Smithsburg Residents Invited to Ask Questions About Proposed Cell Tower at June 18 Town Hall

Milestone Towers is proposing to erect a 195-foot monopole at Smithsburg High School that Verizon Wireless will use to bolster coverage across the community. If approved, residents throughout the town can expect faster internet speeds and clearer voice connections—particularly indoors—while those beyond town limits may notice relief from network congestion as traffic is shifted off existing sites. A virtual town hall on June 18 will offer neighbors a chance to learn more and ask questions.

The facility’s reach is designed to improve both data and voice service inside homes, businesses, and public buildings, addressing dead zones and slow download times. By targeting the area around the high school, the project aims to fill gaps in the current network footprint and enhance the overall user experience for streaming, video calls, and other bandwidth-intensive applications.

Mobile data use has surged dramatically in recent years, with wireless traffic growing 73-fold since 2010 as Americans increasingly rely on smartphones for texting, email, and apps instead of traditional phone calls. More than 80 percent of people subscribe to cellular service, and over half have already given up their landlines¹ ². To keep pace, carriers must place new cell sites close to where phones are used most—residential neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools.

Strong cellular coverage also plays a critical role in public safety. Improved signal strength means first responders and residents alike can communicate swiftly during emergencies—whether texting loved ones, relaying GPS location data to dispatchers, or placing 9-1-1 calls (over 240 million annually in the U.S., with 80 percent from cell phones). The proposed tower will help ensure that callers can be located within FCC accuracy requirements of 100 meters for two-thirds of calls and 300 meters for 95 percent.

Health and safety standards will be rigorously upheld: all RF emissions are tested annually to confirm power densities remain far below FCC limits, and independent studies by local school systems have found exposure levels at ground level to be less than 5 percent of the allowable threshold. Major health organizations—including the American Cancer Society, World Health Organization, and International Agency for Research on Cancer—have reported no credible evidence linking environmental RF exposure from cell towers to increased cancer risk.

More information on the proposal, as well as mock-ups of what residents should expect to see once the tower is constructed, is available at www.smithsburghswireless.com. Residents can join Milestone’s online town hall on Wednesday, June 18 at 6 PM via Zoom to review site plans and participate in a Q&A session. Advance registration at www.smithsburghswireless.com/town-hall will secure a confirmation email with access details and a calendar invite. The presentation will cover project specifics, followed by a protocol briefing and an hour of public questions, taken in the order hands are raised on-screen.

Article by multiple contributors, based upon information from Milestone Towers

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