DENNISVILLE – On Feb. 14, Dennis Township Committee met preceded by an operational workshop. During the workshop, a representative of Tilson Technical Management Co., William Flanagan, briefed the committee on Verizon’s request to augment its existing service capacity and operate within the public right-of-way.
Tilson is under contract to work with Verizon to install equipment in a project that spans six counties in the southern part of the state.
“Verizon is seeking use of Dennis’ right-of-way to install these nodes and would be totally compliant with all necessary permitting including building permits.
“The nodes are about the diameter of a regular utility pole and are about two feet in height and placed on top of the utility pole,” explained Flanagan.
This is a project to augment wireless capacity not to replace existing towers.
Verizon wants to increase capacity because of ever-expanding demand for wireless especially for devices such as tablets and phones.
“Verizon hasn’t determined yet the placement of the nodes, but Dennis is a rural township, so we’re looking at along the Parkway and Route 9. The existing infrastructure is insufficient especially for the demand in the busy summer months,” he said.
During the briefing, Flanagan mentioned that Verizon has a contract with Tilson for installation, but it is ultimately Atlantic City Electric that makes the final decision as to node placement since it is the owner of the poles.
Only Verizon will use the new nodes, and no other service provider will be permitted to enter into a sublease agreement for the equipment.
Committee members had some operational questions including if they approved Verizon’s request would they need to approve other service providers’ similar requests to install more capacity?
“Once you ‘open the door’ then yes, we must act on a uniform basis for all similar requests,“ advised Dennis Solicitor Marcus Karavan.
Flanagan concluded his briefing by noting that the resolution that committee would approve had been reviewed by Atlantic City Electric. As well, he added, Verizon is working closely with the Pinelands Commission since part of Dennis is affected by Pinelands considerations.
“The area to be covered is about 500 to 1,000 feet per node and will greatly improve capacity, gets us closer to demand, since the nodes are at street level, and is cost effective,” he said.
Engineer’s Update
Dennis Engineer John Gibson stated to the committee that it is his plan to present updates on the proposed township bike path at all upcoming meetings to “keep the project in the public eye.”
“The other day we walked the proposed route which goes along Atlantic City Electric’s power line and identified areas of most concern to them. There are about eight such locations that might conflict with existing guy wires or poles. But I’ve already determined solutions for these locations so as to minimize disruption. We’ll be working closely with Atlantic City Electric so we can continue progress on the bike path,” he said.
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.
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