Verizon customers rejoice: A new telephone pole is set to bring improved coverage to Narberth
Poor cell service has made it nearly impossible to pay for parking, text friends, or use mobile apps while downtown, borough officials said.
After years of dropped calls, missed texts, and frustrations with slow-to-load apps, Verizon customers may finally get better cell service in downtown Narberth.
Narberth’s borough council on Oct. 15 approved the recommendation of the location and design for a new Verizon telephone pole.
The pole is set to be located at the corner of Haverford and Forrest Avenues next to the Puff Gallery smoke shop. After considering dozens of locations, Verizon recommended the intersection due to its proximity to downtown and the Narberth SEPTA station. Nearby sites were evaluated and eliminated due to tree obstructions and surrounding building heights, among other factors.
Pending various approvals, the pole is expected to go up early next year, borough manager Maggie Dobbs said at the meeting earlier this month.
Council members said the cell service improvements are a long time coming.
“Everybody has dropped coverage downtown. People’s phone calls just give out. You can’t get any signal. It’s been happening for years,” council president Fred Bush told The Inquirer.
Poor Verizon service is “the No. 1 complaint we get,” council vice president Cyndi Rickards said at the Oct. 15 meeting.
Council members at the meeting commiserated about how difficult it can be to text friends and family, pay for parking with a mobile app, or even cash in their online rewards points at Narberth’s Jeni’s Ice Creams.
Unreliable cell service has become a hindrance during Narberth’s numerous downtown events, from the Narberth Dickens Festival to the Halloween parade, Ed Ridgway, president of the Narberth Business Association, said in an interview.
» READ MORE: Here’s why you still experience spotty cell service
Vendors who sell goods downtown have struggled to use online payment platforms like Venmo and Square. For events like Narberth’s annual scavenger hunt, which requires a mobile app, spotty service has made participation difficult.
“It’s not the end of the world, but it’s a quality-of-life issue,” Ridgway said.
Ridgway said Narberth shoppers have also reported difficulty parking downtown through the ParkMobile app.
“It’s a challenge that could be solved by better coverage,” he said.
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