This affects you if you rely on cell phones and other wireless devices to connect with your family, friends, doctor, or work, and to communicate during emergencies.
During the current pandemic, people need dependable wireless service more than ever, with increasing reliance on tele-medicine, remote learning, virtual meetings, and cell phones to stay connected. During the first weeks of the current crisis, cell phone calls exceeded 800 million per day, nearly double the number on the traditional highest-call day of the year, Mother’s Day.
Verizon Wireless has identified a significant gap in its service coverage and capacity in the area surrounding SE Crown Road and SE 23rd St. The proposed facility will provide additional, reliable Verizon Wireless coverage to this gap, benefitting residents and businesses, as well as visitors to the area. The proposed facility will also add network capacity to relieve congestion on the existing Verizon Wireless network.
These enhancements will improve network service for Clark County first responders, who count on reliable wireless service for vital communications across a broad range of emergency situations. In fact, all residents and visitors in this area will benefit from improved Verizon Wireless service, even non-Verizon Wireless customers. Should another wireless carrier’s network fail, the Verizon Wireless network is available to all users for emergency calls and text messages.
90% of US households use wireless service. With this increasing demand from residents and businesses, including those who work from home, there is a need for additional facilities to meet customer needs. Citizens need access to 911 and reverse 911 services, and wireless may be their only connection. (CTIA, June 2015)
If you value improved wireless service in the SE Crown Road and SE 23rd St area of Camas, WA, and you support Verizon Wireless’s proposed network enhancements, we need to hear from you. To show your support and let your voice be heard, please take a moment to send an email that we can share with the Clark County Hearing Examiner. You can click to select any of the sample messages, or create your own.
Notice – Due to a technical error, Verizon will be rescheduling the previously scheduled meeting from 12/3/2020 at 6pm to a later date to be determined. The new meeting day and time, along with the correct virtual login information, will be posted shortly.
TBD
For more information, please send a request to supportwireless@verizonwireless.com.
Verizon Wireless has developed a truly innocuous design for its proposed wireless facility to minimize aesthetic impact. Verizon Wireless will conceal its antennas within a 120-foot facility camouflaged as a pine tree, to blend in with surrounding vegetation. The height is inclusive of a 110-foot pole with an antenna tip height of 110-feet and a 10-foot tree cone that will allow for a more natural taper to the monopine. Associated network equipment will be placed in a small fenced area nearby with appropriate landscaping. Both the tree-pole and equipment area will be secure and not accessible by the public.
Photos of the camouflaged tree-pole design are shown below.
This new cell site will provide improved coverage (i.e. signal strength) in the vicinity of Lacamas Lake, Washougal and Woodburn School, which will enable people in the areas to use their wireless voice and data service in an expanded area, as well as providing 911 service to a wider area for both subscribers and non-subscribers alike.
In addition to providing service to currently under-served areas, those nearby with existing coverage are predicted to have improved call quality and data speeds. This is due to the increased network resources that will be available for users, and thus requiring less sharing between users at high-demand times.
This area of Camas is actively growing, and the facilities currently providing coverage are forecasted to reach full capacity in the near future. Once reached, this will limit data performance until additional capacity can be added to the network in the area.
