The pandemic has highlighted the need for better telecommunications connectivity in many places for remote workers and students.

Locally, the area between Danville and Perryville suffers from poor internet access due to the inability to get cable modems. Spectrum doesn’t have cable in that area and despite residents asking for years, has not made it available.

That leaves residents at the mercy of the cellular network and satellite providers for internet access.

Unfortunately, satellite suffers from significant shortcomings due to both pricing, weather and topography. The cellular service (both voice and data) is also very poor due to the distance to the nearest tower.

Now that the water tower is being constructed at the corner of Tuggle Road and Perryville Road, there is an opportunity to improve the cellular network in the area significantly by adding a cell tower on the new water tower. This would most importantly improve the internet access for nearby residents, and also provide some compensation for the marring of the view by the new water tower.

We hope that Danville, Perryville and Boyle County will work together to strongly encourage cell phone providers to add a cell tower to the water tower for the benefit of the residents in between Danville and Perryville.

David Toth

Danville