'Can you hear me now?' Verizon to add new tower

The days of leaning out windows and freezing in winter weather in search of better cell phone reception on campus might be numbered, at least for Verizon Wireless customers.

The company plans to install a system of antennae, known as a base station, on top of the New South building near the Dinky station to improve cellular phone reception throughout campus and surrounding community. Verizon is planning to begin installation after the holidays and finish by the end of January, said David Morreale, senior manager of Desktop Support and Support Services for OIT.

OIT, which has been working on the project for two years, "hopes that Verizon coverage will improve significantly on campus and in the surrounding community after the equipment is installed on New South," said Steven Sather, associate chief information officer and director of support services for OIT.

Verizon has conducted a study to determine how the new system will improve coverage, Sather said. OIT is also designing a pilot to investigate other technologies to increase cell phone signal strength in buildings.

Prospects for improved service are favorable, given the success of a similar T-Mobile base station that was installed on the Old Graduate College's Cleveland Tower, Morreale said.

Though the new base station might not provide service to all of campus, Morreale said OIT plans to route the signal directly into buildings that the signal would not otherwise penetrate.

Complaints about cellular service on campus arise from gaps in coverage by various cell phone carriers. "We realized there was a problem several years ago," Morreale said. "We heard about problem spots with various carriers on campus from students, faculty and staff, such as in Firestone Library, the lower levels of Frist Campus Center and some dormitories."

A study of Verizon service done by Bruce Eisenstein, a telecommunications expert working for Princeton Township, found "a gap in coverage that will be significantly improved by the new site," according to a letter on file at the Princeton Township Regional Planning Board Office.

According to the study, the planned base station will improve service for both the University and the community at large and "give Verizon coverage in the southwest part of the borough and township."

Verizon is not the only cellular service looking to increase its coverage at the University. T-Mobile, Sprint and Cingular wireless are all planning to work with OIT to install equipment on top of Fine tower to augment their service on campus, said David Wirth, manager of Technical Operations at OIT.

According to documents on file at the Planning Board Office, the base station will be housed in a five-foot-tall fiberglass addition to the top of the New South building — a "stealth antenna" — that will not significantly alter the appearance of the building.

The University will not have to pay for hosting the base station, Wirth said.