Park OK's St. Mary tower upgrade

An environmental analysis and review process for a proposed microwave radio antenna tower in the St. Mary area of Glacier National Park has been completed and a decision to upgrade the existing infrastructure has been made.

National Park Service intermountain regional director John Wessels signed the decision on Jan. 22. The replacement tower will not be a cell tower, nor will it provide cell service; there are no cell towers in Glacier National Park.

The tower will upgrade existing infrastructure and provide DSL broadband Internet service to the greater St. Mary area. The project is part of a larger statewide Montana Public Service Commission requirement mandating CenturyLink upgrade communications capabilities at its rural exchanges. The tower will also support National Park Service radio communications equipment.