Upgrades to fix shoddy cell service downtown has been delayed until the end of the year, said Verizon Public Relations Manager David Weissmann in a brief phone call on Wednesday.
Weissmann would not comment on the cause of the delay but acknowledged the completion date had changed since the Spy’s initial story on September 12, when he said the upgrades would take three weeks from when work began in early September.
Currently “the site is on track to be operating by the end of this year,” Weissmann said.
The upgrades began in early September on the Washington College’s cell tower, located at the Kent Fitness Center, after it was certain the tower was clear of nesting Osprey. Work was halted in April when workers for Verizon’s subcontractor, Mastec, discovered a nesting pair on initial inspection.
Under the Migratory Bird Protection Act, telecommunication work is generally prohibited on towers when the raptors are nesting from the beginning of April through August. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service deems Osprey nests inactive from September through February.
Verizon had the ‘all clear’ in September when Mastec verified that the nesting pair had vacated the tower for the season.
The Spy will continue to followup on the upgrades.
Andrea Gerardi says
Did Verizon complete the upgrades?