A new T-Mobile tower is coming to Katy, TX, with the reluctant support of the Katy City Council, reports Chron.com. While the residents have been aware of the need for a new tower to address coverage gaps in the area, the location and appearance of the tower have been the subject of debate.
Original plans put forth from builder Eco-Site envisioned a 170-foot lighted tower with a ten foot antenna on top.
After concessions by both the Council and T-Mobile, final approval was given for a 140-foot tower with a ten foot antenna, but no lights. On the compromise, Councilperson Janet Corte noted, “With the way that the internet is going … I think it’s going to be part of our future. So if we’re going to have to have cell towers within the city of Katy, I would prefer for us to control the narrative versus an outside entity.”
The tower will occupy a parcel of land at 5364 Franz Road which, according to a T-Mobile representative, will address call volume, not just coverage gaps. The pragmatic Council expressed various concerns about the proposed tower, but eventually decided that it made more sense to approve the construction, with the edits noted above.
An earlier cell tower project proved to be both costly and time-consuming for Katy and the Council was loathe to repeat that ordeal. “The reason we ended up voting the way we did is because if you go back and you look at the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the verbiage in there is very clear, and it definitely sides with the cell tower people,” Corte explained.
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