Verizon Wireless is suing the small, scenic town of Chilmark, Massachusetts, in federal court, escalating a dispute over how best to fix persistent cell service problems on Martha’s Vineyard.
The lawsuit, filed March 16, names the town and its Select Board as defendants and challenges a January decision blocking Verizon’s plan to install 14 small cell antennas along several privately-owned utility poles. The company argues local officials overstepped their authority when they rejected the proposal.
At the center of the conflict is a growing frustration among Chilmark’s roughly 1,200 residents, particularly in the up-Island areas, where spotty or nonexistent cell service has been an issue since at least the fall, according to the Vineyard Gazette. With many households no longer using landlines, some residents say the lack of reliable coverage has become a safety concern, leaving them without a dependable way to make emergency calls.
Town leaders have been actively searching for a solution, holding multiple discussions with both Verizon and American Tower Company, which owns and operates cell towers and other wireless infrastructure. Verizon’s proposal focused on installing small cell units on privately owned utility poles to strengthen coverage in targeted areas.
But local officials had a different vision. Rather than scattering equipment across more than a dozen poles, the Select Board leaned toward building a larger, centralized tower that could serve the entire community. That preference ultimately led to a unanimous 3-0 vote on January 20 to deny Verizon’s application.
“This may be Verizon’s best plan, but it’s not best for the town,” select board Chair Marie Larsen said at the time, according to Inside Towers.
In its 20-page complaint, Verizon argues the board didn’t properly evaluate the proposal and failed to make site-specific findings to justify the denial. The company also claims the town lacks any formal rules or written standards for reviewing applications like this, and didn’t apply consistent criteria in its decision-making process.
“The Town has no regulations or written policies establishing standards for the Board’s review of applications to attach wireless equipment on utility poles in Town rights of way,” Verizon states in the lawsuit, according to the Gazette. “The board did not purport to apply any standards in deliberating on and deciding the Application.”
The lawsuit goes a step further, accusing the town of unfair treatment. Verizon claims Chilmark is effectively steering the company toward existing infrastructure owned by American Tower Company by allowing that equipment to remain while denying Verizon a similar opportunity to expand.
“The Town has unreasonably discriminated against Verizon because it has denied Verizon the right to attach its Small Cells to utility poles in the Town right of way but allowed ATC to attach its DAS equipment to utility poles in the Town rights of way,” Verizon wrote in the suit, according to Vinyard Gazette.
Verizon is now asking a judge to overturn the board’s decision and allow the project to move forward.
Chilmark Town Administrator Tim Carroll told the Vineyard Gazette Friday that the town plans to respond to the lawsuit, but declined further comment, noting the board had not met since being served.
The Independent has contacted Verizon and Chilmark Town representatives for comment.
4 arrested in corruption investigation linked to NYC homeless shelter operator, AP source says
Passenger dies mid-flight after cabin crew forget to attach mask to oxygen tank: suit
How one family's bipolar disorder experience led to more than $1 billion for the Broad Institute
American journalist kidnapped in Iraq sparking urgent hunt
Judge pauses construction of Trump’s beloved White House ballroom
Las Vegas homeowners and HOA try to sue builders over ‘sinking’ million-dollar homes
