OCEAN CITY, MD - Ahead of the fall music festivals, Ocean City officials are working to have new small cell phone towers installed in the busy areas of the beach town. The town is working with the cell companies AT&T and Verizon to make this change.
When talking with visitors on the boardwalk, frustrations were clear.
"I've been here about a day and a half, and cell phone service has been very spotty, said Dave Detz. “A couple time's it has kicked me to satellite. Just not good cell coverage."
Officials say this change would be for safety as well.
"You know, if somebody is, you know, experiencing an issue, everyone's relying on their cell phones these days,” said Ocean City Manager, Terry McGean. “So our goal is to make sure that, you know, when you need to use your phone, during one of these events, that you're able to get a signal, and make your call."
Visitors expressed that the addition of more cell towers would make beach and boardwalk visits better.
“I think it would just help a lot. Especially with how many people come down here,” said Sierra Holubowicz-Jones. “I think a lot of people have problems, and so many people travel very far away and they want to contact their families to show them how nice it is down here. So if they want to do that, they need cell service."
The town hopes to have the new cell towers up and running by the fall music festivals, but would bring in temporary assets if need be. Officials also said the phone companies would cover the cost of the towers, not Maryland's tax-payers.