AT&T working with Naperville to improve wireless service

Naperville and AT&T reached an agreement that will allow the wireless provider to rent space on five city light and power poles to improve cellular service.

AT&T will pay $1,500 a year for each city-owned pole it uses along with an annual landscaping fee of $1,500.

AT&T needed the agreement to supplement its existing network of towers and antennas with pole-mounted equipment to keep pace with the growing demand for cellular phones, including smart phones, which heavily tax existing capacity limits.

As part of the test program, AT&T proposes to install two types of equipment in town. The first involves an antenna attached to the top of a pole and served by a cabinet at the base. The cabinet is roughly 5 feet tall, 4.5 feet long and 2.5 feet wide. It would be connected to the antenna via conduit fed through the interior of the pole.

The city’s electric department would have to install a meter near the cabinet to provide it with power.

The second approach involves affixing the necessary equipment directly on the pole.

Wireless opponents, including members of the Smart Meter Awareness Group that opposes the city’s participation in the Smart Grid initiative, asked the council to table the agreement until they learn more about the safety of the technology.

The council, however, voted to approve the agreement with only council members Doug Krause and Joe McElroy opposing the move.