Poor Cell Reception in the Apostle Islands Area Needs to be Improved

I often tell prospective buyers visiting northwestern Wisconsin and the Apostle Islands area that the very reason why they wish to buy here can also become a source of frustration.  A remote area can be pristine and peaceful, but the inability to phone for fire, police or ambulance service can be annoying or even dangerous at times.

As with other parts of the country where population density is low, parts of Douglas, Ashland and Bayfield counties suffer from poor cellphone reception.

The Mobiledia website offers a section devoted to cellular coverage "deadspots" across the country, organized by state.  You'll read reports and reviews by consumers who have personally experienced problems with cell reception.  The Mobiledia site requests that contributors specify their service provider, location of report and the number of signal bars displayed at that location.

On Madeline Island, the lack of cellular reception north of Big Bay State Park is a concern to both tourists and residents. A stranded motorist would have little choice but to wait for assistance or begin walking for help.  It's also a personal safety issue.  Just a couple of months ago, I was driving a client around the Island to look at properties when we spotted a trio of tourists just north of Big Bay.  One of the three had fallen off a moped and her leg was injured.  We tried several phones, each with different service providers, but we could obtain no cell reception at that spot.  We wound up flagging down a passing motorist who drove to the town of LaPointe and sent EMTs to the scene.

Excluding the Ashland, Wisconsin area, about half an hour away by car, there are only three cell towers in the Apostle Islands.  One is in the hills above Bayfield, less than a mile north of the Apostle Highlands golf course.  Another is on Madeline Island, a short distance east of the Madeline Island golf course.  And a third tower is situated near the Madeline Island Airport.  Most, if not all of the towers in the area were designed for analog signal coverage, rather than digital.

The Chequamegon Bay and Apostle Islands area is beautiful and remote, but the lack of cell coverage puts both residents and visitors at risk.  As tourist traffic and the number of second homes in the area increases, our municipalities need to consider personal safety and the wisdom of building additional cell towers as needed, in order to improve existing cellphone service.