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What’s happening with the Lunenburg County cell tower? We’ve heard that question more than once in the last two months. More than two years ago, the Lunenburg Board of Supervisors (BOS) approved a conditional use permit (CUP) application for a Verizon Wireless cell tower in hopes of moving the county further in its quest for better communication.

And the wait still continues.

Verizon has constructed and will operate the 299-foot wireless communication tower near Plank Road and Wallace Bridge Road.

At that time, Jeff Holland with Verizon addressed the board, telling supervisors that the company had received a lot of community support for the tower, “With a lot of people now working from home and schools learning virtually now, it’s a high demand more than ever.” Holland said during the November 12, 2020, BOS meeting.

Lunenburg County cell tower update

During the Thursday, Dec. 8, BOS meeting, the issues were again addressed when supervisor Robert Zava asked about the status.

According to the Director of Planning and Economic Development, Taylor Newton, Verizon has had issues with equipment supplies, delaying the cell tower’s start-up.

“They (Verizon) have had issues with obtaining equipment and fiber due to the high demand and delay in shipping/receiving,” Newton said. “These issues are working to be remedied so that the tower can go live in the immediate months.”

In an interview with Karen Schulz, Global Network and Technology Communications with Verizon, Schulz said the company anticipates that work will be completed in the first half of 2023.

‘We are very excited about the new cell site we have built in Lunenburg County, which will enhance the 4G LTE coverage and capacity for customers in the area,” Schulz said. “The last step before activating the site is to connect it with fiber optic cables to the rest of the network.”

So, citizens will have to continue to wait for better cell coverage in the county, at least heading into the new year.