Verizon adds a tower

Fort Recovery residents received a holiday gift they’ve been waiting years to obtain — reception from a Verizon cell tower.
The 230-foot structure was in the process of being built in early July off of Ohio 119 on the east side of the village, with many anticipating reception by mid-August.
They waited with no word and no reception from the provider. It wasn’t until around the holiday season customers began seeing service improve.
Verizon had turned on the power to provide Fort Recovery and Sharpsburg residents with enhanced voice capabilities and data connection.
It’s not uncommon for these transitions to take a long time, said Verizon media representative Laura Merritt, with most of the legwork done months ahead of the tower being constructed.
“It can certainly take more than a year, sometimes a bit longer. We want to make sure it’s done right the first time,” said Merritt of consulting with local government entities and national authorities.
Through a combination of customer feedback and company technicians making the drive through these areas, the cell phone provider found Fort Recovery had a hole in its service with dropped calls and broken data connections.
Merritt said it’s something the company is constantly working to improve, and with the flat landscape, reception should reach its full potential of covering an area bordered by Ohio 219 to the north, Ohio 705 to the south, Erastus Durbin Road to the east and beyond the Indiana state line to the west.
Customers shouldn’t see any glitches in the new service as the company activates the tower when it’s ready, said Merritt.
“Never say never, but it’s not like with a new cell tower it has to work through the kinks,” said Merritt. “It doesn’t work that way. They should see improved experience with calls and data connection.”