As town dials in on MCI, cell siting may be put on hold

For Concordian Larry Novello, good cell coverage is “as important as keeping the lights on.”

After Town Meeting voters narrowly rejected a possible solution for spotty cell service, some residents who spoke with The Acton Bridge fear they’ll be stuck in the dark.

“It’s sort of a total embarrassment” for Acton that this problem remains, resident Patricia Keane said. 

Some hope the Planning Board will revisit the question for next year’s meeting — but Town Planner Elizabeth Hughes said the panel will have its hands full, and she’s not recommending a 2027 reprise. 

That means it could be two years before voters get another chance to overhaul the cell antenna siting rules that critics say have discouraged carriers from coming to Acton. 

Town officials say they aren’t giving up, and they’re pushing other efforts to plug Acton’s gaps. 

‘It’s just silly’

Residents have long lamented dead zones throughout town. Business leaders say it makes it harder for their employees to do their jobs and can discourage customers. Some locals worry about trouble summoning help during emergencies. 

Novello lives in the Wedgewood Common development off Conant Street and said he deals with dropped calls. He said one neighbor moved out, at least partially because he had to take business calls on his front lawn due to connection problems. 

“It’s just silly,” Novello said. 

Acton’s current cell rules date to the industry’s infancy. Experts blame restrictions for some of the coverage shortfalls. 

The Planning Board advanced a measure that would allow transmitters in more locations. It needed a two-thirds majority at Town Meeting to pass but fell one vote short as some argued Acton would give up too much control over where antennas could be built. 

‘Sufficient’ coverage?

The American Cancer Society says “there’s no strong evidence” that cell tower radiation “causes any noticeable health effects.”

The cancer society’s website clarifies that towers haven’t been proven absolutely safe and says that “most expert organizations agree that more research is needed.”

Cynthia Katz lives a stone’s throw from Novello but finds herself on the opposite side of the cell debate. She’s concerned about health effects and the aesthetics of new towers. 

“We’re a town that cares a lot about open space,” she told The Bridge. “All of a sudden, the idea of cell cropping up everywhere — I think that’s problematic.” 

Resident Gail Hire led a last-minute charge against the cell proposal and was in the audience as the Planning Board reconvened on May 5. 

Current coverage is “sufficient” for many residents, she said. 

Rather than change the rules, she urged officials to develop guidance for carriers to understand and navigate Acton’s process. 

Planning Board members didn’t weigh in on cell towers during their meeting. 

MCI-Acton, Elizabeth Hughes told the group, “is going to be pretty much your only focus that you will be able to handle.”

Town projects

Zoning will remain the town’s most powerful tool to shape what gets built on the shuttered prison’s 52 developable acres. A rezoning proposal could go to the Planning Board this fall. 

While the board possibly pivots to MCI, town Communications Manager Donna McIntosh told The Bridge that officials remain “committed to finding a path forward that balances community character with the modern necessity of reliable cellular service.” 

A tower is going in at the former Acton Landfill. The Select Board also approved low-powered AT&T antennas on Sudbury Road, and construction could start this year, according to a town project summary.

Officials recently came to terms with Verizon on a lease for a transmitter in the Umbrella Arts Center cupola. That antenna could power up in the second half of 2027.

The zoning changes’ failure “does not halt progress,” McIntosh said.

Katz said “we really need to give these four projects a chance” and see what coverage improvements they yield.

Police Chief Thomas Mulcahy acknowledged “documented challenges” that staff and residents face with cell service, but said first responders “have been managing these long-standing coverage issues effectively.” 

Select Board member Cameron McKennitt warned during Town Meeting that the lengthy debate could make carriers think Acton isn’t serious about working with them. 

Through McIntosh, Deputy Town Manager Megan Zammuto told The Bridge last week that staff “will continue working with carriers interested in serving Acton to improve cellular service.”

‘Quite disgusting’

Novello didn’t attend Town Meeting and even if he had, he said, “I don’t think I would have survived” until the late-night cell vote. 

He lives in an area where some say they get good coverage, but he still hears “all these individual stories” of service that’s anything but. He remarked about how “so few people could determine” this issue at a Town Meeting with roughly 2% voter turnout.

Keane was at Town Meeting and said she and her partner are “kicking ourselves” because they left at 10:15 p.m. — roughly a half hour before the cell tally. “Our two votes would have made the difference,” she said. 

She said she sometimes has to step out onto her Keyes Road balcony in freezing winter weather because it can be the only place to keep calls from dropping. 

Keane empathizes with those worried about connecting emergency calls and said current gaps are “really not safe for the town.” She hopes the Umbrella installation will help. 

The 16-year resident said she loves living in Acton, “and I’m not going to move because of that.” 

Still, she said, “It’s just quite disgusting, I think, that somehow this can’t be solved.”