By Dakota Antelman — [email protected]
People eyeing the Trinitarian Congregational Church as part of the solution to Concord’s notoriously spotty cell coverage may be out of luck.
In recent comments to The Concord Bridge, church administrator Judy Walpole said staff were negotiating with Verizon as recently as October. “We had reached an agreement,” she said. “And then they have just sort of backed out and stonewalled us.”
Verizon did not respond to questions about Walpole’s description of events.
Walpole identified a representative of the New Hampshire-based SAI Group who she said worked with Verizon in negotiations with TriCon. SAI Group did not respond to Bridge requests for comment before this edition went to press.
“[The] last communication [we received] was that they didn’t consider the site acceptable,” Walpole said. “But we’ve gotten no information as to why. We can’t get any answers.”
Though some oppose cell tower construction, many in Concord highlight the lack of coverage as both an inconvenience and a safety hazard.
Though it’s outside the town’s control, former Select Board chair Henry Dane has often highlighted TriCon as a promising candidate for an antenna.
The building housed a Sprint antenna for 25 years until 2022 and is just a few hundred feet off Main Street in Concord Center, where cell service is particularly scanty.
Walpole said TriCon is open to having an antenna on its building. With Verizon, she said, “We thought things were moving forward.”
With conversations now stalled, Walpole said staff still have questions. “It’s, to me, abnormal to just say that the site is unacceptable and not give any reason,” she said.
Reached on November 27, Concord assistant town manager Megan Zammuto told The Bridge she had no information on negotiations between TriCon and Verizon.
On December 4, Walpole said TriCon has not been “directly in touch” with any other cell carriers about adding an antenna.
