Extenet presented to North End / Waterfront Residents’ Association (NEWRA) regarding their plans to install a Wireless Distributed Antenna System Network in Boston’s North End and throughout downtown using city-owned street light poles and traffic signal posts.

Verizon and other wireless carriers would buy service from Extenet to enhance their LTE wireless coverage within Boston’s neighborhoods for phone and data use. As one of three providers allowed to install low-power antennas on city infrastructure, Extenet has about 40 such installations in Back Bay.

In the North End, 21 street lights have been identified by the company (see map below). An application to the city’s Public Improvement Commission is underway for the new antennas. In answer to a question, the representatives said the wireless power broadcast is considered “low” by FCC regulations, between 40-250 watts.

Extenet is a “neutral host” where the antennas can be used by all four of the major carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint & T-Mobile). The city’s free Wicked WiFi service will not be included as part of the Extenet antenna installations.

The antennas are targeted for street lights that resemble highway lights and on traffic intersection poles. The proposed antennas would not be installed on ornamental street lights, such as acorn lights, nor most of the new decorative black pole lights recently installed on Commercial Street (except for one location).

View the video above for the complete presentation and discussion at the NEWRA meeting.