A “micro” site to boost data access for AT&T users may be coming to the main shopping strip along Route 202.

During a Planning Board meeting Tuesday, Vincent Paquette, the director of small cell installations for the Northeast for Centerline Communications, met with the board for a preliminary consultation regarding the proposed site. A preliminary consultation usually occurs before an official application, to determine what issues may need to be addressed in the application process. In this case, the board was reviewing the proposal to determine if there were any issues that would necessitate a site plan review. The town has a communications zoning ordinance which regulates cellular installations.

Paquette explained that the installation AT&T is seeking to install is not a typical cell tower, but a much smaller antenna that would be attached to a telephone pole in the area of the Rindge Walmart. It would include an antenna and a box to house radio equipment. Rather than boost telephone service, it would take on the load of 4G and 5G data, allowing the two main towers in the town to provide a better overall service for AT&T customers.

When asked whether the site would have any benefit to other cell providers, Paquette said it would only benefit AT&T customers, though it is not unusual for multiple carriers to target similar areas with similar antennas, though they would have to be located on separate telephone poles.

Paquette said the “micro” site would have a limited range – between a quarter and a half of a mile – but would provide coverage for some of the town’s biggest gathering spots, including the Walmart, grocery stores and Commercial Drive. He explained that these types of installations usually are installed in high-traffic areas such as shopping centers, fairgrounds or schools, where during peak hours, data use may be causing dips in coverage.

“This is very local, and it serves the customers when you have a lot of people in one area,” Paquette said.

Craig Clark, a member of the town’s Teltech Committee and who helped to write the town’s zoning ordinance on communications equipment, advised the board that for an area such as that stretch of Route 202, these kinds of installations make sense.

Planning Board Chair Roberta Oeser said she did not see a strong need to hold a site plan review in this case.

“I see this is as low impact,” Oeser said. “I don’t see that a site plan is warranted.”

Other board members agreed, with board member Robert Chamberlain referring to the proposal as “cut and dry.”

Following the conclusion of the presentation, board member Max Geesey moved to vote that there was no site plan needed for the site, which was seconded by Chamberlain, and then unanimously approved in a 7-0 vote.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.