‘It Is a Big Deal’: New Canaan Pursues Major Improvement in Wireless Service

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Town officials plan this month to start soliciting proposals from wireless carriers and developers in order to answer this question, at long last: How can New Canaan address gaps in service in a way that’s aesthetically agreeable to property owners?

To this point, carriers themselves have controlled a rather one-sided solution addressing that question, and the response has been largely ineffective—essentially, to erect a tower.

Now, thanks to emerging technology—most importantly the far less conspicuous “microcell” sites—and an idea to deliver access to town-owned properties in exchange for creating physical infrastructure that’s palatable for New Canaanites, the town is poised to take a major step forward, officials say.

Just issuing a Request For Proposals doesn’t guarantee the desired responses, but it does “create a new opportunity for developers and for carriers who have said it’s frustrating because they cannot get a ‘straight play’ in New Canaan,” said Tom Tesluk, chairman of the all-volunteer Utilities Commission that First Selectman Rob Mallozzi re-grouped during his first term.

“What we are trying to do is reach a compromise, a win for both sides, where the town gets better coverage—which is really essential today—and from the carriers’ and developers’ point of view, they would get access to multiple pieces of property, including rights of way on streets, that would allow for new infrastructure that the town feels it could live with. Low-visibility installations.”

The RFP is possible because the Utilities Commission built a solid base of knowledge that has put New Canaan in a leveraged position—specifically, the group secured a report that details service gaps in town.

Mallozzi said New Canaan leaders are “much more educated than we used to be” as a result of the commission’s work, and that the town now is positioned “to craft and install a true 21st-Century model of enhanced communications.” [We note here that the prior Utilities Commission chairman, the late Howard Freeman, has earned praise from Tesluk, Dan Welch and other fellow commissioners for leading the group through much of the significant progress that has been made.]

If all goes as planned, and proposals come back to the town that show how microcell sites could be laid out in an inconspicuous and effective way, New Canaan residents will have the ability to weigh in on any plan at multiple public hearings.

Tesluk said the Utilties Commission’s work would not have been possible “if not for the support and leadership that Rob [Mallozzi] presented.”

“This has been a big priority for him and he was guy came up with the money for Centerline and Cityscape,” he said. “It was not a ton of money, but it was essential for the process to go forward. He has led the way.”

According to Tesluk, New Canaan may well have an example of a microcell site in town ahead of the comprehensive solution from respondents to the RFP. Verizon Wireless recently notified the town that it’s considering installing two such sites in New Canaan in order to add capacity to its existing wireless network.

“Each site would consist of a single antenna placed on top of an existing Eversource utility pole,” Tesluk said. “This would be the first use of the ‘micro cell site’ design in New Canaan. Such sites would add capacity for additional wireless traffic while offering a very low visual impact on the surrounding areas.”

The Utilities Commission is expected to meet next Monday night.

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