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North Solon residents press council for better cell service; city says sites under review
Summary
Residents from North Solon asked the council to speed work on cellular coverage after reporting poor service; councilmembers and the mayor said the city is exploring a combination of small cells and a larger site but that legal and neighboring-community issues remain.
Paul Niedermeier of 5086 Harper Road told the City Council on Feb. 18 that North Solon residents experience unreliable cellular coverage and frequent interruptions to smart TVs and smartphones. Niedermeier asked the council to “move as quickly as possible to rectify this problem.”
Council members acknowledged the coverage gaps. Councilman Khan and Mayor Krauss said the city has been exploring multiple approaches: identifying a large site in North Solon, installing small cell nodes in targeted locations, and working with neighboring jurisdictions where needed. The mayor said a previously identified city-owned site had been paused after neighbors objected and that a company has since identified another nearby site “that’s just not on our land,” requiring additional legal and contractual work.
Council members noted the technology landscape is changing and mentioned smaller nodes already put in place — including sites near Harper and Miles Road and alternate nodes on Timberlane and Hawthorne Parkway — while emphasizing the city will continue to work with carriers to improve service. No formal council action was recorded at the Feb. 18 meeting beyond the verbal updates.
The council and mayor urged residents to keep reporting outages; staff indicated engineering and IT staff are pursuing options and potential agreements that could include a mix of small cells and a larger permitted tower or off-site lease. No timetable or final property owner was publicly disclosed during the meeting.
