Representatives for the company came before Easton's Historic District Commission Monday evening, which granted a request to replace three antennas and add three more to the cell phone company's array atop the Alpha Building.
The additions, bringing Cingular's total to 12 in a veritable forest of transmission antennas that populate the roof of Easton's tallest building, will mean AT&T wireless customers can expect 4G and 4G LTE speeds to be available in the city in about three months, said representing attorney Catherine Durso of Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba.
However, those in the College Hill section of the city will still have to wait a bit longer for the faster service, Durso said in answer to questions about the reach of the upgrade by Historic District Commissioner Clay Mitman.
The College Hill section is notorious for spotty cell phone signals, and upgraded speeds are lacking for most carriers on the hill.
Durso said the topography of the area, in addition to Lafayette College, one of the few commercial building owners with the right elevation, being resistant to placing cellular antennas on its buildings, poses challenges to service providers. Currently, cell phone companies use a variety of methods to service the area, she added.
"We're looking to provide better coverage there in the future," she said.
The new antennas on the Alpha Building won't be visibly different from those that are already there to anyone looking at the building from ground level, HDC members noted.
A number of cell phone companies pay rent to the City of Easton to place their transmission antennas on the Alpha Building's roof, including Sprint, which similarly announced intentions to upgrade their local service to 4g LTE last month.
