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Custer County commissioners approve T‑Mobile service to expand coverage and cut county phone bills
Summary
After a T‑Mobile briefing on satellite texting and ‘key priority’ access for first responders, commissioners authorized signing a contract to move county and sheriff devices to T‑Mobile, citing improved dead‑zone coverage and an estimated annual savings of about $5,450 for county and sheriff lines.
CUSTER COUNTY, Colo. — Custer County commissioners voted Feb. 18 to authorize a contract with T‑Mobile to replace existing county and sheriff cellular service after a presentation showing expanded coverage, satellite texting capability and modest cost savings.
The sheriff’s office and county information technology staff told the board that parts of the county experience persistent cellular dead zones, hampering emergency calls and routine employee communications. John Mays, the county’s IT/GIS staff member, said he tested devices from AT&T/FirstNet, Verizon and T‑Mobile and found T‑Mobile provided broader coverage in several remote stretches, with the AT&T device slightly outperforming T‑Mobile in a few locations but Verizon showing much less coverage.
"It tended to have better coverage and you could watch in real time it switched between multiple bands to make sure it had coverage," Mays said of the T‑Mobile test device. He told the board the sheriff’s department currently has 23 phones costing $52.27–$54.74 each, a monthly total of roughly $1,245.67; T‑Mobile’s quoted per‑device rate for the sheriff would be $43.99, which the county reported would lower the sheriff’s monthly bill to about $1,011 and yield a $233.90 monthly savings, or $2,806.80 annually, for that account. Extending the T‑Mobile plan to the county’s 26 other phones was projected to add roughly $2,643.96 in annual savings; county staff combined the figures to estimate total first‑year savings of about $5,450.76.
T‑Mobile representatives said the proposed service includes a one‑time device credit: "we're offering a $3,000 upfront credit for each account," Brent Cooper, senior manager for government at T‑Mobile, said, noting that the vendor also supplies replacement devices, cases and chargers as part of the agreement.
Commissioners pressed for details on replacement costs and device management. Anthony Dauher, T‑Mobile government account consultant, said replacement cost would depend on the device model but that trade‑in credits reduce the net charge. The county’s IT lead said staff are working to bring county devices under centralized management to archive work text messages and simplify records searches for public‑records requests.
Board members expressed safety and cost motives in support of the switch. After discussion, a motion to authorize signing the contract was made and approved by voice vote; the board requested staff finalize contract details and proceed with signing.
What’s next: County staff said they will finalize contract paperwork with T‑Mobile and coordinate device migration timing and IT management settings. The board did not set a public implementation deadline at the meeting.
Sources: Remarks and figures provided at the Feb. 18, 2026 Custer County Board of Commissioners meeting; presentation material and quotes from John Mays (IT/GIS) and T‑Mobile representatives Anthony Dauher and Brent Cooper.
