You Ask: What’s Up with AT&T Cell Coverage in Albany? (Part I)

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[Editor's Note: This is the first in a two-part series on AT&T coverage in Albany. for a Q&A with two experts: a UC Berkeley electrical engineering professor and an AT&T spokesman.]

I’m standing on a rock above a small lake in the Ansel Adams Wilderness asking a friend in Berkeley to reserve hotel rooms for my family and me in the nearest town of Mammoth, about 20 miles as the crow flies. I’d heard from a hiker that, on the day we end our week of camping, a microbrewery convention would be in town, and rooms hard to come by. We will be dirty and tired.

Crystal clear reception. Amazing. Thank you, AT&T. Rooms secured.

I’m heading out with my dog on our evening walk in Albany, trying to touch base with a friend in Davis. . . . Again.

I can relate to the numerous people who have Asked Albany Patch . The techno-savvy may have this down, some of whom weigh in here regularly with their expertise.

But many of the rest of us just don’t get it.

COVERAGE IMPROVEMENTS MAY BE ON THE HORIZON

According to Jeff Bond, the city's director of community development, AT&T has no cell sites in Albany. 

But a document from the city indicates two proposed facilities, one at 1035 San Pablo Ave. and one at 1495 Solano Ave. 

The  is likely to consider an AT&T application in January for new antennas to be placed on an at .

About a year ago, the commission asked AT&T to look for other sites, as this one was on Kains Avenue.

According to city planner Anne Hersch, AT&T redesigned the site to comply with the city's wireless ordinance, which requires a distance of at least 50 feet. 

The site includes roof-mounted antennas on an existing office building, she added, rather than a freestanding tower: "There are existing Sprint antennas on the roof which are visible from San Pablo Ave. AT&T is proposing to create an enclosure on the roof so that the antennas are not visible from San Pablo Ave."

AT&T's application has been in the works since 2008.

The company also told city staff that it is working on a second application, for 1495 Solano Ave., at . The proposal likely will include roof-mounted antennas housed in architecture to match the style of the building, wrote Hersch in an email to Albany Patch, but no official documents have been submitted.

AT&T shared these plans with the city in a meeting last month, said Hersch, and said the company planned to turn in a formal application before the end of the year. 

(For more detail about local wireless towers and antennas, check out the attached PDFs and . The wireless ordinance appears above as a PDF.)

CONCERNS ABOUT EMISSIONS VS. COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN BLUES

Cell phone coverage is a  on Albany Patch, inspiring fervent discussions that often pit towers and reception against possible health risks. Aesthetics and noise are other concerns. 

The same debate is flying nationwide, indeed globally, as wireless developments, consumer demand and income interests of corporations and local communities—cell companies lease tower space—surge against the slower scientific process of proving or disproving health risks.

A glance at recent news shows cell tower tensions running high: In Atlanta. In Lafayette. In Vermont. In Costa Rica.

Numerous citizen groups, including the local Albany Residents for Responsible Oversight of Wireless, or ARROW, preach caution about possible health risks associated with cell towers. (The group describes itself as aimed at helping officials create "sensible regulations" about how to "locate wireless facilities in the most appropriate locations, protecting city residents from visual, noise, and other impacts of these quasi-industrial installations.")

But organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the World Health Organization say towers that meet today’s standards do not pose a cancer risk.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Come back Tuesday to see what one local expert has to say about safety concerns; the delicate balance between data and voice services; and why more towers may actually produce lower emissions. 

Also: AT&T blames "a small number of vocal people" for delaying new towers in Albany and Berkeley. 

Afraid you'll forget to check back? Click the "Keep me posted" button for an alert when we write about mobile phone issues in Albany. 

See previous cell phone coverage here.

If there's something in this article you think , or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email albany@patch.com. Additional reporting for this story was contributed by Emilie Raguso.