Poor Cell Service Frustrations Mount on Martha’s Vineyard

Dropped calls and dead service zones are just a few of the issues plaguing summertime connectivity on Martha's Vineyard. Island officials acknowledge that cellular unreliability is a pressing issue for residents and visitors, both up-Island and down-Island.

Although The Martha's Vineyard Times has reported that congestion in cellular connectivity increases during summer visitation due to more phone traffic from seasonal residents and visitors, the accessibility issue persists throughout the year.

Several carriers, however, have stated that zoning rules in some towns have been hindering the installation of infrastructure necessary to address the communication problem.

Jeffrey Madison, the town administrator in Aquinnah, where residents have been advocating for upgrades, said that cell projects historically have been met with plenty of pushback on Martha's Vineyard.

“Any change in Martha's Vineyard is treated with hostility,” Madison told The Martha's Vineyard Times. “People want to know how big, where, size, and whether it's green or red.” 

Some carriers, however, have been managing to make improvements despite the challenges and reactions from residents.

Verizon, one of the major carriers for the Island, said it has several ideas in the planning stages to improve service, especially given the rise in the Island's population during the summer.

“This influx puts a significant strain on the Island's cellular infrastructure due to the sharp rise in network usage and ultimately results in congestion, slower data speeds, and intermittent connectivity,” a Verizon spokesperson said in a statement to the Times. 

AT&T spokesperson Avery Cooper confirmed that AT&T made upgrades on the Cape and Islands before the summer season to provide 5G, including the addition of “multiple cell towers to the Oak Bluffs area.”  

Roni Singleton, a T-Mobile spokesperson, reported in a statement that the carrier is “constantly working to improve coverage on the Island.”

Besides the service providers' infrastructures, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile also use the resources of American Tower, a telecommunications infrastructure company that maintains an up-Island distributed antenna system, or DAS. A DAS strategically places nodes to enhance signal strength for cell phones. More urgent calls have been made to improve cell phone reliability in up-Island communities, including from town officials.