* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:03] ATT IS RIGHT HERE. OH, OKAY. YEAH. GREAT. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU [Mobile Coverage Forum on January 21, 2026.] SO MUCH. UH, THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR PATIENCE. UM, I WANTED TO WAIT A FEW MINUTES TO GET STARTED SINCE WE ARE IN OUR BRAND NEW ELY PUBLIC WORKS BUILDING, WHICH IS DOWN THE HILL FROM TOWN HALL. AND I EXPECT WE HAD SOME FOLKS GO TO TOWN HALL FIRST, AND I WANTED TO GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO COME DOWN HERE. UM, GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS NICOLE BRINER. UH, I AM HONORED TO SERVE AS THE WARD THREE COUNCIL MEMBER AND ALSO AS VICE MAYOR FOR THE TOWN OF CH. I'D LIKE TO BEGIN BY THANKING TOWN STAFF FOR FACILITATING TONIGHT'S EVENT. AND I WANT TO EXTEND A VERY SINCERE THANK YOU TO ALL THREE WIRELESS PROVIDERS, AT AND T T-MOBILE AND VERIZON FOR BEING HERE IN CHEVROLET THIS EVENING. IT IS VERY COLD OUT AND I'M REALLY HAPPY TO HAVE EVERYONE HERE. UM, DID YOU WANNA GO REAL QUICKLY AND JUST SAY YOUR NAME AND WHICH CARRIER YOU'RE REPRESENTING? UM, AND IN ORDER TO TURN THE MICROPHONE ON YOU PUSH THE BUTTON SO THERE'S A GREEN LIGHT. GOOD EVENING. I'M DARREN MANLEY. I'M THE PUBLIC SAFETY SPECIALIST FOR THE STATE OF MARYLAND, REPRESENTING T-MOBILE FOR GOVERNMENT AND T-MOBILE PUBLIC SAFETY. HEY, MY NAME IS DANNY TIPMAN. I AM THE RETAIL STORE MANAGER FOR THE EXPERIENCE LOCATION IN NEW CARROLLTON. CHRIS JACKSON, PUBLIC SECTOR FOR VERIZON. RON NLY, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR, UH, PUBLIC SECTOR FOR THE STATE OF MARYLAND. ROBERT HOLGATE WITH VERIZON, EMERSON DIAZ, UH, THE ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE FOR LOCAL AND MUNICIPALITIES OF MARYLAND WITH AT AND T. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. UM, BEFORE WE BEGIN, UH, IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THESE PROVIDERS MIGHT BE LIMITED IN DISCUSSING CERTAIN DETAILED STRATEGIES DUE TO PROPRIETARY OR CONTRACTUAL CONFIDENTIALITY CLAUSES. UH, SO WE WANTED TO MAKE THAT CLEAR UPFRONT SO RESIDENTS UNDERSTAND THE PARAMETERS OF TONIGHT'S DISCUSSIONS. IT MIGHT JUST BE THAT THESE FOLKS CAN'T GIVE THE DETAILS OF THINGS THEY'RE PLANNING. UM, BUT WITH THAT SAID, I WOULD APPRECIATE A GENERAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FROM EACH PROVIDER THAT THEY'RE COMMITTED TO WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE TOWN TO ADDRESS OUR SERVICE CONCERNS. GREAT. UM, ALL RIGHT. SO, I, UH, PERSONALLY HAVE BEEN VERY EXCITED ABOUT HAVING THIS CONVERSATION. UM, I REPRESENT WARD THREE, WHICH IS ON THE NORTH END OF CH AND HAS BEEN DEALING WITH A LOT OF ISSUES WITH CELL PHONE COVERAGE. UM, THERE ARE JUST PARTICULAR AREAS IN MY WARD, UM, THAT HAVE ZERO CELL SERVICE. UM, AND SO I'M REALLY EXCITED, UH, TO GET THE CHANCE FOR RESIDENTS TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE EXPERIENCED AND TO HEAR FROM THE CARRIERS ABOUT WHAT COULD BE DONE, UM, ON OUR END, BUT ALSO ON YOUR END TO, UH, ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES. UM, AS MANY OF YOU HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED PROBABLY THIS EVENING, UM, THIS IS A NEW BUILDING, BUT CELLULAR SERVICE IN THIS BUILDING IS SUPER LIMITED. IT'S TERRIBLE. UM, IT'S ALSO LIMITED IN CERTAIN PORTIONS OF TOWN HALL, UM, AND ACROSS ALL THREE PROVIDERS WITHIN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BUILDING, UH, THESE ARE CRITICAL MUNICIPAL FACILITIES. UM, AND, UH, SIMILARLY, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK FOR EACH PROVIDER'S COMMITMENT TO ADDRESS THE SIGNAL CHALLENGES IN THOSE LOCATIONS. AND I WILL CONNECT ALL OF YOU WITH OUR TOWN ADMINISTRATOR, MR. DELAINE GALLOWAY AFTER THIS. UH, SO THESE MATTERS CAN BE ADDRESSED DIRECTLY. I HAVE A LIST OF QUESTIONS TO ASK THESE FOLKS UP HERE. UM, BUT I THINK A BETTER APPROACH WOULD BE TO HAVE OUR RESIDENTS COME FORWARD FIRST AND TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT THEY'VE EXPERIENCED. THAT WAY WHEN WE ASK THESE QUESTIONS AND YOU ALL ANSWER THEM, YOU CAN ANSWER THEM FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF KNOWING WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH, UM, AND MAYBE THINK ABOUT DIRECTING YOUR ANSWERS IN THAT WAY. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE JUST TWO QUICK STORIES. UM, ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, WE HAD A WATER MAIN BREAK IN MY WARD. UM, AND THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT FLOODING. I WAS IN WATER UP TO MY KNEES, AND BECAUSE OF WHERE THE FLOODING WAS LOCATED, I WAS NOT ABLE TO SEND TEXTS TO MY RESIDENTS, UH, OR TO UPDATE ANY SOCIAL MEDIA AND TO TELL THEM WHAT WAS GOING ON, YOU KNOW, TO SAY, HEY, COME OUT AND MOVE YOUR CARS, OR HEY, CHECK YOUR BASEMENT. UM, IT WAS REALLY FRUSTRATING BECAUSE IT WAS A MOMENT WHERE I FELT LIKE I NEEDED TO BE ON SITE IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THE EMERGENCY SITUATION, BUT I COULD NOT DO ANY COMMUNICATING FROM THAT SPOT. UM, SIMILARLY, UH, LAST YEAR I CAME HOME FROM DROPPING MY CHILDREN OFF AT SCHOOL [00:05:01] AND AROUND THE CORNER I SAW SMOKE AND THERE WAS A FIRE. UM, THERE WAS A FIRE AT MY NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE IN THEIR DRIVEWAY. ONE OF THEIR CARS WAS ON FIRE AND I TOOK OUT MY PHONE AND CALLED NINE ONE ONE AND WAS NOT ABLE TO BE CONNECTED TO 9 1 1. UM, I HAD TO MOVE UP THE HILL CALLED AGAIN. THEY COULD HEAR ME. MOSTLY IT WAS VERY CHOPPY. UM, AND SO IT WAS KIND OF FARCICAL BECAUSE I WAS GOING BACK AND FORTH 'CAUSE THEY WERE ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS HAPPENING? AND, AND I HAD TO KEEP GOING BACK AND FORTH TO LOOK AT WHAT WAS HAPPENING, BUT THEN ACTUALLY TALK TO THEM. UM, IT'S A REALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION AND I THINK, UH, I'D LOVE TO HAVE ANY RESIDENTS THAT WANNA SHARE SOME OF THEIR EXPERIENCES COME ON UP, UM, TO THE MIC, UM, TO TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DEALING WITH. UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE FOLKS ONLINE. SO IF YOU'RE ONLINE AND WANTED TO SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND WE'LL FIGURE OUT HOW TO UNMUTE YOU. UM, BUT YEAH, IS THERE ANYONE HERE WHO WANTS TO TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, EVEN IF IT'S NOT A FLUTTER OR A FIRE, IT'S STILL IMPORTANT AND WE STILL NEED TO HEAR ABOUT IT. SO IF THERE'S ANYONE WHO WANTS TO SAY, HEY, AT MY HOUSE, MR. ACL, AND AGAIN, IF YOU'RE ONLINE AND WANT TO, UH, SHARE, RAISE YOUR HAND PLEASE. HEY EVERYBODY, MY NAME IS AUSTIN ACL. I LIVE IN WARD THREE. UM, OUR CARRIER IS VERIZON AND WE'VE LIVED IN CH FOR ABOUT 12 YEARS. UM, THROUGHOUT THAT TIME WE'VE, WE'VE NOT HAD CELL SERVICE REALLY OUTSIDE OF OUR HOUSE. AND, AND EVEN IN OUR HOUSE, IT, THE, OUR CELL PHONES DON'T WORK EXCEPT FOR WHEN WE'RE ON WIFI. UM, THANK GOODNESS FOR, FOR WIFI CALLING 'CAUSE WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO MAKE A CALL AT ALL. AND SIMILARLY, WE'VE, WE'VE ENCOUNTERED NEIGHBORHOOD EMERGENCIES WHERE WE NEED TO CALL EMERGENCY SERVICES AND WE HAVE TO RUN BACK TO THE HOUSE TO GET BACK ONTO WIFI OR GO A FEW BLOCKS TO TRY TO SNATCH ANY BIT OF SIGNAL. UM, AND THIS HAS BEEN ONGOING, YOU KNOW, FOR THE FULL 12 YEARS THAT I'VE LIVED HERE. UM, SO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE AND I, I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. SO THANKS. THANK YOU. AND I WANT TO UNDERLINE, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE BIG STORM THAT WE'RE EXPECTING THIS WEEKEND, IN SITUATIONS LIKE THAT WHEN THE POWER GOES OUT, THERE'S KIND OF NOTHING TO BE DONE. THEY HAVE TO LEAVE THEIR HOUSE AND WALK UP THE HILL IN ORDER TO MAKE A PHONE CALL. AND IT'S ALREADY A DANGEROUS SITUATION WITHOUT POWER. SO, DOES ANYONE ELSE HERE WANNA SHARE? COME ON UP. YEAH, I'LL JOINED THE BAND THREE BANDWAGON HERE. UM, MY NAME'S ADAM. I'M ALSO IN WARD THREE. UM, BEEN IN CHEVROLET FOR ABOUT FOUR YEARS. I'M ALSO A VERIZON CUSTOMER FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS. UM, SIMILAR TO THE, SIMILAR TO OTHER FOLKS MENTIONING, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CURRENTLY DEALING WITH ABOUT ONE TO TWO BARS. MY WIFE AND I ARE BOTH ON VERIZON PLANS, CONTINUALLY ONE TO TWO BARS, WHICH GENERALLY TRANSLATES TO, YOU DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE ANY BARS, YOUR PHONE JUST THINKS YOU DO. SO THAT'S A DIFFERENT PROBLEM THAN WHAT WE'RE KIND OF GETTING AT HERE. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT. BUT JUST, YOU KNOW, UH, THE PERCEPTION OF RECEPTION, UH, IS SOMETIMES SOMETHING THAT WE ARE CHALLENGED WITH. AND I HAVEN'T HAD TO FACE ANY, UNFORTUNATELY ANY OF THE EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. BUT, UM, WE HAVE A SEVEN MONTH OLD DAUGHTER. WE'RE OFTEN TAKING HER TO DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENTS, TRYING TO DIAL INTO WORK CALLS AND TEAMS MEETINGS WHILE WE'RE IN TRANSIT. UM, I THINK OTHERS HAVE MENTIONED THIS, UH, JUST BEFORE THE MEETING AS WELL, RIGHT AT THE INTERSECTION OF 2 0 2 IN CH AVE, RIGHT? ONE OF THE MAIN INTERSECTIONS THERE IS A COMPLETE DEAD ZONE. IT'S A GUARANTEE THAT IF I'M ON A CALL FOR WORK GOING DOWN THE HILL, I WILL DROP OFF THAT MEETING AND HAVE TO WAIT TO LIKE, GET TO THE DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT WHERE I CAN RECONNECT SAFELY. UM, ALSO WITH A, YOU KNOW, SEVEN MONTH OLD CHILD OR, AND THAT'S GONNA BE OLDER. YOU KNOW, AS WE'RE WALKING AROUND TOWN, THERE ARE DEAD AREAS AS WELL. UM, YOU KNOW, FORTUNATELY WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY EMERGENCY SITUATIONS, BUT IF SOMETHING WAS TO ARISE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING ON OUR MIND AS PARENTS THAT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO CONTACT EMERGENCY SERVICES IF WE NEEDED TO. UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S PROBABLY A DIFFERENT MEETING, A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION FOR INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS. AND I JUST AS A VERIZON PERSON, YOU KNOW, I SPEAK TO, OBVIOUSLY I'M LOOKING AROUND AND SEEING WHAT OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE OUT THERE. YOU KNOW, WE'RE CURRENTLY ON COMCAST AND VERIZON IS OFTEN A ALTERNATIVE TO THAT. AND IT SEEMS LIKE VERIZON PARTICULARLY IS SAYING, HEY, JUMP TO THE 5G, UH, INTERNET PROGRAM. AND THAT JUST KIND OF LIKE, IS A, WHY WOULD I DO THAT IF I DON'T HAVE CELL SERVICE IN TOWN? SO, LIMITED OPTIONS FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, BUT, UM, JUST SOME OF THE EXPERIENCES THAT WE DEAL WITH. SO THANKS FOR BEING HERE. LOOKING FORWARD TO POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS ON THIS. THANKS. THANK YOU. UM, AND THERE WERE TWO THINGS I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT FROM THAT. UM, ONE IS WE DO HAVE QUITE A LOT OF FOLKS WHO WORK FROM HOME HERE IN CH AND SO IF THERE IS NOT WIFI AND THEY DON'T HAVE ANY CELL SERVICE FOR A HOTSPOT, THEY LOSE A DAY'S WORK. UM, THE SECOND IS THAT I HAVE A 9-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER AND WE JUST GOT HER AN APPLE WATCH SO THAT [00:10:01] WE CAN, UM, SEE WHERE SHE IS WHEN SHE'S, YOU KNOW, REHEARSING AFTER SCHOOL, THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT IF THERE ISN'T CELL SERVICE, THEN THAT WILL NOT WORK WITH HER APPLE WATCH. UM, AND SO THERE'S KIND OF A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY THERE FOR WITHIN THE TOWN. I KNOW IF SHE'S AT SCHOOL, I KNOW WHERE SHE IS 'CAUSE THERE'S GREAT CELL SERVICE THERE. BUT IF SHE'S IN TOWN, NO IDEA. ANYONE ELSE GO ONLINE? THERE'S NOT. NO. IF THERE'S A HAND ONLINE, I'LL LET YOU KNOW. THANK YOU. AND MAKE SURE YOU TALK INTO THE MIC. UM, THANK YOU. MY NAME'S LELA AZI. I'M ACTUALLY NOT IN WARD THREE. I'M IN WARD ONE. SO, UM, I, I HEAR A LOT OF THE CONCERNS AND SHARE A NUMBER OF THEM. I'M JUST SHARE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES. ONE, HAVING BEEN A COUNCIL MEMBER, HAVING BEEN A MAYOR, TRYING TO REACH OUT TO RESIDENTS FROM TOWN HALL. YES, REPEATEDLY, I HAVE TO BEGIN EVERY CONVERSATION, WHETHER IT'S IN MY HOME, WHICH IS JUST AS YOU PULL IN ON CH AVENUE, IF YOU GO UP TO THE RIGHT ON BELLEVUE, I'M RIGHT THERE BACKING UP TO HOSPITAL HILL. THERE'S A TOWER THERE. TOWER SHOULD BE ABSOLUTELY FUNCTIONAL. I'VE BEEN A, A VERIZON CUSTOMER STARTED BACK IN CONNECTICUT, I THINK AROUND 1999 BECAUSE VERIZON WAS THE GOLD STANDARD. THAT'S WHAT I GREW TO LEARN COMING HERE, HAVE BEEN HERE SINCE 2004. UM, IN, IN CH AND WHAT I HAVE FOUND IS GOING BACK ABOUT FIVE OR SIX YEARS, PRECIPITOUS DROP IN, UM, A RECEPTION. AND WHEN I'M TALKING DROP, I'M NOT JUST TALKING ONE OR TWO BARS, I'M TALKING TO MY PHONE GOING TO SOS MODE REPEATEDLY. AND THAT'S JUST ENTIRELY UNACCEPTABLE. I WORK WITH OLDER ADULTS IN VARIOUS, IN VARIOUS CAPACITIES AND CONSTITUENT SERVICES, AND I BEGIN EVERY PHONE CALL APOLOGIZING FOR, I AM SO SORRY, THE RECEPTION AT MY HOME IS AWFUL. I MOST LIKELY WILL LOSE YOU. I APOLOGIZE, I'M NOT HANGING UP ON YOU. I WILL TRY TO GET YOU BACK. AND WHEN YOU'RE, WHEN YOU'RE WORKING WITH PEOPLE, ONE, IT COMES ACROSS AS UNPROFESSIONAL AND IT ALSO BREAKS THE CONVERSATION THAT SOMETIMES IS AT A CRUCIAL PLACE IN THAT CONVERSATION. IT ALSO, WHAT, YOU KNOW, NICOLE WAS SHARING, IT ACTUALLY CREATES HOUSEHOLD FRUSTRATION, , BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AND I'M, I'M VERY SERIOUS WHERE IT'S LIKE, DID YOU HANG UP ON ME? NO, I DIDN'T HANG UP ON YOU. WELL, I'M TRYING TO TELL YOU THIS. AND THEN THE BREAK IN THE CONVERSATION, OR YOU'RE COMING IN ON A CALL, YOU TURN ONTO CHEVROLET AVENUE AND AT THAT DIP AND EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT DIP YOU LOSE SERVICE. BOOM. SO I'VE BEEN IN REPEATED CONVERSATIONS OVER THE YEARS WITH MY FRUSTRATIONS AND I'VE BEEN TOLD THINGS LIKE THE TREES, COVERAGE IS TOO HEAVY, TREE COVERAGE IS NOT TOO HEAVY. IT HAS NOT INCREASED. IT HAS ACTUALLY DECREASED IN THE PATHWAY BETWEEN ME AND WHAT I UNDERSTAND IS THE NEAREST TOWER. IT'S NOT FUNCTIONAL. IT, IT JUST CREATES SO MUCH PAIN IN LIFE THAT I WOULD JUST RATHER NOT HAVE. AND I'M LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS AND FOR THOSE SOLUTIONS TO NOT BE PASSED OFF ON, OH, WELL YOU'RE JUST TOO HILLY. YOU'RE JUST TOO THIS BECAUSE THERE ARE OTHER AREAS OF THE COUNTRY THAT EX EXPERIENCE THE SAME THINGS. AND I THINK THERE'S A WAY TO DO THIS BETTER. SO I, I THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. IT'S A GREAT START. THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER, I DID, I WAS REMISS IN NOT, UM, SORT OF ACKNOWLEDGING FORMER MAYOR AZI AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, TANZI AND WADE, WHO ARE HERE IN THE AUDIENCE. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. UM, GREAT. SO I DON'T SEE ANY HANDS ONLINE. IF YOU ARE ONLINE, THERE IS A, THE Q AND A FEATURE IS ON, SO IF YOU HAVE, UH, A QUEUE, PLEASE PUT IT IN THAT BOX SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE TO ADDRESS IT. UH, HERE IN THE AUDIENCE, UH, I'LL TRY TO PROVIDE SOME OPPORTUNITIES IF THERE ARE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS. UM, I DO HAVE A LIST OF QUESTIONS AROUND SEVERAL KEY TOPIC AREAS, UM, THAT HAVE COME UP, EITHER FROM A RESIDENT PERSPECTIVE OR FROM A MUNICIPAL PERSPECTIVE. UH, COVERAGE AND SERVICE GAPS, OBVIOUSLY, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE AND EXPANSION PLANS, UH, EMERGENCY SERVICES AND PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, SMALL CELLS, 5G AND COMMUNITY IMPACT, AFFORDABILITY AND DIGITAL EQUITY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND PERFORMANCE. UM, AND MOST OF ALL, WHAT REALISTICALLY CAN BE DONE TO IMPROVE OUR SIGNAL. UM, SO I'M GOING TO JUST, UH, INTRODUCE A TOPIC WITH A COUPLE QUESTIONS AND THEN IF EACH OF YOU CAN TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO ANSWER IT. WE DO HAVE LIMITED TIME. I DON'T HAVE A TIMER OR RATHER I DO ON MY PHONE. I'D RATHER NOT USE IT. SO IF WE CAN STICK TO A FEW MINUTES EACH, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. UM, ALRIGHT. THE FIRST, UH, TOPIC IS ABOUT COVERAGE [00:15:01] AND SERVICE GAPS FROM A MUNICIPAL PERSPECTIVE. UM, AND I KNOW WE'VE HAD MANY OF YOU OR YOUR ASSOCIATES COME AND, UH, DO STUDIES ABOUT COVERAGE. WE HEAR A LOT OF LIKE, WELL, ALL OUR TESTS WERE GREAT. UM, BUT OBVIOUSLY RESIDENT EXPERIENCE DOES NOT SUPPORT THAT. UM, WE'VE ALSO HEARD THINGS LIKE, OH, WELL, UH, RESIDENTS JUST NEED TO BUY THIS REPEATER OR, OR OTHER THINGS TO IMPROVE THEIR CELL SERVICE. I FEEL LIKE RESIDENTS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BUY SOMETHING TO IMPROVE THE SERVICE THAT WE'RE ALREADY PAYING FOR. IT SHOULD JUST BE THERE. UM, SO CAN YOU, UH, FIRST OF ALL, CAN YOU PROVIDE A COVERAGE MAP SPECIFIC TO CH RATHER THAN A REGIONAL OR COUNTYWIDE MAP? UH, WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY SEE KNOWN DEAD ZONES, UH, WITHIN THE TOWN LIMITS? UM, UH, ARE SERVICE GAPS PRIMARILY CAUSED BY TERRAIN ZONING RESTRICTIONS, INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITATIONS? WHAT IS THE, THE ISSUE THERE, IF YOU KNOW, UM, AND HOW OFTEN DO YOU RETEST AND UPDATE COVERAGE DATA FOR MUNICIPALITIES LIKE OURS? WE'LL START WITH T-MOBILE. SURE. AND THERE'S NOT A WAY TO SHARE A SCREEN UNFORTUNATELY. YEAH, I DO HAVE MAKE SURE YOU TALK, I DO HAVE SOME COVERAGE MAPS THAT I'M ALLOWED TO SHARE. CAN YOU SEND IT TO ME? SURE. GOTCHA. OR ARE YOU ONLINE ON THE ZOOM? I'M ON MY CELL. ARE YOU ON THE ZOOM OR NO? OKAY. JUST FORWARD THEM TO EVO. YEAH, ONE MOMENT PLEASE. GIMME JUST A SECOND. WHILE DARREN'S DOING MAC, CAN WE SPEAK TO ? SURE. MAKE SURE WE SPEAK INTO THE MIC, UM, SO THAT THE A SL INTERPRETER CAN HEAR MM-HMM . SO I, I I, I WANT TO JUST TAKE A MOMENT TO START OFF BY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT YES, THERE ARE COVERAGE CHALLENGES RIGHT HERE IN CH, I KNOW THAT THAT IS JUST AN EARTH SHATTERING, UH, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, BUT IT'S TRUE. WE, WE KNOW IT. UH, AS A MATTER OF FACT, I WAS LOOKING AT OUR LIST OF KNOWN CHALLENGES AND YOU HIT SOME OF THEM. WE HAVE MORE. SO YEAH, WE, WE ARE AWARE OF IT TO THE QUESTION OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE PRIMARY REASON THAT WE HAVE THESE CHALLENGES? AND I, I'M GONNA TELL YOU WHAT IT IS AND YOU'RE GONNA YELL AT ME. AND THAT'S, THAT'S OKAY. WE ARE GONNA SHARE AND WE'RE ALL GONNA BE ENJOYING THIS TOGETHER. TERRAIN. TERRAIN IS THE PRIMARY PROBLEM. LET ME EXPLAIN WHY SAYING THAT CH IS HILLY IS OF COURSE STATING THE OBVIOUS. BUT WHAT'S NOT SO OBVIOUS IS HOW RADIO WAVES PROPAGATE. THEY DON'T PROPAGATE LIKE THIS. THEY PROPAGATE LIKE THIS. SO WHEN WE HAVE A CELL SITE THAT'S ON TOP OF A HILL WHERE WE TRY TO POSITION THEM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ON HIGH SPOTS TO BROADCAST DOWN WHEREVER THERE'S A VALLEY ON THE OTHER SIDE IS A SHADOW. SO THAT IS WHY YOU'RE HAVING SOME, SOME OF THESE EXPERIENCES. NOW TO SOLVE FOR THAT, THERE ARE MULTIPLE PATHS TO SOLVE FOR IT. THE FIRST IS TO BLANKET THE, THE VALLEY WITH SMALL CELLS, A SMALL CELL IS ONLY GONNA PROPAGATE SIGNAL FOR MAYBE TWO BLOCKS. UH, IT'LL BE SPECTACULAR SERVICE WHEN YOU'RE IN RANGE OF THOSE TWO BLOCKS. BUT SPEAKING TO LEAVES WITH THOSE 5G SMALL CELLS, WHICH OPERATE ON SUCH HIGH FREQUENCIES, THAT LEAVES ARE TRULY AN IMPEDIMENT TO THAT SIGNAL. SOMEBODY'S HEAD CAN BLOCK THE SIGNAL BECAUSE IT IS THAT IT'S MOVING THAT FAST. SO THESE ARE JUST THE LAWS OF PHYSICS. NOW, UH, ASIDE FROM DOING SMALL CELLS, WHICH WE ARE DEFINITELY LOOKING AT, POSITIONING MULTIPLE MACRO SITES IS ANOTHER WAY OF SOLVING FOR THAT PROBLEM. MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE ANTENNAS THAT ARE POINTED DOWN INTO THAT VALLEY. SO IT HAS TO BE VERY SPECIFICALLY ARCHITECTED. UH, SO DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? TO SOME DEGREE. TO SOME DEGREE THE DROP IN SERVICE DOES NOT MAKE SENSE OVER PERIOD TIME. SO IN THAT, IT WAS FIVE YEARS THAT YOU HAD SAID, RIGHT? IF I RECALL CORRECTLY. OKAY. SO A LOT HAS HAPPENED IN THOSE FIVE YEARS. FIRST, FIRST AND FOREMOST, TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THOSE FIVE YEARS. FIVE YEARS AGO IT WAS AN LTE 4G ONLY WORLD. IT IS NOW A MULTIPLE FLAVORS OF 5G WORLD. WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 5G SERVICE, THE BENEFITS TO ALL OF YOU WHEN YOU HAVE SIGNAL IS MUCH FASTER SPEEDS, MUCH LOWER LATENCY, SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER PERFORMANCE IN EVERY ASPECT. THE DOWNSIDE IS THAT THOSE 5G UM, FREQUENCIES [00:20:01] ARE HIGHER THAN WHAT OUR 4G SPECTRUM IS, WHICH MEANS IT'S MOVING FASTER, WHICH MEANS THE SIGNAL DOESN'T TRAVEL AS FAR, WHICH MEANS THAT IT DOESN'T PENETRATE YOUR BUILDINGS AS WELL. EVEN YOUR HOUSE, IT'S NOT GONNA PENETRATE INTO YOUR HOUSE. AS WELL AS A 4G LTE SIGNAL. WE KNOW ALL OF THIS. SO WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DENSIFYING THE NETWORK TO ACCOMMODATE THAT. THAT'S GONNA TAKE TIME. UH, WE ALSO HAD A CELL SITE WHERE THE HOSPITAL WAS MM-HMM . THAT IS NOT THERE ANYMORE. SO THAT IS ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE IN SCENARIOS LIKE THAT. WE ALWAYS LOOK TO FIND A TEMPORARY RELOCATION SPOT, WORK OUT AN ARRANGEMENT SO THAT WHEN WHATEVER THE DEVELOPER IS DOING WITH THE PROPERTY, THAT WE CAN GO BACK TO WHERE WE WERE OR FIND SOMEWHERE THAT'S BETTER. FINDING SOMEWHERE THAT'S BETTER. FINDING SOMEWHERE NEW IS A LOT EASIER SAID THAN DONE. TO YOUR POINT, REGULATIONS, THE REGULATIONS ARE FINE. IT'S THE FINER POINTS OF NEGOTIATING. YOU KNOW, IS THIS SPOT GONNA BE ACCEPTABLE NOT JUST TO THE CITY, TO THE TOWN, TO THE COUNTY, TO THE STATE, BUT ALSO TO THE RESIDENTS, TO THE BUSINESSES IN THAT AREA. SO THERE IS THIS ENTIRE CONSTELLATION OF STAKEHOLDERS. EVERYBODY HAS TO BE MADE HAPPY. I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT MAKING EVERYBODY HAPPY IS SOMETIMES REALLY CHALLENGING. RIGHT NOW, I, I'M NOT MAKING EXCUSES, I AM OWNING THAT THIS IS A REAL PROBLEM. BUT WE ARE COMMITTED TO CONTINUING TO WORK WITH CH TO FIX IT. MY FRIEND, ASSISTANT CHIEF, NO SIGNAL, NO RECEPTION IN THE ENTIRETY OF THE TOWN. THAT IS A DIFFERENT PROBLEM THAT I WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE FURTHER WITH YOU. UM, TO THE EXTENT THAT YOUR COMPANY DC IF, IF WE'RE TALKING, WE SHOULD BE IN THE MIC, BUT ALSO WE HAVE A WHOLE SECTION ON PUBLIC SAFETY LATER, SO WE CAN GO, WE'LL TALK LATER. THANK YOU. I'M, I APOLOGIZE. NO, THAT'S FINE. UM, SHOULD WE MOVE DOWN THE TABLE? YEAH. OKAY. RIGHT. AND ROBERT EXPLAINED A LOT OF THE, I GUESS WHAT YOU COULD CALL THE TECHNICALITIES WITH IT. UM, WE ARE LIKE, LIKE MY COLLEAGUES WE'RE ALSO COMMITTED TO LISTENING AND RECEIVING THE FEEDBACK. UM, COVERAGE MAPS WILL SOMETIMES GIVE YOU ONE STORY, BUT THEY DON'T TELL THE WHOLE STORY. THEY DON'T TELL EVERYTHING. SO YOU CAN GO ON ONLINE AND CHECK IT OUT. WE CAN SHOW YOU COVER MAPS, COVERAGE MAPS ALL DAY. UM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UH, OUR COMMITMENT, AT LEAST THE ONE I'VE HAD WITH SOME, WITH SOME OF THE DISCUSSIONS, HAS BEEN HAVING BOOTS ON THE GROUND TO KIND OF GET SOMETHING MORE REALISTIC. UM, AND WE HAVE HAD IT, UH, WITHIN THE LAST YEAR AND THAT DATA WAS SHARED WITH SOME OF THE TOWN ADMINISTRATION LEADERSHIP. BUT AGAIN, WE CONTINUE TO HEAR CERTAIN THINGS. WE'RE HERE TO LISTEN, WE'RE HERE TO TAKE THAT FEEDBACK, UH, AND WE'RE BASICALLY CONTINUING TO WORK AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP IMPROVE, UH, THE COVERAGE INSIDE THE TOWN. GREAT, THANK YOU. UM, I'M GONNA CIRCLE, CIRCLE BACK TO YOU. T-MOBILE. IT SEEMS LIKE THE SCREEN SHARING IS NOT PANNING OUT OR WE'RE TRYING TO CONNECT TO THE ACTUAL MEETING. OKAY. SHARE. GREAT. IN THE MEANTIME, YES, SIR. SORRY, WHILE YOU'RE WORKING OUT, IF THERE'S A QUESTION, UM, THAT'S FINE. I'M FINE WITH A LITTLE BIT OF LAWLESSNESS. LET'S JUST USE THE MIC. UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WAS OKAY. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. NO, THAT'S FINE. WE JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE AT HOME CAN HEAR US TOO. COURSE. GREAT. UM, BUY SOME TIME HERE FOR, FOR FOLKS. UM, UH, SO I WANTED TO COMMENT AND I'M, I'M NOT PICKING ON VERIZON. I'M ONE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS THAT BEEN FOR A WHILE. YOU CAN PICK ON IT. WE'RE GOOD . UM, AND SO JUST A COUPLE THINGS AND, AND, UM, FORGIVE ME FOR BEING BLUNT AND MAYBE DISBELIEVING A LITTLE BIT. SO I'M A SCIENTIST AND I DO UNDERSTAND RADIO WAVES A LITTLE BIT. UM, SO TOTALLY AGREE. LIKE, YOU KNOW, TERRAIN, BIG OBSTACLE, OTHER INTERFERENCE THINGS CAN CAUSE ISSUES. UM, I, I GREW UP IN VERMONT, WHICH HAS A FEW HILLS AND A FEW TREES MORE THAN HERE, A FEW MORE THAN HERE. UM, THE HILLS ARE A LITTLE BIT BIGGER THAN TOWN. THERE ARE HILLS AND TOWNS, AND I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND WHY THE SHADOWING WOULD CAUSE SOME ISSUES IN SOME OF THE VALLEYS. I'M ON A RIDGE. SO ONE OF THE THINGS I WOULD STRUGGLE WITH IS, AT LEAST FOR ME, IS LIKE, OKAY, WELL IF I'M ON ONE OF THE ELEVATED POINTS, WHY AM I HAVING AN ISSUE? I DO HAVE TREES AGAIN. I'VE SEEN TREES AND HOW THEY WORK, AND I CAN ADMIT THEY WOULD DEFINITELY HAVE SOME INTERFERENCE AND SOME KNOCKING DOWN ON THE SERVICE. BUT I HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING TO, WELL, WHY AM I HAVING ZERO SERVICE? AND I MEAN, I'M PICKING ON VERIZON, BUT I MEAN, THIS APPLIES TO EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S PHYSICS. LIKE YOU SAID, THIS ISN'T UNIQUE. UM, SO, [00:25:01] YOU KNOW, I'VE SEEN IT WORK. I'VE SEEN, AND I WAS TALKING WITH SOME OTHER FOLKS TOO, YOU KNOW, THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY. THEY'RE, THE REASON I PICKED VERIZON ORIGINALLY 20 YEARS AGO IS BECAUSE VERIZON HAD FAR AND AWAY SUPERIOR COVERAGE AND RECEPTION IN RURAL AREAS, WHICH IS WHERE I WAS AT THE TIME. AND SO I'VE SEEN IT WORK IN HILLS, IN VALLEYS, IN TREES, IN OPEN SPACES. SO I KNOW IT CAN BE DONE. AND I HEAR YOU AND I GET YOU THAT, LIKE, HOW DO YOU DO THAT IN AN URBAN AREA WHERE CHEVROLET IS HIGHLY RESIDENTIAL, SO YOU DON'T HAVE A LOT OF COMMERCIAL STRUCTURES. THERE'S NO WATER TOWERS TO BE LIKE THAT WATER TOWER'S ON THE HILL, LET'S PUT SOME STUFF ON THE SIDE OF THERE. IT'S PEOPLE'S HOUSES. THERE'S MAYBE A CHURCH HERE WITH A STEEPLE THERE, YOU KNOW, BUT IT'S NOT, IT, IT'S NOT QUITE THE SAME COVERAGE THAT YOU MIGHT SEE IN OTHER PLACES. SO I REALIZE THAT THERE'S A CHALLENGE THERE. THERE'S PROBABLY A SOLUTION THERE AS WELL, BUT WE'RE NOT GONNA PICK IT TODAY. OBVIOUSLY. THE OTHER THING THAT KIND OF CAME TO MIND WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT RECEPTION, ESPECIALLY FOR 5G IN, IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS IS, YOU KNOW, CHEVROLET DOES HAVE A LOT OF OLDER BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES, HAS A LOT OF BRICK STRUCTURES, AND STONE'S A BIG PROBLEM FOR RADIO WAVES. SO EVEN WHEN YOU'RE IN THE HOUSE, YOU KNOW, UM, A LOT OF OLD MASONRY CAN BE A CHALLENGE WITH THAT. AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT EVEN WITH, YOU KNOW, IF THE WAY THINGS ARE MOVING TOWARDS 5G AND WHATEVER COMES AFTER 5G IS PROBABLY GONNA BE A HIGHER FREQUENCY. 'CAUSE YOU GET BETTER BANDWIDTH DURING THAT, AND I UNDERSTAND WHY, BUT THAT'S ALSO GONNA COMPOUND SOME PROBLEMS WITH SHORTER TRANSMISSION AND HARDER WITH GETTING INTO PEOPLE'S HOUSES. UM, AND LIKE COUNCIL, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER REINER WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, I DON'T SEE THE SOLUTION BEING, OKAY, SO EVERYBODY HOUSE HAS GOTTA HAVE A REPEATER ON THE ROOF TO KINDA LIKE THE OLD SCHOOL TV ANTENNAS THAT'S TAKING THE SIGNAL AND DROPPING IT DOWN INTO AN ACCESS POINT IN YOUR HOUSE. SURE YOU COULD DO THAT. BUT, YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING FOR WAYS TO SAVE MONEY ON MY BILLS, NOT TO BUY MORE EQUIPMENT THAT I GOTTA USE TO GET THE FUNCTION THAT I NEED TO GO AROUND MY DAY. I'D RATHER JUST KIND OF OF PLUG IN AND GO FROM THERE. SO I REALIZE THERE'S CHALLENGES WITH THAT AND THAT SOME OF THAT IS PHYSICAL, YOU KNOW, PHYSICS CHALLENGES WITH THAT. UM, BUT I HAVE A HARD TIME BELIEVING THAT THERE'S NOT A SOMEWHAT PRACTICAL SOLUTION THAT COULD BE REACHED AT SOME POINT. MM-HMM . UM, PREFERABLY ON THE NEARER TIME SCALE THAN FARTHER. BUT ANYWAY, JUST A MORE NUANCE FROM THE TOWN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT. WE HAVE, UH, VERY SMART RESIDENTS, UM, AS YOU'LL FIND, UM, HE JUST BOUGHT YOU A TON OF TIME. ARE WE GOOD? DO YOU WANNA JUST CHAT? OKAY, THAT'S FINE. UM, FROM A T-MOBILE PERSPECTIVE, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I, I FEEL IMPORTANT TO START OUT WITH IS WE RECENTLY HAVE WON THE BUSINESS OF THE TOWN OF CH AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BECAUSE THEY TESTED OUR COVERAGE THROUGHOUT THE TOWN AND IT WAS SUPERIOR TO WHAT OUR COMPETITORS WERE OFFERING. AND THEY MADE THAT DECISION AT THAT TIME TO MAKE THE MOVE TO T-MOBILE. AND WHILE AS WE'VE ALL ACKNOWLEDGED, THERE'S NO CARRIER THAT'S PERFECT. WE HAVE A VERY GOOD FOOTPRINT IN THE, THE TALENT OF CHEVROLET. AND I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE HAVE A BETTER EXPERIENCE TODAY IS WHILE WE ALL THE CARRIERS USE DIFFERENT FREQUENCIES IN THEIR CELL TOWERS AND WHAT THEY'RE PROJECTING, WE USE ONE OF THE LOWEST FREQUENCIES IN THE 600 MEGAHERTZ RANGE IN THE INDUSTRY. AND THAT IS THE OLD VHF TV FREQUENCIES. IF YOU THINK ABOUT HOW THAT SIGNAL WAS ABLE TO REACH INTO BUILDINGS WITH A RABBIT EAR AND PICK UP TV AND, AND BE ABLE TO SEE THAT IN YOUR HOME, THAT SAME FREQUENCY IS BEING USED TODAY ON OUR NETWORK TO HELP PENETRATE THROUGH THAT FOLIAGE, PENETRATE INTO THOSE BUILDINGS TO GIVE THAT BETTER EXPERIENCE. OF COURSE, WE'RE STILL USING 700 MEGAHERTZ, 1900, 21, 24, THE WHOLE GAMUT UP THE, UM, MILLIMETER WAVE TO GIVE THE GRADE OR EXPERIENCE AND SPEEDS IN THOSE AREAS WHERE THOSE FREQUENCIES ARE MORE AVAILABLE TO THE USER BASED ON WHERE THEY ARE, WHETHER IT'S ON THE STREET, WHETHER IT'S IN THEIR CAR, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW OUR, IT, IT JUST POPPED UP. DID IT SHOW UP FOR YOU? SORRY. UM, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A, WHAT IS CONSIDERED A VERY GOOD 5G FOOTPRINT FOR THE ENTIRE TOWN. UM, WE HAVE A SMALLER FOOTPRINT OF WHAT'S CALLED 5G UC ULTRA CAPACITY, WHICH GOES, GIVES THOSE EXTRAORDINARILY HIGH SPEEDS. BUT TYPICALLY WHEN WE DID THE TESTING WITH THE, UH, WE DID A DRIVE THROUGH, UH, TESTING WITH OFFICERS, WE WERE ABLE TO MAINTAIN A VIDEO CALL ACROSS EVERY STREET IN THE TOWN. UM, WE TRAVELED AROUND MULTIPLE LOOPS. UM, ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES IN THE AUDIENCE, SRA HAYES, WAS WITH US IN THE PATROL CAR AT THE TIME. AND, YOU KNOW, WE COULD SEE THAT FROM INSIDE A VEHICLE, NOT OUT ON THE STREET, BUT INSIDE THAT POLICE CAR WITH THE METAL CAGE, WITH, YOU KNOW, ALL THE STEEL AROUND YOU, YOU'RE WORKING THROUGH THE WINDOWS, WINDOWS PRIMARILY FOR YOUR SIGNAL. BUT IT WORKED VERY WELL THROUGHOUT THE TOWN, WHICH IS WHAT HELPED THEM MAKE THE DECISION TO MAKE THAT MOVE TO US. UM, WE ALSO, FROM A TOWER PERSPECTIVE, WITHIN THE LAST TWO YEARS, ADDED, UM, A SIGNAL ARRAY IN THE STEEPLE OF THE CHURCH UP ON TOP OF THE HILL, WHICH HAS IMPROVED THAT SIGNAL. [00:30:01] UM, WHILE THE SIGNAL IN THIS BUILDING TODAY IS, IS NOT PERFECT, WE'RE WORKING TO GET EXTENDERS INTO THE BUILDING TO IMPROVE THE EMPLOYEE'S COVERAGE AND THEIR EXPERIENCE HERE. UM, I'M WORKING ON MY LAPTOP ON CELLULAR HERE IN THE BUILDING. WHILE IT'S NOT BLAZING FAST, IT'S CONNECTED AND IT'S WORKING. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM I'M HAVING IS THAT MAP, WHILE I'M ALLOWED TO SHARE IT, IT HAS PRIVILEGES CONNECTED TO IT THAT AREN'T ACTUALLY ALLOWING ME TO SHARE IT WITH ANYONE ELSE. I WAS HOPING TO BE ABLE TO SHARE IT FROM MY SCREEN. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE'RE WORKING HERE TODAY AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THE TOWN, UM, AND ON MULTIPLE LEVELS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE PRESENT AND WE'RE AVAILABLE TO THEM AND WE WOULD OFFER THE SAME OPPORTUNITY TO THE RESIDENTS IF THEY WISH TO CHOOSE THEIR TEST DRIVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU TO TRY T-MOBILE. AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO DO THAT. 'CAUSE I THINK YOU MAY BE VERY SURPRISED AT HOW OUR CARRIER WORKS IN THIS TOWN. GREAT. THAT IS A, A GREAT SEGUE TO THE NEXT CATEGORY OF QUESTIONS, WHICH IS ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE AND EXPANSION PLANS WITHIN THE TOWN. UM, SO DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANNED UPGRADES OR EXPANSIONS IN CH UM, WHAT CONDITIONS? YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW IT'S DIFFICULT TO FIND SORT OF THE RIGHT SPOT THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE. WHAT ARE THOSE CONDITIONS THAT MUST BE MET FOR YOUR COMPANY TO INVEST IN NEW INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN CH UM, ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS? UH, THINGS LIKE THAT? WE'LL START WITH MY FRIEND FROM AT T. THANK YOU. SO TO ANSWER THAT, I MEAN, PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS, OF COURSE, THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT WE CAN WORK AND DEPENDING ON, YOU KNOW, IF THE CITY CAN OR THE TOWN CAN SUPPLY AN AREA, SOMETIMES THAT'S A POSSIBILITY. UM, THOSE ARE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE, YOU WOULD HAVE WITH NETWORK, UM, FOR US. UM, REALLY AS FAR AS THE EVERYTHING ELSE THOUGH, WHEN IT COMES TO FUTURE BUILD AND WHAT WE HAVE, THERE'S A LOT OF TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE OUT. HOWEVER, SPECIFIC ONES THAT EACH THAT WE'RE DOING ARE ONES THAT WE CAN'T NECESSARILY DISCUSS BECAUSE THEY ARE PROPRIETARY. SO IT'S, IT, IT'S A CONVERSATION. WE CAN HAVE, YOU KNOW, PRIVILEGED CONVERSATION WITH LEADERSHIP, UM, IN THE TOWN TO KIND OF, THAT YOU CAN KIND OF SHARE IN GENERALS, UH, WITH THE, WITH THE CITIZENS. BUT, UH, ASIDE FROM, THAT'S PROBABLY THE BEST ANSWER I CAN GIVE WITH THIS SPECIFIC QUESTION. THANK YOU. OKAY. IN REGARDS TO EXPANSION, THE FIRST THING I'D LIKE TO DO IS, UH, THE, THE TWO PEOPLE THAT THAT SPOKE, IF THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN, UM, FOLLOW UP WITH YOU IN REGARDS TO YOUR SPECIFIC DEVICES AND, AND NUMBERS TO DO A FOLLOW UP SO WE CAN DIG A LITTLE DEAR, UH, FURTHER IN REGARDS TO YOUR, UH, END USER EXPERIENCE, WE'D LOVE TO DO THAT. AND WE CAN DO THAT AFTER, AFTER WE'RE DONE HERE. UM, PERSONALLY, MYSELF AND, AND CHRIS, WHO'S THE ACCOUNT MANAGER FOR, FOR THE TOWN, HAVE DONE EXTENSIVE, UM, TESTING, YOU KNOW, PERSONALLY AS WHAT WE'VE DONE, THE DRIVE TESTS AS WELL, AS WELL AS OUR SYSTEMS, AFFORDANCE TEAMS, ET CETERA. SO WE'RE VERY AWARE OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE OFFERING IS HERE, YOU KNOW, UH, IN THE TOWN. AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE'VE ACTUALLY DONE SOME ENHANCEMENTS, UM, ALREADY, AND THEN WE HAVE IDENTIFIED SOME AREAS THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND UPON AS WELL, RIGHT. SO ONCE AGAIN, THAT, UH, END USER FEEDBACK WOULD BE GREAT FOR US TO BE ABLE TO REPORT BACK TO OUR, UH, NETWORK AND SYSTEM, UH, PERFORMANCE TEAM IN REGARDS TO WHAT YOU ALL ARE ACTUALLY EXPERIENCING. ALRIGHT, SO, UM, THE FIRST ONE, UM, WE HAVE, WE DID SOME UPGRADES ON OUR CH UH, MACRO, WHICH IS LOCATED, UM, ROUGHLY AT, YOU KNOW, 2 0 2 AND CHEVROLET AVENUE, WHICH SHOULD IMPACT BELLEVUE AVENUE NEAR 2 0 2 AND LOCKWOOD. SO, YOU KNOW, BEING FAMILIAR WITH, YOU KNOW, WITH THE TOWN, YOUR FEEDBACK, YOU KNOW, IN REGARDS TO THAT EXPERIENCE WOULD BE GREATLY, GREATLY APPRECIATED. UM, IN REGARDS TO THE AREAS THAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED, UH, WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO EXPAND, UH, SMALL CELLS, UM, UH, THE SECOND AREA IS, UH, CHEVROLET AVENUE AND 64TH STREET AVENUE, UM, WHICH SHOULD HELP IMPACT, UM, 64TH STREET AVENUE, WHICH OB IS OBVIOUSLY IN, UH, WARD FOUR, UH, HILLSIDE AND INWOOD AS WELL. UM, HILLSIDE AND, UH, INWOOD. AND THEN LASTLY, UM, ANOTHER SITE THAT WE'RE EX, UH, LOOKING TO EXPAND UPON FROM A SMELL SMALL CELL PERSPECTIVE IS, UH, CHEVROLET AVENUE AND MONTROSE. UM, AND THAT WILL IMPROVE, UH, MONTROSE, LOMBARDI, LAUREL, AND MONROE, WHICH IS IN WARD WARD FOUR, WARD THREE, THE ETA, YEAH. THREE WARD, THREE, SORRY. OKAY. YEAH. SO, [00:35:01] UM, YOU KNOW, BASED ON TIMELINE, THAT TO BE DETERMINED, BUT THEY HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AND WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THAT PROCESS, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, GET THOSE SITES UP AND RUNNING IF WE DO NEED, YOU KNOW, THE TOWN, YOU KNOW, TO PARTNER IN REGARDS TO, YOU KNOW, THE PROCESS THAT WE KNOW WE ALL HAVE, UM, WE'LL DEFINITELY MAKE SURE THAT WE, UH, REACH OUT AND, UH, PARTNER AND GETTING THOSE UP AND UP AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. GREAT. THANK YOU. ONE FURTHER. SURE. BONUS, BONUS ANSWER. UH, THE TIMELINE TYPICALLY IS 12 TO 18 MONTHS FROM IDENTIFYING A SITE, EXECUTING A LEASE TILL SITE IS ON AIR. SO ARE WE AT THE BEGINNING OF THAT 12 TO 18 MONTHS OR SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE? YES. GREAT. IT'S, IT'S LIKE IT DEPENDENT. OKAY. SO EACH ONE IS GONNA BE A DIFFERENT TIMELINE. GREAT. UM, HOW ARE WE DOING, YVONNE? BE GREAT IN TWO MINUTES. TWO MINUTES? OKAY. I, UM, I WOULD LOVE TO ASK DEPUTY CHIEF, I'LL GET TO YOU IN A SECOND. FORMER MAYOR RAZI TO COME UP AND JUST A QUICK MINUTE OR TWO ABOUT SOME OF THE, UH, ISSUES THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS EXPERIENCED. HELLO, EVERYONE. JENNIFER KRAUS, ASSISTANT CHIEF HERE IN CH UM, I'M NOT A SCIENTIST, I'M SORRY, BUT MY PHONE DID NOT WORK IN THE TOWN OF CH IT DID THE FEW FIRST FEW MONTHS I WAS HERE AND THEN IT LOST ALL SERVICE. UM, MY NUMBER ONE CONCERN HERE IN THE TOWN OF CHEV IS PUBLIC SAFETY. AND IT'S NOT SO MUCH WHETHER, UM, OUR OFFICERS CAN GET IN TOUCH WITH ME. IT'S, THEY'RE EXACTLY WHAT WAS DESCRIBED EARLIER. I DON'T WANT ANY OF OUR RESIDENTS TO NOT BE ABLE TO DIAL 9 1 1, NOT TO BE ABLE TO CALL THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. SECONDARY TO THAT WOULD BE THE ISSUES WITH THE OFFICERS CONTACTING ME. I, I, AGAIN, NOT A SCIENTIST, BUT MY PHONE TODAY, MY VERIZON PHONE TODAY, I LIVE IN SOUTHERN MARYLAND. I LIVE IN THE WOODS. I WAS IN FREDERICK, MARYLAND AT SEVEN O'CLOCK THIS MORNING IN A LARGE STEEL AND BRICK BUILDING. I NEVER LOST SERVICE. NOT ONE TIME. I DON'T LOSE SERVICE FROM THE TIME I GET OUT ONTO 2 0 2 TO TO TRAVEL TO 50 DOWN ROUTE FOUR INTO CALVER COUNTY. BUT WHEN I COME INTO THIS TOWN, I THERE SERVICE CENTER. I'M SORRY, THAT'S A PROBLEM. IT WAS A PROBLEM WHEN ALL OF OUR OFFICERS NOW BEING PHYSICALLY RESPONSIBLE, WE, UM, HAD YOU COME OUT AND YOU PUT THE, THE BOXES IN THE STATION AND I CAN STAND RIGHT NEXT TO THE BOXES AND MY PHONE STILL DOESN'T HAVE SERVICE. WE DID TRANSITION TO T-MOBILE. OUR OFFICERS HAVE FULL SERVICE IN THE STATION AND THROUGHOUT THE TOWN WE HAVE HAD NO COMPLAINTS OR PROBLEMS. SO MY SOLUTION IS I TURN MY VERIZON PHONE OFF WHEN I HIT THE TOWN OF CH AND I USE MY T-MOBILE PHONE WHILE I'M IN THE TOWN OF CHEVROLET. I'D RATHER NOT CARRY TWO PHONES. MORE IMPORTANTLY, I WOULD NOT WANT OUR RESIDENTS HERE TO HAVE TO GO THROUGH THAT. UNLIKE MOST, I DON'T HAVE THE LUXURY OF TIME. OKAY. I, IT'S NOT, I DON'T HAVE 12 MONTHS TO 18 MONTHS. OUR RESIDENTS NEED TO BE ABLE TO CONTACT THE POLICE, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, EMS, IT'S AN EMERGENCY. SO THAT'S WHAT I HAVE TO SAY. MM-HMM . THANKS, DCE. UM, OKAY. UM, DO, DOES, DOES ANYONE AT THE FRONT TABLE WANT TO SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TOO, UM, HOW YOUR NETWORK SPECIFICALLY SUPPORTS EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DURING OUTAGES, WHETHER IT'S RESIDENTS CALLING OR THE ACTUAL DEPARTMENTS THEMSELVES? SURE. I I LIKE TO GO FIRST. UM, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, UH, AT T AT T-MOBILE, WE, UH, HAVE A FIRST RESPONDER PROGRAM FOR EMS, UM, POLICE OFFICERS IN A, IN A VARIETY OF OTHER, UH, FIRST RESPONDERS. AND DURING ANY KIND OF, UH, EVENT OF NETWORK, UM, OVERCROWDING, UH, THE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE PRIORITIZED BECAUSE THEY ARE, THEY ARE NEEDED FOR THEIR EMERGENCY SERVICES. SO WE WOULD LIKE TO LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY WOULD, UH, THAT INVENTION OF EMERGENCY, UH, AND, AND THE NETWORK OVER, LIKE EVERYONE'S CALLING, YOU KNOW, THEIR THEIR LOVED ONES BECAUSE AN EMERGENCY HAPPENED, THE, UM, THE EMERGENCY TEAMS WILL HAVE PRIORITY OVER THE NETWORK. VERIZON DID YOU? IF YOU, YOU DON'T HAVE TO, WE CAN GO FOR IT. I DON'T HAVE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER. OH, I, I, I, I HAVE A LOT TO SAY. OH, OKAY. WELL, LET'S, LET'S HAVE A LITTLE UNDERSTOOD. OKAY. UM, ON THIS TOPIC. PERSONALLY, PERSONALLY, PROFESSIONALLY, MY, MY ENTIRE PROFESSIONAL CAREER HAS BEEN DEDICATED TO GOVERNMENT, FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL LEVELS, UH, AND EVERYTHING THAT'S, THAT'S IN BETWEEN, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY HAS BEEN A HUGE FOCAL POINT FOR ME PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY. SO WHEN YOU SAY, WHEN YOUR OFFICERS NEED TO REACH YOU, THAT'S CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. WHEN THE RESIDENTS NEED TO REACH YOU, THAT'S CRITICALLY IMPORTANT THAT THOSE ARE TABLE STAKES. THAT'S JUST GIVEN RIGHT? IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY, 9 1 1 SIMPLY HAS TO WORK. DOES NOT MATTER WHAT CARRIER YOU'RE USING, DOES NOT MATTER [00:40:01] WHAT PHONE YOU'RE USING, IT HAS TO WORK. WE COLLECTIVELY, UH, ARE REGULATED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THAT INCLUDES, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CSA, THE, UH, CYBERSECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AGENCY WHO HAS DEVELOPED RULES RELATED TO THE, THE CONSTRUCTION DEPLOYMENT OF 9 1 1 9 1 1 IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS HAPHAZARDLY MANAGED BY INDIVIDUAL CARRIERS. WE ARE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT TOGETHER. WHEN YOU DIAL NINE ONE ONE ON YOUR PHONE, YOUR PHONE WILL AUTOMATICALLY GRAB THE STRONGEST SIGNAL AND THAT CALL WILL GO THROUGH. NOW THAT DOESN'T MATTER. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT CARRIER YOU'RE ON AND WHAT CARRIER IS GONNA CARRY THE 9 1 1 CALL, IT'S GONNA GO THROUGH. EXCEPT IF THERE IS NO SIGNAL AT ALL, THEN IT WON'T WORK. BUT I THINK THAT YOU SHOULD ALL HAVE SOME FLAVOR OF COVERAGE THROUGHOUT THE CITY. YOU HAD ZERO, YOU COULDN'T CONNECT TO 9 1 1. THAT'S, THAT WAS, THAT WAS ME. WHO WAS THAT? THAT WAS ME. THAT WAS YOU. THAT IS IN INCREDIBLY ALARMING. MM-HMM . I AM WITH YOU ON THAT. MM-HMM . UH, IF THAT HAPPENS, WHEN THAT HAPPENS, WE NEED TO KNOW MM-HMM . YOUR PSAP NEEDS TO KNOW THAT 9 1 1 FAILED, UH, BECAUSE I WILL TELL YOU, NOTHING WILL SPIN US UP FASTER THAN A NINE ONE ONE CALL NOT GOING THROUGH. UM, AND DARREN, DANNY EMERSON, I'M SORRY FOR SPEAKING FOR YOU GUYS, BUT I FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT WHAT I'M SAYING YOU WOULD AGREE WITH. GREAT. I WANNA TALK TO YOU ABOUT YOUR SITUATION LATER. GREAT. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. EMERSON, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD? UM, WELL, I GUESS FOR US, IT'S KIND OF A TWO PART, RIGHT? PUBLIC SAFETY FOR THE GENERAL POPULATION, AND THEN THERE'S THE ADDRESS OF PUBLIC SAFETY FOR THE AGENCY OR WHAT WE DO WITH INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE CONSIDERED. AND AS T-MOBILE STATED, OUR APPROACH IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF A CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THROUGH FIRSTNET. UM, WE TAKE A LOT OF THAT FEEDBACK SERIOUSLY, AND WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS REGULARLY WITH PUBLIC SAFETY. UM, THEY'RE BUILT ON SEPARATE NETWORK CORE. THEY DON'T, IT'S ALMOST LIKE A DIFFERENT CARRIER IN, IN LAYMAN'S TERMS. UM, HOWEVER, AGAIN, WE STILL WANNA MAKE SURE THAT REGARDLESS OF WHO'S LOOKING FOR SERVICE 9 1 1, THOSE ARE TYPE THOSE ARE CONVERSATIONS. I HANDLE BOTH SIDES, WHETHER YOU'RE AN OFFICER OR WHETHER YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, THE GUY THAT'S DOING THE EVERYDAY REGULAR, YOU KNOW, JOE . BUT, UH, NO, THAT CERTAINLY EVERYTHING THAT WE WANT, WHAT I PRIMARILY WANT TO TAKE FROM HERE IS THE FEEDBACK YOU GUYS HAVE. UM, AND CERTAINLY WE CAN HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW WE WOULD ADDRESS PUBLIC SAFETY ON BOTH, BOTH SIDES. GREAT, THANK YOU. UM, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE TWO HANDS IN THE AUDIENCE. UM, I WANNA REMIND OUR FOLKS ONLINE THAT THERE'S THE Q AND A BOX IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR YOU CAN TRY RAISING YOUR HAND. COUNCIL MEMBER TANZI. AND THEN, UH, FORMER MAYOR YAI. GOOD, GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU FOR COMING AND FOR IMPROVING SERVICE IN WARD FOUR, WHICH IS MY WARD. I JUST, UH, WANTED TO ASK ABOUT THREE THINGS, UH, THAT ARE SORT OF FALLBACK IDEAS. BACK IN THE DAY, WE HAD 3G LONG AFTER IT WAS OVERTAKEN BY TECHNOLOGY. 4G NOW SERVES THAT FUNCTION. SHOULDN'T THAT 4G NETWORK STILL BE A BROADER COVERAGE NETWORK SO THAT THE PEOPLE WHO AREN'T GETTING 5G BARS, THEY CAN AT LEAST GET 4G BARS. AND IF THAT CAPACITY, UH, COULD BE MADE MORE ROBUST, I'M SURE PEOPLE WOULD RATHER HAVE SOMETHING THAN NOTHING. UM, SECOND CHEVROLET IS VERY MUCH SURROUNDED BY THREE MAJOR ROADS, 52 0 2 AND UH, BW PARKWAY. I'VE NEVER HAD ISSUES. I'M ON T-MOBILE. I'VE NEVER HAD ISSUES DRIVING ON ANY OF THOSE ROADS. SO I ASSUME YOU, I ASSUME YOU GUYS HAVE CELL TOWERS. ALONG THOSE ROADS, ARE THOSE LOCATIONS ABLE TO BE USED TO IMPROVE THE SIGNAL IN TOWN? SINCE IF WE WERE OUTSIDE, WE COULD HEAR THE ROAD. THE CARS ON ROUTE 50, SO WE ARE NOT FAR, UH, FROM IT. AND FINALLY, SINCE 12 TO 18 MONTHS IS A LONG TIME, UM, IS IT POSSIBLE TO MAKE PER ACCOUNT CHANGES THAT ALLOW ROAMING SO THAT SOMEONE WHO HAS NO SIGNAL COULD SAY, HEY, I'M SOMEONE AFFECTED BY THIS UNTIL THE SIGNAL IS IMPROVED. AM I ABLE TO GET A FREE ROAMING ACCESS SO I HAVE SOME KIND [00:45:01] OF SIGNAL WHILE I'M AT HOME? THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER. UH, SO QUESTION ABOUT 4G QUESTION ABOUT ROADS AND QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS COULD MAYBE BE ADJUSTED FOR HELP. UM, AND LET'S START WITH T-MOBILE. GREAT. UM, FROM THE 3G 4G PERSPECTIVE, MANY OF THOSE FREQUENCIES ARE THE SAME AS WHAT WE'RE USING WITH 5G. SO WE'LL HAVE A, A CORE AN LTE 4G CORE, AND A 5G STANDALONE CORE. THEY'RE USING THOSE SAME FREQUENCIES AND IT'S REALLY THE FREQUENCY THAT MAKES THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE IN HOW FAR THAT SIGNAL WILL PROPAGATE AND PENETRATE. SO RELYING ON LTE OR 4G ALONE MAY NOT STILL SOLVE THAT PROBLEM BECAUSE THEY'RE STILL LIKELY TO TRANSMIT THE SAME DISTANCE. AND I'M NOT AN RF ENGINEER, SO I, I'M NOT EXACTLY KNOWLEDGEABLE IN EXACT WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS EXACTLY, BUT I KNOW TYPICALLY IT'S BASED AROUND THAT RADIO FREQUENCY AND NOT NECESSARILY THE CELLULAR TECHNOLOGY AS FAR AS HOW FAR IT WILL TRANSMIT AND PENETRATE. BUT WE DO STILL MAINTAIN A FULLY 4G LTE CORE THAT'S SEPARATE FROM OUR 5G STANDALONE CORE. SO EACH ONE OF OUR TOWERS HAS BOTH OF THOSE TECHNOLOGIES ON IT. UM, SOME OF OUR PLANS, WHETHER PUBLIC SAFETY OR CIVILIAN PLANS, YOU KNOW, YOUR PERSONAL, WHAT THEY CALL INDIVIDUAL LIABILITY PLANS CAN ALSO INCLUDE OUR T SATELLITE SERVICE, WHICH IS AN ADDITIONAL CAPABILITY THAT ADDS ANOTHER LAYER OF RESILIENCY AND REDUNDANCY THERE FOR YOU TO COMMUNICATE WITH. RIGHT NOW, IT'S MAINLY LIMITED TO TEXTING AND SOME OTHER DATA APPLICATIONS. UM, BUT IN THE FUTURE IT IS TO BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE VOICE, WHERE IN SOME CASES, AND IT'S BEEN PROVEN IN THE FLOODING AFTER HURRICANE HELENE AND MILTON, WHEN WE WERE STILL, THAT NETWORK WAS STILL IN ITS INFANCY. UM, AND IT WASN'T FULLY VETTED. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE OVER 650 SATELLITES IN LOWER EARTH ORBIT. BACK THEN WE HAD JUST BARELY 200, BUT IT STILL WORKED FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT HAD NO TERRESTRIAL NETWORK TO USE WHATSOEVER. AND WE TURNED IT ON FOR EVERYONE AND WE CONTINUE FOR THE GOOD OF THE PUBLIC AND PUBLIC SAFETY. UM, 9 1 1 CALLING AND TEXTING, UM, IS AVAILABLE TO ANY CARRIER DEVICE USING T SATELLITE. SO IF YOU'RE TRYING TO TEXT 9 1 1, UM, OR IF YOU'RE IN AN AREA WHERE, UM, IT MAY WORK RIGHT NOW, AGAIN, IT'S NOT FULLY VETTED FOR CALLING ON T SATELLITE, BUT IN SOME AREAS WE'VE SEEN SUCCESS STORIES WHERE THEY'VE ACTUALLY BEEN ABLE TO MAKE A VOICE CALL OR THEY'VE MADE A WHATSAPP CALL, UM, UTILIZING THE T SATELLITE SERVICE. WE USE IT IN PUBLIC SAFETY TO AUGMENT LAND MOBILE RADIO CONNECTIVITY, TYING THOSE INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS TOGETHER SO THAT WE CAN STILL COMMUNICATE. UM, WE'VE SEEN PARTICULARLY IN SOME OF THE MORE RURAL AREAS WHERE THE TERRESTRIAL NETWORK IS VERY LIMITED, THAT FOLKS ARE USING THAT T SATELLITE ON A DAY IN DAY OUT BASIS. SO IT'S A WAY TO COMMUNICATE. AGAIN, IT'S NOT PERFECT, BUT IT ALLOWS COMMUNICATION THAT'S STILL OVER WHAT YOU WOULD HAVE IF THERE WERE NO SIGNAL AT ALL. OKAY. I'M GONNA PAUSE YOU THERE. SURE. ANYTHING TO ADD ABOUT 4G? I AGREE. GREAT. ALRIGHT. VERIZON, DO YOU WANNA TACKLE THE ROADS QUESTION AND THEN WE CAN SEE IF ANYONE HAS ANYTHING TO ADD. SO HAVING ROUTE 50 AND 2 95 AND ALL OF THAT, CAN WE UTILIZE THAT IN SOME WAY? I AM A LITTLE STUMPED ON ANSWERING THAT. I, I CAN TELL YOU THE, THE ROADS HAVE NO IMPACT ON CHALLENGES IN CH UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ELEVATION OF THE ROADS MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH, HONESTLY, I'M NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE. UH, YOU KNOW, TO, TO MY FRIEND'S POINT WHO LIVES ON A RIDGE AND HAS NO SIGNAL, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY TERRAIN IS WORKING IN HIS FAVOR, BUT THE SIGNALS AREN'T GETTING THERE. SO THAT'S REALLY WHERE THE PROOF IN THE PUDDING IS. UM, BUT, BUT THAT IS AN INTERESTING QUESTION. YOUR QUESTION ABOUT ROAMING IS FAR MORE INTERESTING TO ME. I HAVE NOT HEARD ANYBODY PROPOSE THAT, AND I FIND THAT VERY INTERESTING. SO I'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL TAKE THAT BACK AND WE'LL EXPLORE THAT. GREAT. ANYTHING TO ADD THE SAME, THE, THE FREE ROAMING QUESTION IS A GOOD ONE. I DON'T, THAT ONE, I DON'T KNOW. I DO KNOW THAT, WHAT WAS IT, HURRICANE, THE HURRICANES OR WHEN SOME MAJOR IMPACT THEY WERE ABLE TO OPEN IT UP, UH, TO MY KNOWLEDGE. BUT AS FAR AS, UH, EVERY DAY, I'M NOT, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH ANYTHING, BUT CERTAINLY SOMETHING I CAN GO BACK AND ASK. GREAT. THANK YOU. UM, MARIAI, AZI FIRST TO JOIN IN THE TERRAIN. I AM ALSO ON A RIDGE, SO I'M NOT, I'M NOT A VALLEY AND, UM, I'M ABOUT THE HIGHEST POINT ON THAT SECTION OF BELLEVUE. THE OTHER THING THAT I, I WANTED TO EXPLORE MY QUESTION IS, YOU, YOU MENTIONED, [00:50:01] VERIZON MENTIONED THAT YOU NO LONGER HAVE ACCESS TO THE CELL TOWER AT THE FORMER HOSPITAL HILL SITE. ONE OF THE THINGS I WANNA UNDERSTAND IS WHERE IS YOUR CLOSEST TOWER LOCATION AND FOR EACH OF THE OTHER CARRIERS, WHERE IS THAT? UM, WHAT PRECIPITATED YOUR LOSS OF ACCESS TO THAT TOWER? AND ARE YOU INTERESTED IN REGAINING ACCESS, UM, TO A TOWER AT THAT LOCATION? UM, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WILL BE IN THE FUTURE WILL BE, UM, MULTIPLE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE ONGOING DEVELOPMENT OF HOSPITAL HILL. UM, AND WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SMALL CELL SERVICE, UM, AND COUNCIL MEMBER BRINER, VICE MAYOR BRENER, UM, ABSOLUTELY KNOWS THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, NEEDS TO BE WORKED WITH THE TOWN BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DISCUSSION, UH, A LOT OF LEGISLATION ABOUT HOW THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN WITHIN THE TOWN, UM, TO RESPECT, UM, TO RESPECT THE STRUCTURE OF OUR TOWN, THE, YOU KNOW, AND, AND SO PLEASE TO NOT HAVE THE DISCUSSION BE, OH, WELL YOU'RE JUST IN OPPOSITION TO WHAT IT TAKES TO DO THIS. BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT PLACEMENT OF A TOWER YEARS AGO AT THE AMERICAN LEGION. UM, THERE HAVE BEEN THE, THESE SORTS OF THINGS AND OFTEN THESE THINGS HAVE A ABSOLUTELY INTERRUPTED, UM, WHAT RESIDENTS OF THE TOWN WANTED AS FAR AS THE VISUAL ASPECT OF THAT. AND I THINK THAT THERE ARE MASSIVE IMPROVEMENTS, I HOPE TO WHAT CAN, WHAT CAN BE DONE NOW, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHERE ARE THE TOWERS LOCATED, UM, TO DISPEL THE IDEA THAT THIS IS A VALLEY RIDGE, UM, SITUATION. UM, AND THEN ALSO TO NOTE THAT MY PHONE HAS GONE FROM ONE BAR TO SOS MODE, . SO RIGHT HERE. THANK YOU. SO JUST, JUST TO KNOW THAT, ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. LET'S GO DOWN THE LINE, STARTING WITH AT AND T. WHERE IS YOUR CLOSEST TOWER? UM, AGAIN, UH, I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THOSE QUESTIONS. UM, AT LEAST WITH MY TEAM, WE HAVE, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO NECESSARILY ANSWER. YEAH, IT'S, UM, IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN HAVE AGAIN, UNDER PRIVILEGE CONVERSATIONS. UM, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT WE DO HAVE TOWERS THAT TRIANGULATE HERE, SO IT'S, ALTHOUGH THERE'S NOTHING IN THE MIDDLE, I KNOW THERE'S SOME THAT TRIANGULATE AROUND THE MAJOR ROADS. GREAT. VERIZON? YEAH, WE HAVE MULTIPLE TOWERS THAT ARE HERE IN THE VICINITY AND WE'D BE DELIGHTED TO SHOW YOU. WE CAN'T SHARE, BUT WE CAN SHOW YOU WHAT THE MAPS LOOK LIKE. ALL RIGHT. T-MOBILE, UM, AT, SORRY. AS I MENTIONED, WE HAD ADDED THE CELLULAR, UM, ARRAY IN THE, IN THE CHURCH STEEPLE. UM, WE ALSO HAVE THEM IN NEAR PROXIMITY ALONG THE HIGHWAYS, UM, AND A NUMBER OF OTHER MICRO SITES IN AND AROUND THE BORDER OF THE TOWN. GREAT. UM, AND TO ECHO, UH, THE ONE POINT, UM, WE DO HAVE AN ONGOING AND, AND GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DEVELOPERS AT HOSPITAL HILL AND WOULD WELCOME, UH, INTRODUCTIONS AND, AND HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT RENEWING THAT CELL TOWER. UM, I HAVE A QUESTION FROM ONLINE THAT I WOULD LIKE TO ASK. UM, ARE THERE PROVISIONS FOR PLAN DISCOUNTS WHEN THERE ARE SUCH SEVERE SERVICE GAPS AT ONE'S HOME ADDRESS WHERE ONE WOULD MOST EXPECT TO HAVE CONSISTENT ACCESS? IF NOT, HOW MAY THAT BE ADVOCATED FOR AS WE ARE PAYING FOR SERVICE THAT WE ARE NOT RECEIVING? , WHO WANTS TO START? I WILL HAVE TO ADMIT, BECAUSE I WORK PRIMARILY ON THE GOVERNMENT SIDE, I'M NOT EXACTLY AS SURE HOW ON THE PERSONAL LIABILITY SIDE OR INDIVIDUAL LIABILITY SIDE, THEY HANDLE THAT. BUT TYPICALLY, IF THERE IS A, A PROBLEM REPORTED THROUGH 6 1 1, WHICH IS OUR HELP LINE, UM, THAT THEY WILL TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION AND GIVE CREDIT BACK FOR AREAS. UM, I, AND I KNOW IF YOU, UH, I SHOULDN'T SPEAK FOR VERIZON, BUT I, I HAPPEN TO BE A VERIZON CUSTOMER ALSO. I, MY PHONE ACTUALLY HAS ALL THREE CARRIERS IN IT. I'LL BE PERFECTLY CANDID BECAUSE I TEACH ABOUT WIRELESS DIVERSITY AND HOW LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY SHOULD CONSIDER HAVING MORE THAN ONE CARRIER FOR RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY. UM, AND I KNOW THAT RECENTLY ONE OF THE CARRIERS HAD AN OUTAGE, AND WHEN THAT OUTAGE OCCURRED, I DID GET AN IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION FROM THEM ABOUT A CREDIT I WAS GONNA RECEIVE. SO THE CARRIERS TYPICALLY HAVE SOME MECHANISM IN PLACE. I APOLOGIZE, I'M JUST NOT AS WELL VERSED ON EXACTLY HOW THAT WORKS FOR US. UM, I WAS, I WOULD TEND TO AGREE. SO YEAH, I WORK IN THE MORE, UH, RESIDE, UM, RESIDENTIAL SIDE AND, UH, FOR ANY LONG-TERM POTENTIAL PROBLEMS, UH, YOU DEFINITELY WOULD [00:55:01] HAVE TO WORK WITH, WITH YOUR, YOUR, YOUR EXPERTS IN THE CUSTOMER SERVICE FIELD. NOT SO MUCH THE RETAIL SIDE. UM, BUT WHENEVER THERE'S TEMPORARY, UH, OUTAGES, THEN T-MOBILE IS FAIRLY OFTEN QUICK TO, UH, TO HELP YOU OUT. I ALSO AM RELATIVELY IGNORANT AS FAR AS THE CONSUMER SIDE OF THE BUSINESS. UM, MY FRIEND MAGGIE IN THE BACK IS FAR MORE FLUENT. I DON'T KNOW THAT SHE'S GONNA KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT SPECIFIC QUESTION. UM, BUT WE, WE'D BE DELIGHTED TO TAKE THAT BACK AND FOLLOW UP IF YOU COULD RELAY THE INFORMATION. THANK YOU. AND I'D BE THE THIRD, I, I, BECAUSE I WORK PRIMARILY WITH LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES, UH, NOT VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE CONSUMER SIDE OF IT. UM, AND I DO KNOW THAT IF THERE WAS SOME TEMPORARY REASON AS TO WHY, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING HAPPENED DUE TO AN OUTAGE OR SOMETHING, TYPICALLY THERE'S SOMETHING OFFERED, UM, WHAT THAT AMOUNT IS OR WHAT WOULD MEET THE CRITERIA. I DON'T, I WOULDN'T KNOW UNFORTUNATELY FOR A CONSUMER WORLD. GREAT. THANK YOU. UM, I'M SURPRISED BECAUSE AS A MUNICIPALITY, I THINK ONE OF OUR BIGGEST CONCERNS IS ABOUT OUR RESIDENTS, YOUR CONSUMERS, AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE TREATED FAIRLY. SO I FEEL LIKE IT'S DEFINITELY A MUNICIPAL ISSUE. UM, BUT JUST MAYBE NOT IN THIS STRICTEST SENSE. UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I'M WONDERING ABOUT IS WHETHER THE TOWN COULD, UM, INITIATE SOME SORT OF FORM, SOME SORT OF WAY OF CAPTURING WHEN PEOPLE HAVE ISSUES, UM, INTO ONE DOCUMENT THAT WE COULD THEN SHARE WITH YOU ALL TO SAY, HERE ARE THE ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN REPORTED. UM, IF THE ISSUES ARE PARTICULARLY ONGOING, I'M NOT SURE HOW SUCCESSFUL THAT WOULD BE BECAUSE I WOULDN'T WANNA FILL OUT A GOOGLE FORM EVERY FEW HOURS SAYING, HEY, I DON'T HAVE CELL SERVICE RIGHT NOW. UM, BUT I'M WONDERING IF THAT WOULD BE USEFUL. UM, BUT JUST MORE GENERALLY, UH, WHAT STEPS CAN RESIDENTS TAKE INSIDE THEIR HOMES TO IMPROVE SERVICES WHILE WE'RE WAITING FOR SORT OF MORE GLOBAL IN IMPROVEMENTS? UM, AND LIKE HOW DO RESIDENT COMPLAINTS AND DATA INFLUENCE WHERE YOU PRIORITIZE YOUR UPGRADES? UM, IS THE FACT THAT WE'VE BEEN MAKING A LOT OF NOISE LATELY, ACTUALLY HAVING AN IMPACT ON WHAT YOU'RE DOING AROUND HERE. SO WHAT CAN WE DO? AND IS, IS TALKING TO YOU HELPING? UM, YES, ABSOLUTELY. WE LOVE TO GET THAT FEEDBACK, PARTICULARLY FROM THE, IN THIS CASE THE TOWN AND ITS RESIDENTS. UM, IT WAS ONE OF THE DRIVING FORCES THAT HELPED US GET THAT ADDITIONAL SITE ADDED IN THE CHURCH STEEPLE. UM, BECAUSE WE HAD BEGUN WORKING WITH THE TOWN AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BE WELL BEFORE THAT TO HAVE THEM CONSIDER US. AND WHEN OUR SIGNAL WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH AT THAT TIME, THAT'S WHERE WE WORKED TO IMPROVE THE SIGNAL IN THE TOWN SO THAT NOW IT WAS SUPERIOR TO OUR COMPETITORS AND THEY CHOSE THE ROUTE TO SWITCH TO US. AND IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFIC THAT RESIDENTS CAN DO? WHAT IS THE, WHAT IS THE THING THAT YOU WOULD ADVISE RESIDENTS TO DO, UM, IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE THAT THEY'RE HAVING WITH MOBILE COVERAGE? WELL, GO AHEAD. I WOULD SAY IF IT'S NOT ALREADY KNOWN, I MEAN WIFI OBVIOUSLY CALLING IS PROBABLY THE, THE MOST COMMON ONE. SO MOST PHONES NOW OFFER THAT. UM, NOT THE PERFECT SOLUTION, BUT MANY CASES IT'LL BE BETTER THAN NOTHING. UM, UH, AND AS FAR AS SOMETHING THIRD PARTY, THERE ARE THINGS SOMETIMES YOU CAN BUY PERSONALLY. UM, SOME MAY KNOW AS FEMTO SALES OR SOME KIND OF, KIND OF ALMOST A BOOT INSIDE. SO THERE ARE THIRD PARTY ONES THAT YOU CAN PURCHASE. UH, I KNOW WE HAVE ONE THAT WE SELL THAT'S AN AT AND T BRANDED ONE, UH, FOR THE CONSUMER. BUT, UH, THOSE ARE THINGS, THOSE ARE A COUPLE THINGS AND IDEAS THAT YOU GUYS CAN DO TO, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANTED TO KINDA EXPLORE THINGS FURTHER ON YOUR OWN. ONE THING I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU. ONE THING I'D LIKE TO ADD, UH, TO WHAT UH, EMER. EMERSON WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, FROM A CONNECTIVITY STANDPOINT, UM, THERE IS LIMITED, YOU KNOW, FIOS, UM, IN, IN THE TOWN. UM, AND WE CAN PROVIDE THAT LINK WHERE YOU CAN CHECK YOUR ADDRESS TO SEE, UM, IF YOU ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, HAVE IT AT YOUR RESIDENCE. UM, SPECIFICALLY, UH, PARK CHEVROLET APARTMENTS HAS FIOS. AND THEN, UM, ANOTHER FORM OF WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY, HOME CONNECTIVITY, UM, WHAT WE REFER TO AS WIRELESS BACKUP. UM, WE HAVE CONNECTIVITY AT THE CHEVROLET STATION APARTMENTS. SO JUST TO EXPAND. AND ARE YOU SAYING THAT THAT MIGHT BE AVAILABLE IN INDIVIDUAL SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AS WELL, OR THOSE [01:00:01] ARE JUST AVAILABLE IN THOSE APARTMENT HOUSES? SO WHAT WE WOULD DO, THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT I KNOW SPECIFICALLY. MM-HMM . YOU KNOW, WHAT WE SERVICES THAT WE HAVE. UM, WE'LL PROVIDE THE LINK AS WELL WHERE RESIDENTS CAN, YOU KNOW, CHECK THEMSELVES TO SEE WHAT SERVICES ARE ACTUALLY AVAILABLE IN ADDITION TO WIRELESS. THANK YOU. YEAH. ALSO FOR, FOR T-MOBILE, SAY YOU, YOU HAVE A HOUSE AND, UH, MAYBE YOU HAVE SERVICE IN LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOUR KITCHEN OR A BEDROOM, BUT THEN YOU LOSE SERVICE WHEN YOU GO TO YOUR REC ROOM OR BASEMENT. UH, WE, WE DO OFFER, UM, REPEATERS AT, AT NO ADDITIONAL COST OR YOU COULD PUT THIS REPEATER IN AN AREA, YOUR HOUSE WHERE YOU DO GET GOOD SIGNAL AND THEN IT'LL KIND OF JUST LIKE PIGGYBACK THAT SIGNAL TO THE REST OF YOUR HOUSE SO THAT YOU CAN, UM, SO YOU CAN HAVE SERVICE IN YOUR ENTIRE HOUSE AND NOT JUST IN ONE ROOM. AND ONE ADDITIONAL POINT IS IN ADDITION TO OUR REGULAR SMARTPHONE AND DATA DEVICE SERVICE, WE HAVE FIXED HOME INTERNET, WIRELESS SERVICE AS WELL THAT CAN BE USED. UM, IT, YOU WOULD BE ADVISED TO LOOK AND SEE IF YOUR ADDRESS IS ELIGIBLE FOR IT. UM, I WOULD ASSUME BASED ON THE SIGNAL THAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED IN AND AROUND THE TOWN, THAT MOST OF THE TOWN, THE HOMES IN THE TOWN WOULD BE ELIGIBLE. AND THAT IS A WAY FOR YOU TO GET INTERNET AND MAINTAIN INTERNET. UM, AND THEN EVEN IF YOU WEREN'T USING T-MOBILE AS YOUR PRIMARY CELLULAR COVERAGE, YOU COULD USE WIFI CALLING ON THE T-MOBILE NETWORK IF IT'S WORKING IN YOUR HOME, THE WAY IT WORKS THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE TOWN. GREAT, THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE FOLKS HERE OR THE FOLKS ONLINE? YEAH, IT JUST AN ADDITIONAL POINT. UM, ONE THING THAT IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED AND, AND I'M SAYING THIS FROM NOT A T-MOBILE PERSPECTIVE, BUT JUST AS A, A CELLULAR USER SINCE THE LATE EIGHTIES, UH, SOMEONE WHO'S MANAGED CELLULAR AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES AT A STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL AS WELL AS MY TIME WORKING HERE IN T-MOBILE, RESTARTING YOUR PHONE REGULARLY IS VERY IMPORTANT. UM, AND NOT JUST IT GOING TO SLEEP, BUT A FULL RESTART OF THE PHONE. AND IF YOU CONTINUE TO HAVE ISSUES, THEN YOU KNOW, I WOULD LOOK TO YOUR PHONE MANUFACTURER ABOUT WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE FOR A NETWORK RESET AND SEE IF THAT'S A VIABLE OPTION FOR YOU PERSONALLY. AND AGAIN, THIS IS NOT FROM T-MOBILE, THIS IS FROM DARREN MANLEY. I RESTART MY PHONE DAILY AND I DO A NETWORK RESET ON ALL OF MY SIMS AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH. AND MY PHONE WORKS VERY WELL EVERYWHERE I TRAVEL JUST ABOUT. OKAY. AND, AND AGAIN, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THE, ANY OF THE CARRIERS TEND TO TALK ABOUT VERY MUCH. AND I WOULD SAY SUPPORT DARREN ON THAT. I WOULD SAY IF, UM, AND IF YOU'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, TECHNICALLY SAVVY, LIKE THIS GENTLEMAN WHO'S BEEN WITH CELL PHONES SINCE THE LATE EIGHTIES, UH, COME VISIT ME AT MY STORE. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR. OKAY. RESTART YOUR PHONES, EVERYBODY. UM, ALRIGHT. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. I KNOW THAT SOMETIMES THESE KINDS OF CONVERSATIONS ARE REALLY FRUSTRATING BECAUSE THEY JUST BRING UP MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS AND THEY BRING UP LONG TIMELINES THAT, UH, SEEM A LITTLE TOO LONG. BUT I THINK, UM, AT LEAST NOW I FEEL LIKE I HAVE A LITTLE MORE CONTEXT FOR SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH. UM, I KNOW THAT I CAN, UM, VERY MUCH, UH, STRESS THAT THE TOWN COUNCIL AND, UH, STAFF ARE MAKING THIS A PRIORITY AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO BUG THESE FOLKS A LOT UNTIL WE START TO SEE SOME IMPROVEMENTS. UM, AND I THINK WE WILL DEFINITELY EXPLORE DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR FOLKS TO REPORT ISSUES TO US SO THAT WE CAN SORT OF AMASS THEM AND SEE IF THAT'S HELPFUL IN OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM. UM, BUT I THINK AGAIN, UM, IT FEELS LIKE YOU ALL ARE COMMITTED TO WORKING WITH US TO FIND A SOLUTION WHICH WE REALLY APPRECIATE. UM, OUR PRIORITY IS THE SAFETY AND SECURITY, UM, AND WELLBEING OF OUR RESIDENTS. AND IN THIS DAY AND AGE, NOT HAVING CELL SERVICE IS A BIG PROBLEM FOR THAT. UM, SO YEAH, I THINK YOU GUYS PROBABLY WILL STICK AROUND A LITTLE BIT IN THE BACK IF FOLKS WANNA HAVE, UH, SPECIFIC CONVERSATIONS. BUT OTHERWISE, UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US AND BEING HERE AND ENGAGING AND HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. STAY WARM. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.