HILLTOWNS — Forget video chats, high-speed downloads, and all the innumerable benefits of broadband. Some Hilltown residents would just like to be able to make a phone call. 

Cell service in the rural community is infamously spotty, but concern over the issue has largely been overshadowed by broadband, at least in terms of government activity. Most of the Hilltown governments are making various efforts to obtain funding and convince private companies to build out internet infrastructure. 

While broadband is likely the more critical need — promising to bring Hilltown residents up to modern speeds and connect them more reliably to the increasingly digital world — poor cell service also has an impact on public health and quality of life.

At a Rensselaerville Town Board meeting last week, resident Jeannette James, a nurse, recounted a recent car accident near her home that left a horse “gravely injured,” and how she had to stop tending to the horse so she could call for help on her landline since no one on the scene could get cell service.

“If it was a child — I mean, a horse is a precious, living being — but if it’s a human … what’s more important, calling 9-1-1 to get an ambulance or taking care of somebody? I can’t do both things at once,” James said.

Westerlo Supervisor Matt Kryzak told The Enterprise this week that lack of cell service in Westerlo is an “ongoing issue,” and that he has spent “countless hours on the phone” with Verizon representatives to try to convey the need for more coverage.

“I get complaints from residents and I pass them along to Verizon,” Kryzak said, pointing out that he also doesn’t get coverage in his town office. “It’s never-ending.” 

Likewise, Rensselaerville Councilman and EMS coordinator for the Albany County Sheriff’s Office Brian Wood said that the sheriff’s office — which had made a large and controversial, and ultimately successful, push to get a cell tower built on Edwards Hill in Rensselaerville — has been trying to get Verizon to set up its equipment on that tower, which would help with emergency communications. 

“Everything we’re doing now is off cellular devices,” Wood said. “Even a lot of our radios, if they’re outside the 800 megahertz [band], they hit on cellular, and we use iPads now to do all of our ticket-writing and stuff.” 

Wood said the sheriff’s office was “hoping for two carriers when they set up that tower on Edwards Hill, and [the carriers] are just not interested,” he said.

Verizon has been “very adamant that they have a planned roll-out and a budget and that is not in their planned roll-out and budget at this time,” Wood said. “It’s very frustrating.” 

Kryzak told The Enterprise that he’s been told by Verizon reps that part of the issue is the expansion of 5G and “how the towers are able to communicate.” 

A Verizon spokesperson told The Enterprise this week that the company “will be upgrading our 5G network to enhance our customer experiences in and around Rensselaerville Hamlet, Altamont Village and Westerlo. Thanks to the additional capacity 5G will bring, our customers will see increased 4G LTE capacity and data speeds as well.”

The spokesperson also said that “while Verizon’s 5G upgrades add additional coverage, capacity, and speeds for newer devices, it does not impact our existing 4G LTE experience in the area.” 

It is not immediately clear what kind of investment is required to expand service, though Kryzak said that his impression from conversations with Verizon reps is that it’s not similar to broadband, where the infrastructure is expensive and significantly outweighs the amount of revenue the company would pull from the low-density towns.

Because devices interact with cell towers through wireless signals, it seems likely that the topography of the region would have a significant impact, and may explain why service in Knox, which is somewhat flatter than the neighboring Hilltowns, “is not much of a problem,” according to Supervisor Russ Pokorny. He said that Knox’s two towers “seem to cover us quite well.” 

What also complicates things for consumers is that, unlike with internet carriers, where the only relevant factor is price and how well they service a particular area, cell-phone service will ideally work all over, so choosing a carrier with maximum service in one area may mean accepting poorer service in another. 

This also is why wi-fi assisted calls won’t be an adequate solution, if and when broadband becomes fully available on the Hill. 

And in fact, the internet/cell issue can cut both ways. Berne Library Director Kathy Stempel told The Enterprise that the library is now loaning out hotspots so that people can get better internet at home, but that they require adequate cell service, which some people “just don’t have.” 

She said that she personally has experienced calls dropping here and there, but that library patrons typically approach her about internet issues, not phone. 

And finally, even when cell towers are proposed, they’re often controversial. 

The Edwards Hill tower was approved only after significant debate over its visual impact and other siting concerns, as well as a failed lawsuit to invalidate its approval. Visual impact of towers has also been a concern in Altamont, Westerlo, Knox, and Berne. 

Wood ultimately expressed some cynicism at the Rensselaerville meeting last week, saying that the solution lies in the hands of “big business,” which is focused on its bottom line. 

He suggested to James that she try a letter-writing campaign, but conceded that if the county wasn’t able to move the dial much, it’s unlikely that residents would be able to either, and that larger governments may need to throw their weight behind it, as they have with broadband. 

“I just feel like the state or federal government has a way to manipulate the cards enough to see their way, more than we’re obviously going to be able to,” Wood said.