Verizon plans to activate its wireless tower in Mount Tremper by year’s end, extending service into eastern Shandaken and narrowing an 18-mile coverage gap along Route 28.
The 164-foot tower at 1466 Wittenberg Road, approved by Shandaken’s Planning Board in 2025 went up in September and will extend Verizon’s coverage from western Olive. The company notified Shandaken Town Supervisor Barbara Mansfield of the activation timeline on Sept. 29.
The tower is one of several proposed to improve wireless coverage along Route 28 and throughout town. It will also allow customers of other carriers with compatible phones to call 911 within its coverage area.
“Emergency communication in the town of Shandaken is challenged and has been for the 30-plus years I have been involved in emergency services,” said Shandaken Police Chief Chad Storey. “The new tower in Mount Tremper is definitely a step in the right direction; however, more is needed.”
The expansion comes as Verizon seeks federal permission to discontinue traditional copper landline service in portions of New York, raising concerns among local officials about residents who lack reliable alternatives.
“Vast sections of the town, probably the majority of the town, does not have access to cell service,” said Shandaken Deputy Supervisor Robert Drake. “Copper lines are often the only way a person has to communicate.”
Verizon says it won’t discontinue a customer’s copper service unless an alternative approved by the Federal Communications Commission is available, such as fiber or wireless service.
“We at the county level and at the town levels are concerned because we want to make sure that they don’t decommission copper when we still don’t have fiber,” said Ulster County Comptroller March Gallagher.
Verizon is working on a fiber-optic broadband expansion to reach unserved locations across the county. Gallagher said the project won’t be finished until 2029 or 2030.
She wants to map locations where residents depend on copper lines and share the findings with Verizon and federal regulators to help monitor the transition.
“We want to be able to identify every single location where they do not have the ability to make a call to 911 without the copper line,” she said.
Lauren Peterson, Verizon’s associate director of crisis communications and reputation management, said customers without another approved option will keep their copper service.
“Customers who live in these service gap areas where there is no fiber and there is no wireless, those customers are going to stay on the copper network,” she said. “We know how important connectivity is, especially in these more rural areas.”
Officials are also concerned about service during power outages. A basic corded phone connected to a functioning copper network can operate without electricity at the home. Fiber and wireless replacements need backup power to keep working.
Verizon says equipment provided to customers moving to its fiber and fixed wireless replacement services will include battery backup. Its Voice Connect service uses a wireless signal and allows customers to keep their home phone and number.
Gallagher and Drake said Verizon has neglected maintenance of copper lines throughout the county, affecting call quality. Gallagher said replacing those lines with fiber could improve everyday service.
“For those people who are on copper lines that haven’t been maintained, they will see an improvement in service from the fiber rollout,” she said.
Gallagher urged residents to complete the Ulster County Resident Survey, available online and on paper at town halls, by 11:59 p.m. Oct. 12. Residents can also submit comments to the FCC, referencing Docket 26-252.
Kyle Bredberg is a contributing reporter. You can reach him at reporting@theoverlooknews.com.
