By Khalida Sarwari
Spotty cell phone coverage at the Mountain Winery soon may be a thing of the past, at least for Verizon customers. The telecommunications company is in the process of activating an 80-foot tower at the music venue that would improve cell phone coverage.
The Mountain Winery is hosting the tower as part of a five-year lease agreement with potential renewal terms, according to Bill Hirschman, one of Mountain Winery’s co-founders.
“Verizon came to us with the request to install a facility,” Hirschman said. “Cell phone coverage at the Mountain Winery historically has been sporadic, so for our customers it’s hopefully going to help with coverage at concerts and corporate events as well.”
The site, according to Verizon, addresses a need for coverage along Highway 9 and within the venue. Once operational, the site will not only provide coverage within Mountain Winery, but also along Pierce Road and Congress Springs Road at the hill of Saratoga westward to Sanborn Road.
“The driving force was to provide better service in the area,” Hirschman said. “We’re kind of reaping the reward.”
Construction on the tower was completed in May 2013, however, the site is not active “due to issues with bringing transport to the site,” said Heidi Flato, a spokeswoman for Verizon.
“We are working to resolve this issue,” Flato said.
Flato described the tower as “a tree pole design” that includes an 80-foot tower with branches that top out at 85 feet. It is located in an area that doesn’t impact the venue, according to Hirschman.
“We were actually fairly pleased with what they did,” he said.
There is a possibility, Hirschman indicated, that the new tower will accommodate the equipment of additional cell phone providers.
“It is my understanding that the facility does allow for other telecommunications companies to put their antennas there,” he said.
