The controversy over establishing reliable cell service in Concord is astonishing. In a town that manages tax dollars effectively, it is confounding that something the rest of the suburban world seems to have figured out has thus evaded our elected officials.
We recently traveled to the farthest reaches of Iceland and not once had poor cellphone service; yet we cannot spend time in our beloved town centers without warning our family that we will be off the grid. An October 22 Bridge article titled “Back to the drawing board on Umbrella cell tower proposal” makes us question if this is a town priority.
The reasons behind rejecting the one RFP (request for proposals) seem shaky, at best. Was the RFP clear in its ask of the telecom providers? Will the second, revised RFP address the “noncompliant and nonresponsive issues?” Who in the town is actively managing and following up with these large corporations?
One may assume that telecom behemoths do not need Concord’s business, but we desperately need theirs. In six months, we will host Concord250 with an expected 100,000-plus visitors and nary a reliable signal bar. This is not an “if” but a “when” unreliable service becomes a public safety issue.
There must be an onus on the town to proactively and persistently engage with telecom providers to establish a reliable infrastructure by (1) finalizing a tower location and (2) implementing service immediately.
Megan Lynch
Brian Murphy
Elm Street
