Support the Timberjay by making a donation.
There are no regulations to control placement of cell phone towers. They can basically appear anywhere.
At&T placed one right across the lake from my cabin (Little Sturgeon). Now I get to share the night with a blinking red tower. And there have been three times when technology failure kept white strobe lights flashing for nights until a repairman from central Minnesota could get here to fix it.
This issue is not about cell coverage. It's about phone companies placing towers where they can outcompete other companies. For example, everyone in the Side Lake area must now be on AT&T in order to get good coverage.
AT&T also has plans to place a tower on Hawk Ridge in Duluth, where it would interfere with bird migration.
The entire issue of cell phone towers needs to be addressed. For one thing, why can't companies share towers? Why aren't there some rules or regulations to guide tower placement?
Why is a cell phone tower allowed where it can be seen in a wilderness area? I can't believe this is the only site that could be used for a tower. It may be the most convenient site or the most competitive site, but it should be illegal if it affects the wilderness character of a Federally designated wilderness area.
As far as safety in the Boundary Waters, I don't believe that anyone should rely on a cell phone. What are the chances that a cell phone would survive capsizing or that a cell phone would be reachable under such circumstances? Would cell phone services be available during a tornado or wind storm?
When canoing in the BWCAW, one must always depend on good safety practices, some basic first aid knowledge, and good common sense. What did we all do in the past, before such technology was available?
We are too willing to let technology control our lives. It's time we put some boundaries around the spread of technology, instead of giving technology free rein within our lives and our environment.
Please explain the inappropriate content below.
