Lakewood Residents Say Verizon Is Dropping the Ball…Along with Their Calls

 

Isaac Shadpour

“Whoops, just lost you again!” I found myself saying those words more than once during a phone interview with Lakewood Mayor Ray Coles. The irony was staring me in the face. We were speaking about the growing number of complaints from Lakewood residents over Verizon Wireless service, yet the mayor himself was cutting in and out during the conversation. At one point, his voice became so garbled that I had to ask him to repeat himself several times. As it turned out, Mayor Coles was calling from his Verizon cell phone, making him not just an observer of the problem but one of its many frustrated customers.

 

Bar none, residents want to be heard

 

For months, The Voice has been hearing from residents throughout Lakewood and neighboring communities who say Verizon Wireless service has deteriorated dramatically. Many report dropped calls, poor voice quality, text messages that refuse to send, and mobile data that slows to a crawl or stops working altogether. Some readers say they have switched to other carriers and immediately noticed an improvement, while others continue hoping Verizon will address what they describe as a worsening problem.

Seeking answers, The Voice reached out to Verizon, which pointed to a combination of rapid population growth, infrastructure hurdles, and the ongoing transition from 4G LTE to newer 5G technology as the potential source of the issues.

In a statement provided to The Voice, Verizon said:

“Lakewood is one of the fastest-growing communities in New Jersey, and meeting the rapidly increasing demand for data requires continuous infrastructure development.

Expanding mobile coverage in Lakewood presents unique local challenges, particularly securing approvals and municipal permissions for new network infrastructure, such as macro cell towers. The local residents in Lakewood express significant opposition to any new deployment to improve service in the area. This opposition makes it especially difficult to find landlords who are willing to allow us to construct a cell site on their property.

In the face of this opposition, Verizon is eager to advance long term infrastructure in Lakewood Township. To that end, we have two macro projects currently open, meaning that we are actively searching for locations that are not progressing rapidly but remain active. While navigating these site acquisition and legal processes can significantly extend timeline goals, our teams remain fully dedicated to finding paths forward.

Additionally, as part of our ongoing efforts to modernize our overall network, we are actively transitioning network spectrum from 4G LTE to advanced 5G technology. In Lakewood, where a higher percentage of residents currently rely on 4G LTE-only devices compared to the rest of the Tri-State area, this transition can temporarily impact performance during peak times for those on legacy hardware. Upgrading to 5G-standalone capable devices allows customers to take full advantage of our newest capacity and fastest speeds.

We care deeply about our customers in Lakewood and are eager to work side-by-side with local leadership, community representatives, and residents to address these infrastructure hurdles together. We are actively reviewing the specific areas you mentioned, including the Westgate neighborhood, to identify opportunities for enhancement.

If any of the customers you spoke with are willing to grant permission for us to review their specific account details or device settings, our technical support teams would be glad to look directly into their line data to optimize their connectivity.”

 

More bars in Bear Country

 

Mayor Coles told The Voice that he appreciates Verizon’s willingness to communicate, but he believes the issue runs much deeper than simply adding more towers or encouraging people to upgrade their phones.

“Not only am I aware of the problems, I’m a victim of them too,” Coles noted when asked about the complaints. “My service at my office, my service at home, in a lot of places around Lakewood is horrible.”

According to the mayor, the problems affect both voice and data.

“Phone calls drop in the middle of a conversation. Sometimes I can’t even dial out.”

As someone who frequently travels throughout New Jersey for work, Coles said the problem becomes obvious every morning.

“When I leave work in the morning to go on a service call, I can’t even sync up my map program until I’m somewhere in Howell half the time.”

Interestingly, Coles said the issue is not limited to Lakewood.

“It’s a problem everywhere at times,” he described, mentioning parts of Jackson, Route 195, Brick, and sections of Route 70.

Then he shared an experience that left him shaking his head.

“I was in Alaska in May, driving in a bus in the back roads of Alaska, and I had service 99.9 percent of the time. New Jersey? I can’t even get it to work at my house.”

Verizon has suggested that resistance to new towers has made expanding capacity more difficult. Coles acknowledged that public opposition has existed for years, but he rejected the idea that the township itself has prevented Verizon from improving its network.

“Verizon has every right to come in and request a cell tower at a specific location,” he explained. “It has to go to the Planning Board, and the Planning Board votes on it. The Township Committee is not telling them they can’t do anything.”

He recalled a controversy several years ago over a proposed tower in northern Lakewood that ultimately resulted in Verizon placing a tower just across the municipal border in Howell.

 

Is it the towers…or something else?

 

Still, Coles believes the real problem may be something else entirely.

“I just don’t think they can handle the capacity anymore.”

He pointed to Lakewood’s explosive population growth and the enormous number of people relying on wireless devices every day.

“Lakewood is the most populous town in the area. Many people are using cell phones for communication every minute of every day.”

The mayor also recalled working closely with Verizon several years ago when the company said older 3G phones were consuming valuable bandwidth needed for newer 4G service.

At the time, the township partnered with a company that provided community-friendly filtered phones capable of using 4G technology. Special events were held, and residents were encouraged to upgrade.

“We made every attempt to get people in town to leave the 3G behind and go onto the 4G,” Coles said.

That history, however, has left him with questions about Verizon’s latest explanation.

“If 3G was a problem and we all switched to 4G, why are you saying now that 4G is a problem and we all have to shift to 5G? I’m not an engineer. I’m not a scientist. But I know how to call nonsense out when I see it.”

He added that his own connectivity problems actually became more noticeable after upgrading to a newer 5G capable iPhone. While Verizon says upgrading devices can improve performance, Coles believes the company must first convince customers that the explanation matches what they’re experiencing.

“Verizon is going to have to convince me that I’m the problem before I can fix the problem.”

 

Making the connection

 

Despite his criticism, the mayor repeatedly emphasized that he wants to work with Verizon rather than simply complain.

If the company can demonstrate that another community-wide upgrade would genuinely improve service, he said, the township is prepared to help once again.

“If they can come to me and make a case that it’s a 4G backlog and we need to move people off, and they can provide a phone that’s affordable and meets the requirements of the township, we’ll do the same thing. We’ll do a big push and try to get people to switch over.”

He added that Verizon also needs to do a better job communicating with the public.

“They’ve got to do a much better job communicating to people, trying to clear up any misinformation that there might be around cell phones.”

Until then, Coles says he remains what thousands of local residents already are: a frustrated Verizon customer. “I’ve been with Verizon since my very first cell phone back in the 1990s. Loyalty means something to me,” he said. “But lately I’m wondering if I might just have to switch.”

We have informed Verizon that Mayor Ray Coles has expressed a willingness to work with the company to improve service. As the voice of Lakewood residents, we’re hopeful that this article will help bring Verizon and township officials to the table to work toward real solutions.