Small Boxes Added To Lamp Posts To Enhance Cell Service
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- If you look up in and around Pittsburgh, you'll see a growing number of boxes mounted on lamp posts.
No, they're not cameras or spying devices.
They're something called small cells, increasingly necessary for you to use your cell phones.
They're called small cells, but in reality they're miniature cell towers, and they're needed because those macro cell towers are being overwhelmed by customers.
Verizon Wireless is putting out these small cells in congested urban areas.
They work up to about a thousand feet, and they will enhance your ability to download data and send out your text messages.
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Jim Rickard with Verizon Wireless says the small cells help alleviate the congestion.
"Existing towers that cover larger areas are getting to the point where they can't handle any more traffic," Rickard told KDKA money editor Jon Delano on Thursday. "So we come into these areas and put up these miniature cell sites to offload that traffic on to some of these small cell sites."
These small cells are being deployed, says Rickard, all over the region, including the city and suburbs.
"The intent is to provide a good quality service when your texting, when you're video calling, or watching a movie on Netflix."
And while Verizon Wireless tries to make them inconspicuous, expect a whole lot more of them to appear in the years to come.
"They're here to stay. They're part of the network. They serve a purpose to enhance the existing macro network we have in place, so definitely more to come."
