KINGSTON - A new cell tower in Kingston is providing service to people through several carriers throughout the town and residents are excited, said town Deputy Clerk Shannon Thiss.
"I think it's great," she said. "We are all excited in Kingston to have cellphone service."
Commnet Wireless, which owns Choice Wireless, began building its tower in the enclosure next to the town water tank in November 2012 and completed it in May with time off for bad weather. The tower became active May 21, Thiss said.
The tower is built on U.S. Forest Service land and the company had to obtain a special use permit.
Thiss said people with most carriers, except Alltel Wireless and possibly others, are able to use their cellphones anywhere in town. She added that people with Sprint, AT&T and Verizon Wireless are getting good service.
Mark Hansen, vice president of Network Support Services for Choice Wireless, said the tower was built for Choice Wireless but also allows roaming for Sprint, AT&T and Verizon, which is why those customers are getting service.
Thiss said there is no service in Kingston Canyon but there is service now along Highway 376 between Highway 50 and Kingston.
She added that being able to use cellphones provides greater safety for tourists and campers in Kingston Canyon because they only need to drive into town to make calls in case of emergencies.
Prior to the cell tower, there was no service in town unless people drove to the road leading to the landfill, Thiss said.
Most Kingston residents had to use landlines but now with people being able to use cellphones, Thiss said many people have told her they are considering getting rid of their landline service.
Assistant Fire Chief Bradley Ward said the new cell tower will enable the Kingston Volunteer Fire Department to now have its own non-emergency telephone line around the clock. He said he is excited about cell service being available throughout town.
With the new tower, once the fire department gets its own cellphone number, people will no longer need to leave messages at the town office, which can only be received during business hours, meaning weekend calls cannot be returned until Mondays.
"We're excited to offer people a non-emergency number to reach the fire department any time," Ward said. "A good example of this would be people
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calling us before they conduct any outdoor burning."
Hansen said the whole business model for Commnet and Choice Wireless is to serve rural and underserved communities.
"That's our growth, areas like Kingston," Hansen said. "That's our claim to fame. That's what we do. We are able to bring those types of services to these small communities."
Choice Wireless currently has a tower under construction in Manhattan, Nev., in Nye County, and will be building one in Battle Mountain that is expected to be up and running by the end of the year, Hansen said.
There is already a tower located on Mt. Moses. The company also has a tower near Austin that was purchased from CC Communications in 2009. The towers cost around $200,000 to build, Hansen said.
Choice Wireless, which also provides Internet service, can be found online at www.choice-wireless.com.[[In-content Ad]]
