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May 29, 2008

Wilmington cell tower online

By KIM SMITH DEDAM

WILMINGTON -- A new UNICEL cellular-phone site is online and operational in Wilmington.

The antenna site on an existing structure was approved by the Adirondack Park Agency last November for installation at Ledge Rock Motel, across from Whiteface Ski Area on Route 86, connecting Wilmington to Lake Placid.

Lands encompassing developed areas around Whiteface Mountain are classified hamlet and moderate-intensity use in the Adirondack State Land Master Plan.

Miriam Svobodny, spokeswoman for UNICEL, based in Minnesota, said the company received a general permit from APA for the installation, which uses Groupe Special Mobile, or GSM technology.

"Customers in Wilmington and the surrounding area will notice a big improvement in the clarity and strength of our signal," she said.

The expansion is part of a $31 million investment under way by UNICEL in the Northeast.

"The company has been providing cellular service across the Northeast since 1996 and plans to add new cell sites based on customer needs and geography. These new developments bring the total number of GSM-capable cellular sites in New York to 30, giving residents, travelers and business people the benefits of an advanced network."

The technological expansion may come under new ownership.

Verizon Wireless is poised to acquire portions of UNICEL's Northeast network for a reported $2.67 billion.

The deal is still under federal review by the Federal Communication Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice, Svobodny said Wednesday.

No timeline has been set for acquisition.

"We don't have a date, we are just waiting."

The sale would also reportedly include some type of "asset swap" of wireless technology since Verizon Wireless operates off CDMA systems, which are not compatible with GMA.

The initial swap announced last winter by AT&T would involve trading some of Verizon's acquired UNICEL properties, including network assets and subscribers, with some AT&T markets out west.

The details of the transaction remain sketchy.

"We don't know exactly which areas," Svobodny said, "and we don't know to whom."

Unicel is a service of Rural Cellular Corp. (RCC) focused on primarily rural markets in 15 states.

AT&T Mobility LLC is the biggest wireless network in the country, with more than 70 million subscribers, and Verizon Wireless is the second-largest mobile phone carrier with 67 million subscribers.

Verizon is undertaking a major investment in cellular-phone infrastructure in the Adirondack Park, planning an 18-tower system including 11 new towers to cover the entire wilderness stretch of I-87 where cell-phone service is near non-existent.

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