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Cell Tower Promises to Cover Gap

CLINTON - Have you been traveling in the area of Spencer Hill Road and noticed that your cell coverage is spotty at best? A cell tower proposal from Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC, AT&T would erect a new tower on Spencer Hill Road on property that crosses the municipal town lines of Killingworth and Clinton.

The property, of which 33.9 acres are in Killingworth and 11 acres in Clinton, was selected by the venture as the best site to fit the needs for a new tower in the area.

At an informational meeting held last week, company representatives told the public that environmental due diligence had been done per the National Environmental Policy Act, and results show that there is no significant environmental impact of placing this tower on this property.

"Our goal is always to ensure that our towers meet the needs of our customers, while at the same time remaining the least invasive as we can," said Kelly Bettuchi, director of External Affairs for AT&T. "No one really wants the towers near them but everyone wants the coverage...In order to minimize the impact of these towers, we do a lot of leg work behind the scenes identify the best possible locations we can."

Martin Lavin of C2 Systems explained that the tower will only be seen by Clinton residents, mostly on a seasonal basis.

This meeting was the first step in many AT&T will have to complete prior to going to the State of Connecticut Siting Council for approvals of the tower construction.

If the tower is approved by the council, there will be room on it (10 feet down) for two to three other carriers to hook into in the future.

Plans for an informational meeting in Killingworth to inform residents there are underway.

Currently, 70 percent of all 911 calls are made from wireless phones and mobile data traffic is expected to grow by 66 percent by 2017 according to statistics presented by Luchia Chiocchio of Cuddy and Feder.

For additional information about the tower proposal, residents can visit www.ct.gov/csc. Once the application is filed, any comments or concerns can be directed there before the tower site is approved.