DRAYTON — A new cellphone tower in Drayton would address poor phone and data service in the area, Bell Canada officials believe.
The tower is proposed to go up at 12 Main St.
It is expected that the tower will not be built before spring 2023, said Sean Galbraith, a consultant for Bell Canada.
“A 22-metre tall steel shrouded monopole tower with internal antennas, lightning protection system, and an equipment cabinet at its base is proposed in the eastern side of the property,” said Bell’s information sent to Mapleton council.
There is a need for better cell phone infrastructure in the area, Bell said.
“Customers are far from existing antennas, and additional coverage is required to achieve appropriate service levels,” the information sent to council said.
SJSB Network Consulting Inc. is carrying out the public consultation process for the project on behalf of Bell Canada.
"The public is welcome to submit comments on the proposal," Galbraith said. "And then we prepare a summary of our consultation process. Submit it to the municipality. And they provide what’s called a letter of concurrence."
"And then assuming that we have that, that we already have the lease in place, then we can go to Industry Canada and start the process to have the spectrum allocated to the site."
Once Bell Canada has the spectrum allocated, they have the approval to start using the tower. It's after that, when Bell Canada will be in a position to actually build the tower.
The public can make comments on the project until Dec. 2.
Comments may be written to Sean Galbraith, the municipal affairs director, at 1 Yonge St., Suite 1801, Toronto, ON, M5E 1W7, or, [email protected]
Alternatively, the public can call Galbraith at (416) 732-5069.
“Right now we’re just waiting for any comments to come in,” Galbraith said.
Jesse Gault is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
