Stockbridge-Munsee Community and Cellcom Partner to Enhance Wireless Service in Local Community and Shawano County
June 6, 2024 – The Stockbridge-Munsee Community and Cellcom have partnered to improve wireless service throughout the community. Enhancements include new cell towers and a rooftop cell site and in-building enhancements at North Star Casino.
“Connectivity is critical for tribal members, those that live in the tribal community and the surrounding areas. Stockbridge-Munsee significantly invested to help enhance wireless service and partnering with Cellcom as a local provider helped us ensure the project was successful,” said Shannon Holsey, Stockbridge-Munsee Community Tribal President.
The first portion of the project focused on enhancing coverage in and near North Star Casino. Stockbridge-Munsee Community invested in a wireless in-building system, which is designed to seamlessly improve indoor cellular coverage and support large events with thousands of attendees. Cellcom was the first tenant on the system which went live in December of 2023.
“Concrete structures can present challenges to cellular service due to the building materials blocking signal. In-building systems enhance coverage and make it seamless for the user as their devices will automatically pick up the signal without connecting to Wi-Fi. We regularly see hundreds of customers connected to our network via the in-building system,” said Rick Brooks, CTO and VP of Engineering at Cellcom.
Cellcom also enhanced coverage just outside of North Star Casino with a rooftop cell site at the location. Stockbridge-Munsee Community leased the wireless provider space for this addition. The rooftop cell site provides a better experience for those near the casino and also conserves bandwidth on the nearby tower by picking up traffic from casino visitors. This site went live in February of this year.
The latest additions included the construction of new cellular towers throughout the area. Stockbridge-Munsee Community contracted with Cellcom’s tower company to construct four cell sites. Cellcom is the first tenant on each of these towers, which turned up in May. These are located on Camp 14 Rd. near the Stockbridge-Munsee Fire Department, East of Bowler on Butternut Ln., Big Lake Rd. north of E. Town Hall Rd. and on Pine Hills Dr. southwest of Hwy 47, which also serves a portion of Menominee County.
“We appreciate the partnership with Stockbridge-Munsee Community and their dedication of funds to build the tower structures, which allowed Cellcom to invest to expand its network. The enhancements allow for coverage to reach further in some rural portions of our service area, bring faster speeds to users and will allow more devices to be connected at one time,” said Brooks. “We’re already seeing a lot of traffic on these sites, reaffirming the need.”