For so many people, a cellphone can be a lifeline. But unreliable service can turn a simple phone call, text message, or internet search into a frustrating — and sometimes dangerous — chore. Across the South Fork, residents say dropped calls and bad connections are making everyday communication harder.
A reliable cellphone signal is no longer a convenience but a necessity, and during summer months, residents say it’s nearly impossible to access service in some areas because of increased strain on networks.
Jan Bello, a mail carrier for the past four years who services Springs and some parts of East Hampton, said that during his shift, he takes his break at a friendly customer’s house near Three Mile Harbor Road who has shared his Wi-Fi password with him.
“Three Mile Harbor service is so bad,” he said, adding that he is unable to contact his family during his break without a Wi-Fi signal. And, he said, if he needed to contact the post office during his shift, he would be unable to.
“Out here in the Hamptons where there’s so many people we should have service like anywhere else,” he said.
Springs has been an area particularly plagued by spotty service and dead zones. In 2023, a 185-foot tower was constructed at Camp Blue Bay on Flaggy Hole Road that, at the time, promised to increase coverage but not eliminate service gaps entirely.
And in June, officials in Sag Harbor approved a temporary whip antenna to be installed on top of the Municipal Building on Main Street.
“It’s a major improvement for this area,” an AT&T representative, Dan Gustaferri of Airosmith Development, said of the installation earlier this year. He estimated the pole could handle an additional 50 to 100 simultaneous calls and an unlimited number of text messages.
In the village, cellphone service has long been spotty, a significant issue for people using paid parking, which is accessed through a cellphone application or a phone call.
Bad wireless service can complicate a parker’s ability to register and pay.
The new antenna at the municipal building is set to remain in place until next summer.
A Sag Harbor resident said this week that emergency service workers may be saddled with more than their fair share of the problem but the official verdict is still out. Mr. Gustaferri had not responded to requests for comment on the effectiveness of the new antenna in Sag Harbor by press time.
East Hampton Village uses a similar paid parking system, but there, users have slightly more reliable service. At Main Beach, East Hampton Village has provided Wi-Fi since 2021 through Hamptons.com.
Hamptons.com offers its free Wi-Fi service at six additional East Hampton town locations and two in Sag Harbor.
Julia Mead, who lives just outside East Hampton Village, described her mobile phone reception with one word: “terrible.”
Ms. Mead feeds feral cats on Hand’s Creek Road, which she said is a dead zone from Oakview Highway to nearly the end of the road at the launching ramp. She worries about her car breaking down and being in an accident with no cellphone service. After going through several service providers, she ultimately landed on Optimum.
While she was canvassing earlier this year for Lukas Ventouras, a Democratic candidate for the First Congressional seat, she said “it was an absolute struggle” to work with the online application used by the campaign to locate registered voters. She said she would drive to a location with some service, connect, and make notes on her next stops, where she knew she would not have service.
“Half the time, I had no cellphone service at all,” she said. Her canvassing area encompassed Whalebone Woods and surrounding streets, some way up Three Mile Harbor Road and Hand’s Creek Road.
And those are far from the only areas affected by the lack of coverage.
Andrea Grossman, who lives in Northwest Woods, said last week that she can “drive from my house . . . all the way to Georgica [Beach], sit at the beach for three hours, drive home, and never have cellphone service.”
At her house, she said she has no service at all and uses Wi-Fi calling, which only works if the internet is working.
“That’s how we live, and it’s really unacceptable,” she said.
For her, the summer crush of visitors is only part of the problem. During the winter storm last year when her internet service was out, she said she walked a mile in the snow to try to get phone service.
Verizon recently announced that it has installed a permanent satellite backup on Ocracoke, a barrier island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The equipment is backed up by battery power that kicks on when there are outages.
Verizon’s media representative, Karen Schulz, did not respond to questions of whether a similar setup would be beneficial in a larger town like East Hampton. Ocracoke has a population of only 1,000 year-round residents.
Ms. Mead said while that technology sounded promising it may not be necessary. “We’re not that isolated,” she said, adding that during a recent trip she traveled the perimeter of Iceland without ever losing wireless service.
East Hampton Town did employ a temporary pole, or cell on wheels, during the transition to the Camp Blue Bay tower. A tower at the Springs Fire Department, which many residents hoped would help to alleviate coverage gaps (as well as improve emergency communications), was never operational.
The town has long struggled to balance the need for wireless towers with the desire to protect the character of the town. Back in 2020, former Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc called the existing infrastructure “piecemeal at best” and hired a communications consultant and revised town code. In 2024, a wireless telecommunications master plan was completed that identified over 40 locations for potential wireless facilities all over town.
“I understand the frustration of dropped calls and the potential harm of not having service in an emergency. We will continue to press forward to resolve these issues,” Mr. Van Scoyoc said at the time. In the six years since, the problems persist. The cellular carrier T-Mobile partnered with the town last year to plan a series of what are known as “small cells,” shorter, less visually prominent towers on public property along with traditional towers and antenna installations on existing utility poles. That build-out is planned to be completed next year.
Patrick Derenze, East Hampton Town’s public information officer, provided a 38-page report outlining T-Mobile’s plans. In it, a map of existing coverage shows no coverage in most of Springs, all of Northwest Woods, all of Napeague, and most of Montauk. A map of projected coverage still shows parts of Springs, Napeague, and Montauk without coverage. However, Northwest Woods would see a significant increase in service. In all, the company has scouted 189 potential locations in town for the new equipment. While T-Mobile is the only service provider locked in, it said that each location could be shared with as many as three separate carriers.
