Westport will be receiving a new, full-sized AT&T cell phone tower by the end of the second fiscal quarter, all due to the efforts of a junior boy.
The cell tower is supposed to improve coverage on North Avenue, Long Lots Road and Cross Highway.
“Adding another tower means better reception, fewer dropped calls and faster data,” Brandon Beller ’12, the boy whose complaints sparked AT&T’s response to Westport’s service problem, said.
Beller contacted the Better Business Bureau (BBB)—a group designed to deal with customer grievances—on its website to complain about poor reception and dropped calls on the AT&T network.
Beller sent an email to the BBB and the company then put him in direct contact with AT&T.
“Going to customer support and complaining doesn’t get you anywhere,” Beller said. “If you don’t complain about something [directly], they aren’t going to improve it.”
Beller planned to switch to the Verizon iPhone and wanted to cancel his phone service with AT&T.
“AT&T didn’t want me to do that,” Beller said. “They treated me so nicely.”
According to Beller, not only did AT&T offer to install a full-sized cell phone tower in Westport, it also decided to pay for Beller’s phone bill for two months and gave him a $50 credit on the purchase of a microcell (worth $150 in retail)— a device used to give Beller perfect service in his home.
“I refused to pay the full price for [the microcell],” Beller said.Though Beller may now have perfect service in his home, he is still concerned with the rest of Westport.
Beller is hoping the new cell tower, which should arrive in May or June of this year, can improve service as promised. If not, Beller said he plans to work with AT&T again.
But, not all AT&T subscribers are as excited about the new cell phone tower as Beller.
“I don’t feel that it is necessary,” Brendan Bernstein ’11 said. “There is never a place where literally you can’t get one bar. So for me, I can still use my phone anywhere. It is just slower in some places.”
AT&T could not be reached for any comment.
Nicholas Weiner • Feb 27, 2011 at 1:28 pm
It’s about time – off of Roseville Road there is cell service, but there is only one bar, just as the article states is the minimum in Westport. One bar is good enough so your call don’t get dropped, but when it comes to using mobile web, you can expect a server time-out.
Nicholas Weiner • Feb 27, 2011 at 1:28 pm
It’s about time – off of Roseville Road there is cell service, but there is only one bar, just as the article states is the minimum in Westport. One bar is good enough so your call don’t get dropped, but when it comes to using mobile web, you can expect a server time-out.