Data Tower Expansion to Earn Township $246K a Year

Mahwah is expanding one of its cell and data towers, and the change is expected to bring in an extra $200,000 each year.

At a township council meeting last Thursday, the council approved a proposed addition to a monopole outside town hall. According to township officials at the meeting, a data company called Wireless Holdings Network will add 30 feet to the 120-foot pole.

The company was awarded a bid Thursday that will allow it to use the extended pole for a $246,000 annual fee paid to the township.

The pole currently makes about $40K, NorthJersey.com reported.

At the meeting Thursday, Business Administrator Brian Campion explained that the company will likely use the pole for data transmission, not just as a cell phone tower, which explains the bump in price, and why Wireless’s bid was much higher than cell phone companies who also placed bids for the chance to expand and use the pole.

NorthJersey.com reported that once this project is complete, this tower and two other poles in the township, one on Stag Hill and another on Campgaw Road, will bring in about $500,000 annually to the township. This project must go through engineering and design tests, and be approved by the planning board before it is implemented, the report said.