As many of you have surely noticed, all three major cell phone carriers use the top of the Seabrook Island Water Tower, which is adjacent to the fire station on Captain Sams Road, to locate their cell signal transmitters/receivers. For the use of our water tower, they pay us an annual fee which reduces our rates.
The carriers have requested some structural upgrades on the water tower and Seabrook Island Utility Commission (SIUC) has agreed that these improvements make sense. The three cell carriers and SIUC will split the cost four ways.
The work itself will take two to three months and will require the existing cell equipment to be removed from the water tower during the work. The three carriers plan to utilize a temporary 125′ tower for their equipment during this time. This temporary tower will be installed near the current water tower. Once work is complete, the temporary tower will be removed and the equipment re-installed on the top of the water tower.
Although outside our area of expertise, we asked the cell companies whether the island could expect any change in cell coverage and they said there could be some changes.
We expect this work to be started and completed before the end of the year.
-Submitted by Jim Ferland, Seabrook Island Utility Commission