TV district to test expansion upgrades for Lake Havasu starting today

LAKE HAVASU CITY – The Mohave County Board of Supervisors approved funding in their FY23 budget for upgrading and expanding the County’s Television District into the Lake Havasu City area.  “There are many residents on the south side and even some centrally located in Lake Havasu who cannot get TV service; however, they are paying roughly between $10-$20 a year for it on their property tax bills,” Supervisor Buster Johnson stated.  “In order to be able to provide all of Lake Havasu City with service, we put it into this year’s budget to build another TV tower in Lake Havasu to provide more coverage to those underserved areas,” Johnson continued.  A recent update however, by the Mohave County Television service provider, WECOM, to the Supervisor’s office, outlined why the original plan would no longer be an option.

Barbara Spoonhour, Administrative Services Director for Mohave County, has been attempting to work with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the better part of four months now trying to get federal approval for a new tower.  “We finally were able to determine and get a straight answer from the FCC; and their answer was that they had put a freeze on any new towers,” Johnson explained.  This will leave the County with two options going forward: 
1) To upgrade existing equipment on their current Goat Hill facility site and see if it is enough to reach those underserved areas 
or 
2) move the Goat Hill equipment to a better location to try and serve all areas, which could be done under FCC rules for modification, while still hooking to the tower on Goat Hill.  
The TV District and WECOM have decided to first go forward with equipment upgrades.  “In working with our engineers, they believe that if we update our equipment and provide a stronger signal, we can reach just as many Lake Havasu customers as if we were moving the Goat Hill equipment,” Johnson said.  

Today, Monday, January 9, WECOM will have loaner equipment installed, and they will begin running signal tests throughout the week.  “If WECOM can get the coverage everyone expects, we will then move into full implementation of the project,” Johnson explained.  During the test, WECOM will endeavor to keep any interruptions to a minimum; however, during this time, if there are interruptions, it is recommended that folks do not scan their TV channels.