Aiken may get more cell towers

Cell phone service is getting a boost here and is bringing with it a boost to Aiken County's coffers.

Applications for cell phone antennas have been flowing in since County Council revised its wireless communication tower regulations in March of last year. There is a non-refundable fee attached to each application submitted to the County Planning and Development Department.

Wireless communication companies like AT&T and T-Mobile must pay $5,000 for every application it submits for an antenna co-location, meaning an antenna will be installed on an existing tower. The fee is $10,000 for a new tower application or a co-location that will increase an existing tower's height.

"Since March of last year, there has been one application for a new tower and 19 applications for co-locations," said Rhonda Conley, a planner with the Planning and Development Department.

The news "astounded" Councilwoman Kathy Rawls when she recently heard of it.

"I am very pleased," she said. "I hope they move into areas that didn't have good cell phone service like mine."

Rawls lives in Wagener and was a strong proponent of adjusting the tower regulations when Council took up the task last year.

Before the regulations changed, all towers, regardless of the zoning district where they stood, were capped at a height of 120 feet. At the time, wireless carriers argued that the height cap restricted them from erecting new towers at heights that would better serve their customers.

Now, limited and urban development zonings permit towers as tall as 150 feet, industrial zonings permit towers as tall as 250 feet and rural zonings permit towers as tall as 350 feet.

New towers are not allowed in office residential, neighborhood commercial, residential and rural horse district zonings. Co-locations that do not increase an existing tower's height are permitted.

Though there have been more applications for co-locations than for towers, the new regulations have arguably relaxed the restrictions and paved the road for more towers.

Rawls said the modified regulations were adapted to fit the County in that they allow taller towers in the rural areas and bring down maximum tower height in urban areas.

Traditionally, there are fewer towers in rural areas, but they must cover a larger geographical area which can lead to spotty service. In more densely populated areas, wireless communication companies tend to plant more towers close to others because there are more users in the area.

Ultimately, more antennas mean better cell service, said T-Mobile spokesperson Anna Brooks.

"We want to make sure our customers keep up with their family, their businesses and stay connected to the Enhanced 911 system," she said.