In a significant milestone for the community of Quincy, Washington, Public Safety Towers, LLC (PSTC), in collaboration with AT&T and local stakeholders, announces the successful resolution of critical coverage issues in the region, effecting both civilian and first responder communications. Quincy, located 150 miles East of Seattle and known for its fusion of agriculture and technology, faced challenging coverage dead zones due to the rapidly growing demand for cellular connectivity.
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A view of the Quincy tower. (Photo: Business Wire)
The Challenge: Meeting Quincy’s Growing Needs
The surge in population and tourism in Quincy had strained the existing cellular and public safety networks, leading to growing communication challenges and service dead zones in areas where residents, tourists, and first responders had come to expect 4G and 5G speeds. Quincy’s motto, “Where Agriculture Meets Technology,” epitomized its need to balance tradition and innovation. The challenge was to bridge the gap between the community’s demand for connectivity and the limitations of the current infrastructure. PSTC’s CEO Doug Lodder describes this project’s success as precisely what the company’s unique approach is intended to produce. “This is the first of many towers to come from PSTC where we’re simultaneously delivering better connectivity to the residents and improving the networks of the first responders that serve them,” Lodder pledged.
The Approach: A Strategic Collaboration
AT&T and PSTC tackled the issue with an innovative approach, enlisting the expertise of Fire Chiefs from the Western Fire Chiefs Association (WFCA) to work with local public safety to quickly identify coverage gaps faced by local public safety. This collaboration helped quickly establish the community’s needs. With this nontraditional deployment strategy, AT&T and PSTC were able to seamlessly bridge the immediate civilian cellular requirements and future public safety needs with one turnkey solution. “The local public safety agencies in Quincy rely heavily on FirstNet capabilities throughout their day-to-day and emergency operations,” according to Chief Barry Hutchings, Senior Operations Advisor for the Western Fire Chiefs Association, and advocate for the Quincy tower project. “The Quincy tower is essential to ensure everyone in the community can call 911 to report emergencies and provide pre-arrival information for first responders.”
The Solution: The Quincy Tower – An Accelerated Build
PSTC, in partnership with Valmont Industries and GPEC Electrical Contractors, constructed a 110′ monopole tower in Quincy. To successfully navigate the shorter seasonal construction window, PSTC relied heavily on its partners’ ability to execute quickly. Valmont Industries engineered the 110’ monopole tower rapidly enough for GPEC to execute construction quickly using quality materials from Talley Inc. and stand the tower up in time to install AT&T and FirstNet well ahead of schedule. The additional integration of FirstNet (public safety broadband) was essential for the project, not only elevating the region’s standards for commercial connectivity but also for public safety.
About Public Safety Towers, LLC
Public Safety Towers, LLC (PSTC), headquartered in Carlsbad, CA, is constructing new telecommunication towers and infrastructure in areas that are currently underserved and will be specializing in locations that are hard to access and develop. Uniquely able to partner with first responder stakeholders, PSTC’s overarching objective is the improvement of first responder networks by constructing new network facilities on their behalf and partnering with commercial operators.
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