Permit sought for cell tower in Sturgeon Bay

Hudson Towers again came before the Sturgeon Bay Plan Commission seeking a conditional use permit to build a cell tower off Egg Harbor Road behind the vacant Taco Bell building.

[Dano]

It would be a good location for a cell tower -- just not a 160-foot tower.
Something is needed in the area to fill in the underserved lake side (especially for GSM users).

3G service in Sturgeon Bay would be nice too. Would excite all the businessmen wanting to use their iPhones...

[Artie]

"Commissioner Christie Weber was opposed to approving the tower regardless of the report, saying she has yet to find anyone who needs better cell phone coverage on the northeast side of the city, where the Hudson Towers maps indicate calls are dropped."

Webber apparently doesnt get out much. GSM coverage on the lakeside is terrible. Try to get a signal at Lilly Bay boat ramp in an emergency and you will see why.
Lots of visitors to Door County are AT&T or T-Mobile customers, so one shouldnt assume Cellcom is all that matters.

[Unkown]

It doesnt matter what someone from Oklahoma says.

[Gregg]

It does if they actually live in Sturgeon Bay.

Try using an iPhone on Cellcom...no can do.
It made a lot more sense to plan one tower that multiple carriers can use, instead of building lots of smaller cell towers all around Sturgeon Bay.

Sure, any tower is an eyesore, but the shared tower plan is the lesser of evils, an investment in accommodating tourism and better year-round emergency communications.

The new tower on Egg Harbor road behind the video store goes up in early 2010.