After years of misguided and ineffective efforts to improve cellular service in Chester, the town is on a new path.

On April 23, the Board of Selectmen heard a presentation from Raymond Vergati, regional manager of Homeland Towers. This followed a Jan. 11 letter in the Valley Courier (“A Deeply Flawed Plan”) outlining flaws in the Chester plan to improve cellular service. The letter pointed out Chester selectmen had been using flawed thinking in trying to address spotty service.

Vergati said Haddam, working with Homeland Towers, is seeking approvals for two new cellular towers, one which would provide coverage along Route 154 from Higganum to River Road and a second which would serve a portion of Haddam, the Tylerville area, and Route 154 to the Chester Fairgrounds. Vergati said those should provide service to much of the east side of Chester. Based on his company’s analysis, Vergati said the next pressing need is improved service in the west end of town, between Cedar Lake and Killingworth. Homeland Towers is now looking at the west side of Chester for a tower site. It’s considering private and public land.

Downtown Chester is topographically a “bowl” surrounded by higher ground, making it more difficult to service, Vergati said. Going back to former first selectmen Lauren Gister and Charlene Janecek, Chester officials focused almost exclusively on downtown, considered only public land sites, and did not seek high ground for a new cellular tower. As suggested in the Jan. 11 letter, those limitations have been abandoned. The downtown will remain, for now, served as it has been, although a new solution could be considered.

Chester currently has one cellular tower adjacent to Route 9 on Wig Hill Road. Vergati noted service improvement moves slowly, and siting and building a cellular tower typically takes two years.

Joe Cohen

Chester