Temporary AT&T Antenna Installed To Better Quad Service

AT&T users venturing into the Quad may no longer have to worry about dropped calls or spotty cell phone service starting next month.

A cell on wheels -- a trailer containing signal transmission and reception equipment known as a COW -- has recently been set up next to Cabot House's Barnard Hall, located on the southwest corner of the Quad.

The "visually obtrusive" COW, operational on Sept. 1, serves as a temporary solution for providing reliable AT&T wireless service in the Quad until a permanent antenna is installed next fall, following city and state approval, said Zachary M. Gingo '98, director of Faculty of Arts and Sciences' Facilities Management and Operations. The permanent antenna will be placed on the roof of the Student Organization Center at Hilles, hidden from view.

Harvard has been working with AT&T on the issue since last winter, and the service provider will fund the bulk of the project, Gingo said.

He added that Harvard is "actively exploring" similar partnerships with other providers, as students have reported reception problems with companies other than Verizon, in particular, Sprint and T-Mobile.

Though students have long pushed for improved cell phone reception in the Quad, the problem was brought to the immediate attention of Harvard administrators following the May 18 shooting in Kirkland House, when several Quad residents reported not receiving the University's emergency text message notifications.

Undergraduate Council representative and Currier House resident George J.J. Hayward ’11, who adopted improved cell phone service in the Quad as a central component of his election campaign last year, collected over 300 messages from Quad residents about poor reception over the last academic year.

Hayward, who is also a Crimson editorial writer, could not be reached for comment. He told The Crimson in May that once he was able to "demonstrate substantial concern," administrators readily agreed to pursue the issue.

--Staff writer June Q. Wu can be reached at junewu@fas.harvard.edu.