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N.D. PSC to hold cell service hearing in Hatton
Jan 05, 2009 (Grand Forks Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
The North Dakota Public Service Commission will conduct a Zap the Gap wireless communication service hearing Jan. 19 in Hatton, N.D.
The hearing, which was postponed in December because of poor driving conditions, begins at 6 p.m. in the Hatton Community Center, 500 Railroad Ave. E.
Local residents in the Traill County town of about 700 say cell phone service is virtually non-existent most of the time. They are lobbying for a wireless provider to erect a cell tower in or near the community.
The hearing is being called under the PSC's Zap the Gap initiative, launched in 2004, which is designed to encourage wireless investment in North Dakota.
While the PSC does not have the authority to order wireless providers to change their service offerings or expand coverage areas, it can offer providers with consumer information and data that may help them make decisions about service improvements.
Hatton is about 35 miles southwest of Grand Forks.
Hatton's wireless connectivity issues surfaced during a 2007 study conducted for the Grand Forks Region Base Realignment Impact Committee, which is examining the potential impact of mission realignment at Grand Forks Air Force Base.
The base has begun the process of phasing out its 319th Air Refueling Wing, distributing the tankers to other bases, replacing it with an Unmanned Aerial System, which means the base will host Global Hawk and Predator unmanned vehicles.
The unmanned vehicles will be flown by remote pilots located at the North Dakota Air National Guard's 119th Air Wing, based in Fargo.
Air base officials estimate almost half of its air crews will be leaving Grand Forks in the next six months.
Reach Bonham at (701) 780-1110; (800) 477-6572, ext. 110; or send e-mail to kbonham@gfherald.com.
To see more of the Grand Forks Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.grandforks.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.
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