A small town is still dealing with ongoing issues related to a T-Mobile cell tower.

AT&T and Verizon agreed to pay up to lease a tower in Connecticut, while T-Mobile has refused.
T-Mobile is embroiled in a dispute over a cell tower in Weston, Connecticut, a town near New York City. At issue is a tower on the municipal campus on Norfield Road, which the town acquired in late 2024. New leases were then offered to T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. First Selectwoman Samantha Nestor said that "straightforward negotiations" led to agreements with two carriers to use the tower.
AT&T agreed to a lease of $85,000, and Verizon signed a $94,000 lease with "modest increases" over the coming years. Both agreed to make payments retroactive to when the Town took ownership. However, T-Mobile declined the Town's offer of $88,200 for the lease's first year, countering with an offer of $30,251.76, which the town did not accept.
T-Mobile then said it would remove its equipment from Weston, ending service there. Nestor stated that T-Mobile has been "unwilling to move from that offer" and has not paid rent since Weston took over in December. Nestor said tower revenues offset taxpayer expenses for maintenance, the emergency dispatch center, and administration.
Nestor stated, "This tower is a Town-owned asset... it’s only fair that the companies using it pay something that reflects its value... Accepting significantly less would not be in the best interest of Weston taxpayers."
Weston Today reported earlier this month that T-Mobile technical support claimed the provider was "up and running," with "no outages." However, the newspaper had been contacted by local T-Mobile subscribers reporting a loss of signal.
T-Mobile stated, "Our priority is keeping customers in Weston and across Connecticut connected... service in the community continues, and nearby sites have been optimized." It is unknown how many subscribers have maintained connectivity due to optimization.
T-Mobile has not increased its rental offer and intends to decommission its equipment. T-Mobile occupies the highest position on the tower.
T-Mobile says it will still serve the community using a 185-foot tower owned by Weston at another location. With this site operating, T-Mobile subscribers are experiencing only one bar of connectivity, enabling text messaging but limiting phone calls. One customer obtained a refund after contacting the Better Business Bureau. T-Mobile's coverage map still indicates coverage in Weston.
Nestor noted that T-Mobile USA's gross revenues were $81.4 billion with a gross profit of $51.747 billion for 2024, adding that "A rent increase of $57,948 per year does not appear to be excessive." Nestor believes T-Mobile's decommissioning is intended to "create fear and anxiety among Weston residents... to intimidate a small town."