Following more than a week of patchy or even nonexistent cell phone service in the Wessington Springs area, AT&T wireless users will hopefully find solace knowing a tech arrived Tuesday, July 18 to replace equipment and install two base load units at the local tower.
On Sunday, July 16, Sheriff Jason Weber spoke to a representative from AT&T about the situation. "I was advised they are upgrading the Wessington Springs Tower from 4G to 5G, and there appears to be some other 'problem' with that tower that shows that it's currently 'degraded.' She couldn't explain to me what that actually meant," Weber explained. "The representative that I spoke to attempted to help as much as possible and advised that this should be complete July 22."
The True Dakotan reached out to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Monday, July 17. According to Deb Gregg at the PUC, AT&T advised the PUC that service would be totally restored Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. Despite not having any regulatory governance over wireless companies like AT&T, Gregg told the True Dakotan that they had been in contact with many Wessington Springs-area residents who had also contacted the PUC and will continue to monitor the situation.
As of 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 19, AT&T wireless service continued to be poor.
