‘It’s been abysmal’: Hanover resident describes his cell service over the past four years

HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Residents in Hanover County have been at odds with their spotty cell phone service for over four years. They feel their cell phone company has forgotten about them.

“It’s been abysmal,” said Hanover resident Dennis O’Brien.

O’Brien said he and his neighbors in Hanover’s Milestone neighborhood haven’t had reliable cell service in years.

“Dropped calls constantly,” he said. “No matter where you are and it seems to be, oddly enough, not just here but all over Hanover.”

O’Brien is in a Facebook group with 574 other Hanover residents — and they’re all frustrated with their service.

“Beaverdam, Ashland, here, down in Mechanicsville proper — anywhere in Hanover, it’s just an absolute joke,” he said. “But you cross the bridge into Henrico at any point, it’s perfect.”

However, all of that could be changing by the end of the year, according to Deputy County Administrator Todd Kilduff, who said the county is just waiting for Verizon to install equipment on a new cell phone tower. Kilduff said Hanover officials have been in constant contact with Verizon and they expect this to be done in the next few months.

O’Brien had heard the end of June — but they’ve since increased the deadline.

“We’ve been told this will be fixed in six months for four years,” he said. “To me, that’s the biggest lie of all.”

O’Brien has lived in his home for 23 years. He said that, before 2020, the service was fine. But then the cell tower at the New Highlands Baptist Church was struck by lightning and burned down.

The county put up a temporary tower, then another, and now there’s an official tower — but Verizon hasn’t installed its equipment on it yet. O’Brien said he tried going through other carriers like AT&T, but to no avail. They all go through the same tower.

Aside from the poor service being annoying, O’Brien said he is concerned about the safety aspect of having spotty service. He said some of his neighbors take care of older parents and rely on their phones.

In his case, O’Brien needs to monitor his diabetic son’s blood sugar, which he does through an app. But when he leaves his house and isn’t on wi-fi, there’s a risk the app won’t work.

“Just from the safety perspective, and — I’m sorry, I’ve spent a lot of money on these people [Verizon],” he said. “What are they doing with my money if they can’t fix a tower in four and a half years?”

According to O’Brien, he’s paid over $10,000 for wireless service that doesn’t work.

O’Brien has reached out to Verizon, asking what exactly he’s connected to wirelessly and if he’s even connected to the tower. He said he was told Verizon couldn’t answer his questions because it’s “internal to Verizon.”

“I said, ‘Well, I’m internal to Verizon, because I am paying my bill every month.’”

Verizon did not respond to 8News’ request for comment.

The county also said it’s aware of other cell service-challenged areas in Hanover, not just near New Highlands Baptist Church. Officials are reportedly advocating for additional towers in those areas, as well.

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