Growing Wireless: A Growing Network of Cell Towers Supports Our Wireless Communication Needs

Hundreds of cell towers dot the Knox County landscape. Where are they? How tall are they? What types of towers are the most prevalent? How do our zoning codes affect them?

For many of us, wireless telecommunications towers fade into the background of other towers, utility tanks, light poles and transmission lines, but we increasingly rely on them for our communications.

Towers connect our cell phones, smartphones, and tablets, which are an increasingly important part of our lives. Not only are more people using these devices, the use of data intensive applications is increasingly the norm. To meet the bandwidth demands associated with this growth, 200 telecommunications towers have been constructed across the county over the last two decades.

Try our new interactive web application to learn more

MPC will soon begin reviewing the 2002 Wireless Communications Facilities Plan and elements of the telecommunications ordinances for the City of Knoxville and Knox County. The update will include evaluations of landscape screening, setbacks, promoting certain types of technology, and standards. This application highlights trends over the last two decades to help inform those updates of local plans and regulations.

To learn more about the trends in Knox County, check out Growing Wireless.