's the kicker! She has Verizon. I think it's a 4G tower or something.
Maybe new installations are 4G because they are the newest technology and anyone with a 4G phone is backwards compatible in case there aren't 4G sites nearby Burt if you have a 3G phone then you are out of luck.

I'm just guessing though.

Verizon is not up and running on the new tower. I have a 3G phone and my wife has a 4G phone. We are across the bay from the tower. Depending on where we are on Rte 11 depends on how good a signal we get. When we can physically see Prospect Mt, south of the Alton traffic Circle, we will have 3-4 bars of coverage. When we get back into the nooks and crannies of Rte 11, we have a few spots of no coverage, generally 1-2 bars.

West Alton has no new towers, and I don't know how the new tower on the east side of the bay, near Echo Point (Bowman Rd off rte 28) will help over at West Alton. Time will tell. It should help some, and perhaps will reach into West Alton Marina, and to the Sand Bar.

Gearhead, can't explain why Mom would have a good signal and you don't and you are both on Verizon. As I have said on this thread, when my kids are here with ATT phones, I grit my teeth and smoke comes out my ears. With the wife and I, no better signal than we had last year as the leaves came off the trees last fall.

[Gearhead]

Well thanks everyone for the detailed answers. I guess all of us will just have to wait and see what happens with the tower. I can't wait much longer Verizon...

[riverat]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

I am still sitting here with 1 bar of 3G on my Verizon Droid. When the kids were here the other day, 4 bars 4G AT&T. Grrrrrrrr.

Does the mother in law have AT&T, Sprint, or TMobile? Those are the other services that are supposed to be on the tower.

I and my wife have Sprint and notice no difference when at the bay or the dump. And Sprint coverage map still shows us in roaming area.

[gokart-mozart]

Originally Posted by jjackman

Has anyone got an update on the cell phone service in West Alton? Thanks!

I drive 28 from Wolfeboro to Alton and back every day, I have a Verizon iPhone 4S.

I have not noticed any change in signal strength or service yet. Signal southbound starts to drop @ St. Katherine Drexel, is down to 1-2 bars and 1x service after 28A, and most calls are dropped after the second hill. Coming back, I have 3G to Bay Hill Road, then drops off rapidly, no service to 1 bar 1x at the bottom of the first hill, 3G not back until Chestnut Cove Road.

I doubt very much that there is a Verizon radio on that tower at this point. Hope it's coming.

[AmantiDelLago]

Driving through the bay today and up Rte 11 towards Gilford I had great 4G service past Jesus Valley Rd and by the scenic view pull off. After Mt Major it dropped off. Going down the hill by Minge Cove Rd service was the same as it has been. Seems like West Alton towards Gilford won't be picking up anything from the new site.