MASHPEE, Mass. —
People who live in Mashpee are sharing their frustrations and concerns over cellphone service that is so spotty in certain areas of the Cape Cod community that callers are not guaranteed to connect to 911.
One Mashpee resident told NewsCenter 5 said her calls to first responders kept failing when her mother had a medical emergency at an assisted living facility. She said her calls kept dropping while she was trying to read off the list of her mother’s medications.
Even with a cellular tower designated to improve service in southern areas of the Massachusetts town, including New Seabury and Popponesset, residents still leave their homes in order to make phone calls.
“You know, you look for your five bars. I have two, and we’re right beside the cell tower,” said Mashpee fire Chief Jack Phelan.
“You see people all over the side of the roads, pulling over here and there trying to make a phone call,” said Mike Richardson, the executive director of the New Seabury Homeowner’s Association.
Mashpee police Captain Tom Rose said he has had no cell service in the area of Popponesset Beach while out on calls, which is a problem when officers do not want to share certain information over the radio.
“I’ve had to actually leave that area to make a cellphone call,” Rose said.
“We had a couple incidents at the beach last summer of a heart attack and a stroke, and it was very difficult to contact emergency representatives,” said Scott Vetstein, who lives in the Popponesset area.
The cell tower in question was put up by Blue Sky Towers in January and is being used by Verizon, but Phelan said only one of the six meters on the tower’s electrical box is running.
“None of the other providers have signed up yet or even attached to the system,” Phelan said.
Phelan told NewsCenter 5 that Verizon was not even operating at the moment, and the cell tower was “just a pole right now.” But a Verizon representative later told NewsCenter 5 that the tower is online and has been active for a month.
“There might be a bird up there that’s not happy with (the tower), but I don’t know of anybody else,” Richardson said. “I’m not sure there’s a bird up there, to be honest with you. Everybody now wants it.”
Mashpee Town Manager Rodney Collins said he hopes Verizon and Blue Sky Towers prioritize getting better cell service in the southern areas of town.
“Summer is here, and our population increases,” Collins said.
Town leaders said they have been unable to get in contact with Verizon about the spotty service, even when calling from their landlines.
The Verizon representative also told NewsCenter 5 that it will be investigating the complaints made by Mashpee residents.
