Town to require battery access for new cell towers

The Wantage Township Committee on August 18 introduced an ordinance that would require wireless carriers to allow the township to put its own equipment on any new tower erected in the township.

The ordinance was introduced by a 2-0 vote. Committeeman Jon Morris was absent.

“What we’ve decided to do is pass a law that says if you put a cell tower in Wantage that we reserve the right for Wantage to put our equipment up there and they have to give us a battery backup up there for free,” Mayor Ron Bassani said.

Currently cell phone tower operators allow Wantage to put its equipment on the towers, but the township has to put in its own battery backup.

Bassani called that “ridiculous.”

“They got power and they’re just not willing to let us plug into it,” Bassani said. “So, this changes that and forces them to have a battery backup.”

The committee is expected to hold a second reading on the proposed ordinance in September.

“That’s our main thing, to get something out of them,” Bassani said. “In addition to the landowner getting a high rent for the cell tower, we want to make sure that we have a spot on that cell tower.”