A different kind of pole has begun showing up along busy roads across Beaufort and Bluffton in recent months, prompting questions from residents about what they are being used for.
The mystery poles, it turns out, are small cell towers being erected by Verizon, the big phone company, as part of an upgrade that will improve mobile data speed and access connectivity, Verizon said. The poles allow transmission rates that had been previously only available through traditional cell towers, according to the South Carolina Association of Counties.
Alonso Castillo Cuevas, a Verizon spokesman, told the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet Verizon is expanding its network infrastructure in Beaufort to enhance coverage and capacity in high-demand areas along Robert Smalls Parkway, Ribaut Road and Boundary Street…