Staff
If you look up—way up—while heading out on Colonization Road West, you might have noticed some work being done on the town’s water tower this past week.
Bell Mobility has installed six wireless mobility antennae to its concrete foundation.
A small building to house equipment also has been erected at the base of the foundation.
The company said this new site will meet growing demand for mobile data services, including Internet access, and new services like Bell Mobile TV.
Bell said it invests more than $3 billion annually to expand its networks and bring the latest mobile technology to locations across Canada—rural, small town, and major cities alike.
The town signed a deal with Bell Mobility in May, 2012 after being assured the tower’s structural integrity would not be compromised at all (given the foundation of the water tower supports a steel tank capable of holding one million gallons of water).
The Town of Fort Frances will get some extra revenue thanks to the deal with Bell Mobility.
The 20-year term deal sees the town paid $500 during the installation of the equipment and antennae, then $6,000/year for the first five years of operation.
This amount will go up to $6,900/year for the five years after that, then to $6,900/year plus the Consumer Price Index for the last 10 years or fair market value.
The town currently receives $2,882.16 per year from the Dryden Municipal Phone System, and $2,968.68 a year from Vianet, for rental of space on the water tower for wireless antennae and equipment.
