If you struggle to get good cell service while living or driving in Citrus County, the county school board wants to help.
It's finalizing an agreement to use some of its old internet towers as cell service towers instead.
School board member Douglas Dodd says residents have even blamed the school district for their issues with cell service.
"That's not at all the case,” Dodd said during a recent school board meeting. “And they've tried to blame the hospital — HCA Florida Citrus. It's not the hospital. We're not blocking any cell service."
Now, the school board is looking to enter into an agreement with a company to market its old internet towers as cell service towers.
Alternative Energy Solutions owns the towers, while the school district owns the land on which the towers are sitting.
Carriers like Verizon and AT&T could buy into using those towers, and in turn, strengthen connections in areas like Lecanto and Inverness.
“I'm hoping that we can help, rather than just take some of the bandwidth. I'd like to be able to contribute to some of the bandwidth,” Citrus County School Board Chair Thomas Kennedy said.
The school district would also get some monthly rent revenue once carriers have signed on to the towers.
They would be located at Citrus High School, Citrus Springs Elementary and Middle Schools, and other locations.
The towers that are not suitable as cell towers will be taken down.
They were initially erected in 2004 and were created to support the district’s computer network, but they were quickly underutilized and had remained largely dormant.
The school board is looking to finalize the agreement at its meeting on Sept. 10.
"It's a win-win” Dodd said. “It's a win for this school district, but it's a win for our communities that have had terrible cell service for so many years."
