Residents oppose cellphone pole by wide margin

Dozens of concerned residents called the Macon-Bibb County Engineering Department with fiery opposition after a sign popped up in Ingleside Village proposing a 120-foot-tall mystery pole in the shopping district.

There were “quite a large number of negative comments,” said David Fortson, director of the county’s engineering department. “They were almost all opposed. … We had two that were kind of in favor. We got 30 something comments, then there was a petition with about 45 signatures.”

The company proposing to erect the pole, Mobilitie, is scheduled to explain its technology and business model to the Macon-Bibb County Commission on Sept. 13, Fortson said.

Mobilitie, based in California, also wants to erect two other poles besides the one on Ingleside: one on Oglethorpe Street in front of the Bibb County jail, and one on Pine Street, in front of Mercer Internal Medicine Clinic.

In response to The Telegraph’s questions about the purpose of the poles, the company sent an emailed statement that “small cells are wireless solutions that help increase cell coverage and capacity.”

It continued, “Installing small cells on utility poles helps wireless carriers to increase cell phone service quickly, easily and affordably in local communities without installing much larger traditional tower antennas.”

Fortson said there was no public comment by the Aug. 15 deadline about the two other poles proposed for downtown.

Since the proposed poles are on public rights of way, the decision to approve or deny the application falls out of the purview of the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission. For now, there’s not a process for approving or denying such an application.

“We think that our next step forward is to probably have the company come in and address the (Macon-Bibb County) Commission on their proposal,” Fortson said, adding that the company’s technology is still new to him.

Afterward, “We would develop policies based on what the commission says and what the laws of the state require,” Fortson said. “It’s a little bit of a lengthy process.”

Greg Fender, chief telecommunications consultant for the Georgia Municipal Association, told The Telegraph there had been “a constant proliferation of applications” from Mobilitie to install the poles in rights of way in cities across Georgia. Forsyth, Dublin, Fort Valley, Warner Robins, Cochran and Sparta are among the midstate cities listed to be approached by Mobilitie, according to its application with the county.

The GMA, a state nonprofit, serves 140 cities in Georgia, and so far “not one city has said that they welcome the installation of a 120-foot pole,” Fender said. Cellphone reception near the proposed poles was found to be sufficient in many cases, he said.

This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Residents oppose cellphone pole by wide margin."