Earlier this week, AT&T and Hoover Metropolitan Stadium officials celebrated the unveiling of a new, 190-foot tower, reported 280 Living. The tower will bring not only improved service to the stadium but also surrounding outdoor sports complexes, nearby schools, businesses, and residences, per Wayne Hutchens, president of AT&T’s operations in Alabama. The tower will also deploy FirstNet.
The Birmingham area required an additional tower due to the “hilly terrain.” Owen Workman, a radio access network engineer for AT&T’s Gulf States region, said, “We have to build more towers. The signal just can’t get over the hills and down into the valleys that well.” Workman added that the new tower “is on one of the highest spots around.”
According to Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato, having reliable cell service at the Hoover Met Complex is critical to the city’s economy for businesses and sporting event attendees. Regarding the location of the tower, Brocato said, “This whole area is really the hot part of Hoover,” with new homes and retail centers being built.
Hutchens thanked the city of Hoover for its partnership with AT&T, allowing the company to build its tower on city property through a lease agreement, per 280 Living. From 2016 to 2018, AT&T has invested $1.4 billion to improve its products and services in Alabama, including building over 30 towers in three years, noted Hutchens.
In addition to towers, Alabama is reviewing small cell legislation. According to State Sen. Jabo Waggoner, the Alabama League of Municipalities opposed a small cell bill last year. Still, he hopes his committee can come up with a reasonable compromise that cities can support “because that’s what economic development is all about.”
October 25, 2019
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