There has been significant resistance to the installation or upgrade of cell phone base stations in the city. As a consequence, cell phone reception is very poor in Albany, especially for AT&T customers. AT&T does not have a facility in Albany and their recent proposal to add one was denied after nearly five years of effort. For those not on AT&T, this means that advances like LTE networks and other advances could be denied them, and will also eventually lead to degraded service as more AT&T customers move to other carriers and begin tapping into the same pool of bandwidth. Since Albany approved their ordinance governing cell phone infrastructure, only one remote installation has been approved. The ordinance is flawed in that it provides those who are afraid of cell phone radiation or who disapprove of cell phones for other reasons a virtually unlimited number of ways to question, stall, and deny a project.
First and foremost, as a Council Member, I would support a review of the recent denial of the AT&T application. I believe the public good represented by reliable cell phone connectivity outweighs the concerns upon which the application was denied.
Secondly I would support significant revision of the ordinance covering cell phone base station installation. I believe the current ordinance invites abuse by those who oppose these installations for any reason whatsoever. I would support an ordinance that laid out very clear, specific grounds upon which to reject a cell phone infrastructure project, recognizing that robust cell phone support has gone beyond a luxury or convenience and has become an issue of public safety and well being.
Finally, I would point out to those who oppose this project because they feel it represents a large impersonal corporation trying to take advantage of our small city, that AT&T is not harmed by denying this application anywhere near as much as the Albany citizens who have AT&T wireless accounts. While it might be satisfying to stick it to the Man, in this case, doing so hurts our neighbors much more than it hurts AT&T. Where do our loyalties lie? Is it more important to strike a tiny blow for resistance to profit-seeking corporations, or to protect thousands of Albany residents who need and expect reliable communication?