We have some exciting news to share!

The AT&T cell tower project is moving forward! This is an important milestone in our community's long-standing effort to bring reliable cell service to Oceanside.

Here is the latest information and what it means for our community.

AT&T Tower Project – Construction Timeline

The current plan is to begin construction in Spring 2027. Once construction starts, building the tower site is expected to take approximately three months.

This is encouraging progress toward addressing the cell coverage challenges that Oceansiders have experienced for years.

An Opportunity for Other Carriers

One particularly encouraging development is that AT&T has expressed strong interest in having other wireless carriers co-locate their antennas and equipment on the new tower.

The expected process is as follows:

1. AT&T completes construction, installs its antennas, and brings them into operation.
2. Once AT&T's antennas are installed and operational, AT&T will formally invite other wireless carriers to consider co-locating their equipment.
3. Once another carrier decides to participate, it will need approximately three months to obtain the necessary permits.
4. After permitting is complete, that carrier can install its antennas and equipment on the tower.

This creates an excellent opportunity to improve coverage for customers of multiple carriers, not just AT&T.

How and When Can Oceansiders Help?

OAP has offered AT&T its help in organizing a community effort to encourage customers of other wireless carriers to contact their providers and file service complaints about inadequate coverage in Oceanside.

Timing will be important. Based on our initial discussions with AT&T, the most effective time to organize this effort will likely be when AT&T's antennas are installed and operational and the formal co-location invitation process begins.

At that point, other carriers will have a concrete opportunity to join the project. Demonstrating that their customers continue to experience poor service and want better coverage could help encourage those carriers to take advantage of the new tower.

The timing may change as the project progresses. We will continue following developments and coordinating with AT&T to identify the best time for a community-wide outreach effort.

When the time comes, we will ask Oceansiders using carriers other than AT&T to make their voices heard by:

• Contacting their wireless providers directly.
• Filing formal service complaints documenting poor reception, dropped calls, and dead zones.
• Expressing support for their carrier installing equipment on the new Oceanside tower.

The more customers who speak up, the harder it will be for carriers to overlook the need for better coverage in our community.

An Interesting Development: Crown Castle

We also have an interesting development to share involving Crown Castle, our partner of more than two years in efforts to bring a cell tower closer to Oceanside.

As you might recall from our previous updates, Crown Castle, working at our request and in coordination with OAP, had been spearheading efforts to develop a new tower that could accommodate multiple wireless carriers.

This alternative project has made considerable progress. A lease option agreement between the property owner and Crown Castle for a proposed tower site in the Cougar Ridge area was ready for signatures this summer.

However, things took a different turn when AT&T signed a lease for its tower site in April of this year and subsequently submitted its permit application in August. It became increasingly clear that AT&T was moving forward with its own tower project.

With the prospect of a new AT&T tower becoming a reality, pursuing a second tower in the area no longer seemed necessary. Crown Castle put its Cougar Ridge site consideration on hold.

Now comes the interesting part: Crown Castle will most likely be the contractor building the AT&T tower!

This is an interesting turn of events and a potentially positive development, bringing together two efforts that have been working toward the same goal: better cell coverage for Oceanside.

Looking Ahead

After more than three years of community efforts to improve cell reception and coverage, seeing the AT&T project move forward is a significant milestone.

However, our ultimate goal has always been broader than improving service for just one carrier. We want reliable mobile connectivity throughout Oceanside, regardless of which wireless carrier residents use.

The new tower offers a promising opportunity to make that happen. The next important step will be encouraging other carriers to take advantage of the opportunity to co-locate their equipment.

We will keep the community informed as the project progresses and let everyone know when the time is right to launch our coordinated effort.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this initiative and helped keep the issue of cell connectivity on the community's agenda!