Better cell coverage is the modern railroad

Remember the "Can you hear me now?" guy? The Verizon ads aired for years featuring the bespectacled protagonist dodging dropped calls and spotty service. (He's now with Sprint.)

To meet ever-growing demand and support more mobile devices, cellular service providers are now affixing antennas to existing structures like light poles for improved, expanded coverage. But they must secure permission first.

That's why Scott County is contracting with Neo Network Development Inc., a company founded in 2013 outside of Chicago, to log a database of available sites for micro antennas. Hoping to attract more carriers by fall, the county could also earn more revenue as each carrier must pay rent to operate the antennas.

Better cell coverage is the modern virtual railroad. It's "the whistle-stopper of the 21st century," said Perry Mulcrone, the county's business relationship director working on the project.

The still largely rural but increasingly more developed county is outsourcing the work of connecting its infrastructure with wireless service providers like Verizon or AT&T.

But first, Neo must identify sites for micro antennas (also called "small cell" technology) to supplement existing, often-hulking cell towers.

These smaller antennas are hardly visible, affixed to street or traffic lights and rooftops at the discretion of owners or operators. Designers from Neo will work to ensure the devices match the aesthetic of the existing property.

Having more smaller sites also places less pressure on existing macro towers, especially in cases of emergencies and mass outages.

"If that [macro] tower goes down, the whole area will have a hard time," Mulcrone said. "Whereas if a micro tower goes down, there will be a whole lot of them."

In addition, an extensive fiber network already exists in Scott County out of plain sight. The miles worth of fibers, city officials hope, will provide more new avenues for connectivity. The existing towers are "just not enough for all the devices," Mulcrone said. "People hit saturation."

What's in it for Neo? The company gets a cut of rent payments to property owners.

"All in all, it's a win for the cities, it's a win for the carriers, and it's just a different way to go about cell sites," said Todd Melby, electrical engineer at Neo.

"Our job is to manage those assets and put them in the inventory for the wireless carriers," Melby said. "If [providers] want to expand — instead of going to private landowners and working with the city to update zoning and get building permits, now they can just go through us."

Counties across the country are reviewing plans to market their existing properties for the less invasive antennas in ways that align with their telecommunication goals.

Even once an inventory is logged, however, Scott County needs a compelling pitch for cell providers to invest.

"We're hoping that the carriers will bring improved connectivity" to subscribers, Mulcrone said. "Which could be a benefit to the businesses and residents."