E. Penn looks at cell service

Could improved cellphone service be in East Penn Township’s future?

Township supervisors took the first step toward finding out Monday night by granting permission for P3 Towers, based in Red Hill, to research land owned by the municipality that might be a good fit for a tower.

Kevin Strunk, P3’s vice president of development, said his company bridges the gap between municipalities and national carriers.

“We’ll come and look for a location that works for a tower, or multiple towers, and then we’ll solicit national carriers to see if we can draw someone to get on tower,” Strunk said. “If we have even just one interested party, we’ll build the tower. It’s not always an easy sell, but we’ll get as many carriers on the tower as we can.”

Questions from supervisors included if there would be any cost to the municipality.

Strunk, however, said East Penn would foot no cost and stands to take in 40 percent of the revenue if a carrier signs on and a tower is built.

“That rent is typically around $2,500 a month for that first tenant,” Strunk said. “If there is any legal review from the township solicitor, that is also picked up by (P3 Towers).”

P3 usually constructs towers around 150 feet tall. Strunk said the company would work within the township’s existing zoning regulations and customize the lease area to suit the needs of the municipality.

“We don’t want to go for variances or that kind of thing,” he said. “We work with the township on setbacks and everything else to keep this as simple as possible.”

If the process goes forward, East Penn would need to give P3 Towers an option on a small piece of property so it could begin recruiting carriers.

“It could be a two or three-year process to try and sell that tower space to a carrier,” Strunk said. “We only benefit if we put a tower in the air so there is a lot of motivation for us.”

East Penn is notorious for spotty cell service. Meetings at the East Penn Community Center typically result in no available signal no matter the provider.

“I know I have Verizon and I have nothing right now,” Strunk said of his reception Monday night. “This is a very quiet little township, and maybe we can change that.”