Improving Poor Cell Phone Service in Upstate NY

As reported in today’s ADIRONDACK DAILY ENTERPRISE (Friday March 2, 2007 edition)…

Cell tower forum planned for March 8

SARANAC LAKE — A panel discussion hosted by Sen. Betty Little and Assemblywomen Teresa Sayward and Janet Duprey will offer a chance for cell phone providers, local officials, the public and representatives of the Adirondack Park Agency to exchange ideas on ways to improve cell phone service in the Adirondack Park consistent with the APA tower siting policy….  (credit to Adirondack Daily Enterprise)

The article goes on to provide more information on the specifics of the forum. This of course is in response to the unfortunate death of a man after he and his wife were involved in a motor vehicle accident. The couple were trapped in their car, and were unable to make a call to 911 from their cell phone because of a lack of coverage on the New York State Thruway.

Since TSS Wireless has been following this story for several weeks since it happened, we contacted a local television station in upstate New York who had also reported this incident.

The station replied that there would never be any cell coverage in the area since they are are not allowed to develop it, and “I seriously doubt any town needs your services anyway.”

Three weeks later they are  a forum to try to figure out how to solve this problem. Obviously, when the NYSTA carved a path through the Adirondack Mountains, cell phones didn’t exist, yet with proper cell site development it would be fairly easy to provide cellular service, even on remote stretches of the thruway, with minimal visual impact.

TSS Wireless can be reached at 845-359-5300.

iPod’s , Blackberries, Cell Phones and Your Civil Liberties

This is a blog dedicated to helping municipalities develop wireless communications. However, we felt inclined to comment on a recent media headline that directly impacts our industry. 

In the news today…  CBS, NBC, ABC and of course DRUDGE are all reporting a headline regarding a ban proposed on walking while talking or listening to your iPod. This ban would also apply  to MP3 players and Blackberrys.

Let’s face it. There is an all-out war against the wireless communication industry.  Cell towers, cell phones, and now Blackberry’s and iPods are getting the shaft. If you want to be an in irresponsible citizen and walk around with your iPod blasting listening to your favorite music, or to our educational Apple iTunes Podcast, “American Municipal Cell Tower Development”, and you forget to look both ways before crossing the street, we shouldn’t be punished for your stupidity.

Yet, there is always  some smart person in government, in this instance in Albany, who knows what’s best for us.  Every day, these smart politicians chip away little by little at your rights, and my rights and all of our liberties.

Soon, you won’t be able to listen to your iPod or cell phone, especially if you are eating french fries at McDonald’s, shopping at Wal-Mart,  listening to Rush Limbaugh, enjoying some second hand smoke (outside of course) or happen to be spanking your children.

Our only question is, if the iPod proposal becomes law in New York, will it apply to Enemy Combatants and Illegal Aliens or just to those of us who pay taxes and vote?

It’s time to set up an iPod and Blackberry special crimes unit to go after these lawbreakers who are endangering the people who live and work in Manhattan.   Homeland security? No. Let’s nail the guys who are listening to their iPods!! This is one of the dumbest proposals I have ever heard of.

What’s next? Where the hell do we live anyway? In Cuba, Iran or North Korea?

Thanks to the honorable Senator Carl Kruger (Democrat – Brooklyn), for this brilliant proposal. Way to go. 

Cell Tower Danger…

What’s the biggest cell tower danger facing Americans?

Cancer?  Unknown Health risks? RF Radiation? ? ?

No…

The biggest cell tower danger you face is breaking down in your car or worse, having an emergency in freezing temperatures and not having a cell tower in the area that can provide you or a passing motorist with cell phone service to get help.

In the post September 11th world we live in, it’s hard to believe that many people are so opposed to having cellular service available to improve their quality of life.

You can read about the emergency services provided by the TSS Wireless emergency response team in Lower Manhattan in the days following September 11th at TSS-Wireless.com .

Exploding Cell Phones? Cell Phones and Cancer?

The wireless industry sure gets a lot of bad publicity. It’s no wonder that communities are anxious if a cell phone company needs to build a big cell tower in their neighborhood.

If you have questions about a cell tower being built in your neighborhood, contact us, and let us know how we can get in touch with decision makers in your town or village to see if we can help find common ground between what the cellular coverage demands and needs are, and what is beneficial for the community being served.

In the majority of instances, the cell phone carriers have not done a good enough job  educating the public or consulting with the town prior to proposing a new cell tower, and the municipalities don’t have a sufficient wireless ordinance on the books.

Talk to the wireless  planning, zoning and  cellular ordinance experts at TSS Wireless at 845-359-5300. We can also answer any of your cell tower leasing questions and concerns.

Did a Cell Tower Expert Create Your Town’s Wireless Ordinance?

Every day you can read about towns in the United States who are opposing cell towers from being placed in locations that are perceived as a threat to the community.

Many people who oppose cellular towers over concerns about:

1. Perceived  health risks of cell towers and RF radiation

2. Decreased real estate and property values close to cell sites

3. Environmental impact of site selected

4. Aesthetics and visual impact of cell phone tower

Sadly, 99% of all cell tower related issues that appear when communities block a proposed cell tower can be avoided through proper wireless ordinance planning. 

Since cell towers and wireless technology are a high specialized field that are increasingly being integrated into every community, both urban and rural, municipalities should consider having their cell tower ordinances reviewed or re-designed by an experienced wireless planning expert or zoning consultant.

TSS Wireless has nearly twenty years of  hands-on cell tower ordinance development, cell tower site selection and cellular tower leasing experience.

Talk to a cell tower expert at 845-359-5300.

Here comes Apple’s iPhone… who said we have enough cell towers?

If you have been listening to our Podcast, “American Municipal Cell Tower Development”, you know that TSS Wireless CEO Kevin Donohue has been saying all along that we will need more capacity on the current towers that we have for all the additional features that cell phones have. In the next 5 to 7 years an additional 100,000 n-e-w cell towers will be built in addition to the ones we already have.

Remember the iPod insanity? Well this iPhone will certainly be all the rage and more. A phone from the creators of Lightning McQueen that will let me listen to iTunes? Are you kidding?

It’s a scary thought… greasy-haired, pimple-faced gen-x-ers  watching their favorite YouTube clips, listen to iTunes, and talking on their new Cingular cell phones  while driving a car – (hands-free of course). And you thought the biggest danger of cell phones was cancer – NOT. It’s getting run over by somebody driving a car who just purchased on of these cool iPhones. 

I’m throwing out my current cell phone… it will make a good paperweight. I will probably be one of the guys standing in line at midnight to get one of these when it comes out.

Kudos to Steve Jobs and everyone at iTunes for making the wonderful world of podcasting available firms like ours.

But seriously… all of this hype will lead to more wireless phone subscribers and the need to build additional cell sites. What are you as a municipal official going do to meet capacity needs and stay elected if you need to build more towers? 

TSS-Wireless  helps small towns and big cities alike improve wireless telecommunications through intelligent cell tower ordinance design and integration.

Rural and Urban Cellular Tower Experts

TSS Wireless is an expert in resolving issues pertaining to cellular towers and  cellular phone towers for municipalities, towns cities and private property owners. As a real estate site acquisition form with nearly twenty years of cellular tower location and leasing experience, TSS can provide guidance to rural towns and villages who have questions regarding cellular tower erection and implementing a proper wireless ordinance for their mobile cellular tower.

TSS Wireless can address issues pertaining to FCC regulations on cellular phone towers as they relate to your municipality and represent your community from the creation or re-writing of its cellular ordinance, to initial site identification, cell tower lease negotiations with the carriers, through cellular tower construction and site management. TSS provides turnkey wireless solutions for North American municipalities.

TSS Wireless also produces an audio Podcast series, “American Municipal Cell Tower Development” available for free on Apple iTunes. An iPod is not required to listen and subscribe to this series, only a PC with speakers and a media player are needed. Kevin Donohue, CEO of TSS Wireless is interviewed by Site Acquisition Consultant, Stu Bogdanoff.

To date, the two have discussed the following topics:
1. Leasing Municipal Property For Wireless Use
Show on the benefit of leasing municipal property for cell tower construction.  

2. Cell Tower Industry: Failure To Communicate
Discussion on how the wireless industry and cell phone companies in general haven’t done a good PR job.

3. Wireless Telecom Act of 1996 and Cell Towers
Conversation regarding the impact on communities of the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 as it relates to cellular communications and the public.
 
4. Stealth Cell Tower Alternatives
Stealth cellular sites, also referred to as camouflage cell sites are becoming more popular as the cost of site construction

5. Public Safety Benefits of Wireless Technology
A brief overview of the many public safety benefits of cell towers and wireless technology.

6. Wireless Industry Leasing Trends
We talk about recent Wireless Leasing Trends that are a bit disturbing.

7. Cell Towers, Health Risks and You
This Podcast episode refers to recent article carried by the Associated Press regarding a study in Denmark of a large number of cell phone users and cancer rates that did not increase with heavy cell phone use.

8. Improving Municipal Wireless Communication
Introduction to TSS Wireless’ cell tower ordinance design services for cities, villages and rural municipalities to improve wireless communications and cellular reception. 
 
9. All About Wireless Tower Development
Interview with Kevin F. Donohue, CEO of TSS-Wireless.com, a leading provider of wireless development and cell tower consulting services.

You can easily find the TSS Podcast by Google-ing “Municipal Cell Tower”. TSS Wireless is located in the New York City Metropolitan area and can be reached at 845-359-5300.

The Truth About Cellular Phone Towers

The truth about cellular towers… They save lives. The statistics don’t lie. According to industry statistics the number of wireless phone subscribers has increased by about 170 million users in the last 10 years over 219 million wireless customers in the United States. There are about 240,000 E-9-1-1 call made every day in the USA, that’s about 166 emergency calls made on cell phones every minute. Without cell towers providing cellular carriers cell sites to locate their antennas, these calls would not be possible. Without a doubt, wireless technology saves lives.  In particular, the author of this article called E-9-1-1 at least five times in 2006 to report traffic accidents and several drunk drivers to the police dispatcher.

Cell Towers on CBS News

If you haven’t already seen it on the CBS Morning News… CBS posted their recent November 2006 story on stealth cell tower integration on YouTube.  The cell tower disguised as a lighthouse seen at the end of the story is located in Staten Island, NYC.  Unlike most media portrayals of the wireless industry, this is a positive story. Kudos to CBS.  Here’s the Link.

Podcast: The Benefits ofLeasing Municipal Property For Wireless Use

In this installment of  the American Municipal Cell Tower Development podcast series,  Kevin Donohue, CEO of TSS Wireless elaborates on the benefits of leasing municipal properties and town owned land to the wireless industry.

Donohue discussed the financial benefits of well planned municipal land use to improve cellular service as it relates to generating revenue for towns and for attracting and retaining businesses with a good wireless network.

Other benefits include the ability to properly deploy a site and limit the proliferation of towers in areas towns do not want disturbed, and finding creative ways to open up park lands with stealth cellular sites being implemented without affecting the view shed.

Do you have questions about cell towers in your town? You can reach wireless industry consultant Kevin Donohue with TSS Wireless in New York at 845-359-5300, or send your cell tower questions to KD @ TSS-Wireless.com .
(Music provided by Freeplaymusic.com )

Podcast Summary: Is it a Tree or Is it Cell Tower? Stealth Cellular Sites.

Please check out our Podcast on Apple iTunes. You can find the link on this page.

Stealth cellular sites, also referred to as camouflage cell sites are becoming more popular as the cost of site construction decreases.  Increasingly, municipalities are seeing the benefits of utilizing stealth technology, and integrating stealth cell towers into their communities to improve wireless service.

However, if a stealth cell tower tree is not positioned correctly, it can stick out like a sore thumb. If you have ever had the pleasure of driving down the entire length of the Garden State Parkway to the Jersey Shore, you can probably remember exactly how many cell tower “trees” you drove past, because you rememberred them. Funny, but most people don’t remeber the 30 other lattice towers or monopoles they drove by.  It’s all a matter of perception.

Kevin Donohue of TSS-Wireless discusses various wireless stealth applications for urban, suburban and rural areas.

Is wireless stealth technology a part of your town’s wireless development ordinance?

TSS Wireless can be reached at 845-359-5300.

Podcast Summary: Wireless Telecom Act of 1996 and Cell Towers

Kevin Donohue of TSS-Wireless discusses the impact on communities of the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 as it relates to cell towers and wireless communications.

The FCC determined that the development of cellular technology and development of an American wireless telecom network was as crucially relevant to our modern society as were the development of essential
infrastructure like railway systems and roadways early last century.

Wireless carriers could no longer be turned down or turned away based solely on health-related concerns. Many towns as a result turned to the “NIMBY” approach and opposed and continue to oppose cellular tower construction based on visual impact concerns.

TSS-Wireless can become an industry advocate for your town or municipality to create a win-win scenario for both the community and cellular service providers.

If your town or municipality has questions regarding land use or zoning for cellular communications, wireless site construction or expansion, cell tower ordinance reengineering or any other questions pertaining to cell towers health concerns , public safety or cell tower technology, please contact our wireless consulting firm at
845-359-5300.
(Music provided by FreePlayMusic.com. )

Are Additional Cell Towers Really Necessary?

The simple answer is yes, more new cell tower construction will be needed to meet capacity and demand in the United States and Canada. As the wireless industry grows, there will be a huge increase for additional wireless coverage for existing coverage areas and in rural regions where there is little or no cell phone service to meet growing capacity and demand.TSS Wireless wants to inform municipalities that over the next decade, nearly 100,000 new cell towers will need to be constructed in the United States in addition to the 170,000 that already exist to meet the capacity needs of the booming wireless communication industry. It makes sense for towns to be informed and prepared. TSS can assist local governments in creating their cell tower ordinances or modifying existing wireless ordinances that are already in place.

Listen and subscribe to our podcast, American Municipal Cell Tower Development on Apple iTunes, or on the link found on the right hand side of this blog.

TSS Wireless Municipal Towers

TSS has partnered with various communities in the Northeastern United States to utilize municipal property for wireless site development. This program has been extremely successful and has provided many benefits to both the wireless carriers and the municipalities involved in this program. The participating municipalities have been able to generate a great deal of revenue from leasing portion of the program and have been able to limit the impact of issues such as tower proliferation and visual impact. The carriers have been excited over the fact that the time needed to lease, zone and construct sites has been greatly reduced and made much simpler then previously experienced when dealing with municipalities.

Services included in this program are:

- Potential Site Identification

- Site Marketing

- Wireless Ordinance Review and Design

- Lease Negotiations

- Advisory to municipal boards on proposed wireless development

- Site Maintenance

- Carrier dispute interface

- Coordination of all implementation at municipal sites

- Community relations interface

TSS Wireless Development Services

TSS is partnered with the premier Architectural Engineering, Legal Consultation and Construction firms in the wireless and cable industries.  These strategic alliances enable us to provide a true turnkey environment that offers our clients the best professional services while doing so in a cost efficient manner.

What makes us different from other firms is that we offer our clients the flexibility to choose what range of services they require. TSS can offer each of these services independently, can bundle elements together to form a tailored package of services or can provide a full turnkey program for the ultimate ease of system integration.  

When choosing the TSS Turnkey Program as your system integration solution you are not only providing yourself with the tools needed to be successful, you are also simplifying the complex process involved in system development. You will discover that the usual problems associated with inter-vendor communication and process handoffs are eliminated.

Partial List of TSS Wireless Clients

• VERIZON WIRELESS
• SPEEDCOM USA
• SPRINT PCS
• T-MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS
• NEXTEL COMMUNICATIONS
• AT&T WIRELESS
• CELLULARVISION USA
• AMERICAN TOWER CORPORATION
• SHELL OIL COMPANY
• AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER
• CITY OF SCRANTON, PA
• HIGHPOINT TOWER TECHNOLOGIES
• SPECTRASITE COMMUNICATIONS
• NORTHERN TIER COALITION, PA
• BOROUGH OF WOODCLIFF LAKE, NJ
• BOROUGH OF OLD TAPPAN, NJ
• SOUTH CANANN, PA

TSS Wireless Emergency Services

TSS played a integral part in assisting Verizon Wireless and FEMA with their recovery efforts after the attack on the World Trade Center.  Telecommunication Systems Solutions positioned all of its assets to deploy portable cell sites and set up microwave links  throughout the downtown New York area including Ground Zero.Our efforts provided relief to the thousands of rescue personnel from various federal, state and city agencies who responded to this tragedy as well as assisting the businesses in New York to stay connected during this catastrophe. 

Our personnel have learned a great deal from experience and have been involved in providing wireless services in recovery and rescue response projects such as airline crashes and other major disasters for over sixteen years.  Our expertise in organization, deployment, communication management and our strong working relationship with the various municipal agencies support our clients in meeting their customers needs during an emergency deployment.

We are ready to assist our clients and/or  local, state and federal agencies with any problem that may require expert wireless deployment in a professional and expeditious manner.

TSS Wireless Technical Staffing

TSS can provide the internal professional staffing that today’s companies need to be successful.  Whether staffing is required for a long or short duration, we can provide the quality and experience that you demand. TSS provides expert staffing services in the following areas of concentration:

•   Real Estate Acquisition Specialists

•   Real Estate Project Managers

•   Certified Planners

•   Legal Services

•   Zoning Project Managers

•   Construction Project Management

•   Radio Frequency Engineers

•   Frequency Engineering Planners

•   General Administrative Specialists

TSS Wireless Real Estate Services

Telecommunication Systems Solutions provides its clients with the most experienced real estate staff in the wireless industry.  Our principles were pioneers in wireless phone network deployment and have successfully deployed networks in areas such as New York, North Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut and
Massachusetts.

Our Real Estate Division excels at choosing the right properties from both a technical and municipal land use standpoint. This type of skillful site identification assists our clients by providing superior sites that are expeditiously reviewed by zoning and planning boards.

Zoning regulations continue to change at a rapid rate and the only way to determine a location that a municipality deems as acceptable is to have experienced representatives discuss such locations with municipal representatives. This process assists in establishing an open dialogue with the community and helps them to better understand your needs and requirements.

Our close working relationship with many municipalities, as well as our extensive wireless experience, has led many communities to utilize our skills in drafting municipal ordinances and zoning codes. Both the communities and the wireless industry have deemed the ordinances created by this progressive approach a great success. These ordinances balance the needs of both parties while providing incentives for industry to locate into preferred zones by eliminating the zoning process completely. 

The TSS Real Estate Division is the leading expert in technical real estate acquisition and land use.  We differ from many of our competitors by providing you with fully trained personnel. Our employees are not only experts in real estate acquisition and zoning, they are cross trained in construction and radio engineering practices so that they can serve you more efficiently by providing sites that are acceptable from all network implementation aspects.

Let TSS show you our approach to successful system development.  You will immediately see the positive results this approach will provide and we know that you will be surprised at the cost-effective benefits associated with our program. 

TSS offers the following services to our clientele.

•        Site identification

•        Accurate site mapping

•        Site photographs

•        Professional zoning determination

•        RF test scheduling

•        Lease negotiations

•        Legal counsel interface

•        Public relations interface with local community groups

•        Zoning project coordination and implementation

•        Zoning testimony

•        Permit expedition

•        Post construction interface with all community inquires

TSS Wireless Provides Turnkey Wireless Telecom Consulting Services

Telecommunication Systems Solutions, Inc. (TSS) is a full service development company headquartered in the New York Metropolitan area. Our principals have been involved in the wireless telephone industry since its inception and have provided their expert services to the leading wireless carriers throughout the United States.

TSS has successfully deployed networks from yesterday’s cellular systems to today’s cutting edge technologies such as PCS, Digital Cellular and LMDS.

Our staff possesses the required experience to develop major telecommunications infrastructure projects such as cell site network implementation, mobile switching facilities (MSO), Microwave/satellite head ends, fiber optic loops, existing infrastructure auditing/valuation, as well as specially tailored maintenance programs for existing facilities.

When choosing TSS as your system integration solution you are not only providing yourself with the tools needed to be successful, you are also simplifying the complex process involved in system development. We view our project team as an extension of your own technical services department and we approach each assigned task with the same determination and professionalism that you expect from your own employees.

TSS’s mission is to provide our clients with an experienced wireless team who will get the job done on time, within budget.  By earning your business and accomplishing your goals it is our desire to build a long-term relationship with your company. Simply put, your goals are TSS’s goals.

Who is TSS-Wireless?

Telecommunication System Solutions (TSS) is a full service, privately owned, wireless telecommunication network development company headquartered in Blauvelt, New York. TSS, and its subsidiaries, have built a great deal of the infrastructure; located in the eastern portion of the United States, for the wireless industry. The company and its subsidiaries provide services including, but not limited to, site acquisition, zoning, permitting, construction project management, technical staffing, “build to suit” tower programs as well as owning infrastructure for various licensed wireless carriers. TSS has been credited with assisting in meeting the demands placed on the various wireless carriers due to the explosion of wireless telecom services.

TSS was founded in 1997 by Kevin F. Donohue who has been the CEO/President from the company’s inception and continues to oversee all aspects of operations for the TSS family of businesses. TSS subsidiaries include Integrated Wireless Alliance (IWA) and Web-Warlock.com. The company employs in excess of 200 professionals and agents throughout the United States.

The firm has developed and deployed networks for Analog Cellular, Digital Cellular, PCS, GSM, LMDS and Wi-Fi systems in markets such as New York, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Major clients include Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, Nextel, SpeedcomUSA, Cellularvision USA, American Tower, Shell Oil Company, American Electric Power and Highpoint Tower Technology.

TSS’s subsidiary, IWA, was a major player in assisting Verizon Wireless and FEMA with their recovery efforts after the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center. IWA positioned all of its assets to deploy portable cell sites and set up microwave links throughout the downtown New York area and was praised by both entities for doing so at no charge to either party. IWA’s 9-11 efforts provided relief to the thousands of rescue personnel from various federal, state and city agencies who responded to this tragedy as well as assisting the businesses in New York to stay connected during this catastrophe.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Cell Towers, But Were Afraid To Ask…

Welcome to our Municipal Cell Tower Development blog and  TSS-Wireless.com. There’s no doubt about it, wireless communication is here to stay. Even if you live in a major metropolitan area, we’re certain that you can name a dozen places where you have less-than-perfect cell phone reception.  Maybe there are parts of your home where you stand when making a call on your PCS phone?

What about the wireless coverage at your office or place of employment?

Do you live on the outskirts of a metropolitan area, suburb or in a rural area? Does your town or municipality have the telecom network or kind of wireless service that can attract industry?

If you are a town planner, mayor, village supervisor or a even a municipal employee finding our blog, please subscribe to our feed, and contact TSS Wireless to find out how your rural municipality can improve their telecommunication systems.