Cellular telephone service too spotty in much of Maine

Monday, February 21, 2005

Cellular telephones are fantastic little devices -- when their users can get connected.

When not, they become miniature devices of technological torture.

The problem is especially prevalent in Maine, as anyone who uses a cell phone probably knows.

For the good of its people, tourists, businesses, emergency services and overall economy, the state and wireless companies must improve cell-phone service and reliability statewide by getting rid of its many "dead zones" -- areas where cell- phone users are incommunicado because they cannot get a signal.

Gov. John E. Baldacci pointed to the problem in his State of the State address last month. In his speech, the governor announced his "Connect Maine" strategy, which seeks to have reliable, high-quality wireless service statewide by 2008.

"Maine's busiest road, the Turnpike, is plagued by service problems," Baldacci said.

The problem hardly ends at the 'Pike for cell-phone users who live in, visit or make calls to Maine. There are many places, some rather large, where wireless service is a static-filled disaster -- if it exists at all. These include some of Maine's more populated areas.

The extent of the problem has been reported recently in this newspaper.

Last Sunday, we cited several examples of how gaps in cell- phone service have become major inconveniences now that the devices have become standard gear for most people old enough to write in cursive.

To address the problem of spotty cellular service, the Maine Public Advocate's Office has begun collecting information on dead zones across the state.

Cell-phone users can call (207) 287-2445 or connect to http:// www.state.me.us/meopa/index pages/cellular.html to report problem areas.

In central Maine, they include parts of Belgrade, Carrabassett Valley, Chesterville, Dresden, Fayette, Gardiner, Kingfield, Mount Vernon, Readfield, Rome, Sidney, Skowhegan, Vienna and Winslow.

They also include stretches of Interstate 95 between Augusta and Waterville or Lewiston and many parts of Franklin and Waldo counties.

These lists, of course, are hardly complete.

The problems are attributable to the unpredictability of radio waves and to the lay of the Maine land.

Our rugged state, with its mountains, hills and trees, hardly provides the topography for uninterrupted cell-phone service.

The solution becomes more transmission towers, which are expensive and oftentimes require the approval of community officials or private landowners who support building the towers -- someplace else.

Later this year, the Public Advocate's Office hopes to have maps showing where Maine cell- phone service is strong, weak or nonexistent.

The maps will help consumers who are looking to pick the best cell-phone provider for where they live or travel.

The maps will also help the state and cellular companies know where additional cell towers are needed.

It was not that long ago that people were talking about cell phones being the future.

Well, the future is now. There are about 519,000 wireless telephones in Maine, a state with 1.25 million residents.

Add to those the millions of cell phones used by tourists and businesspeople, and we have reached a point where wireless communication in Maine needs to work as well and reliably as an old rotary phone.