GOLDEN GATE, Fla. — A giant tree-looking tower stands among a patch of trees in Collier County.
Although it’s disguised to look like a tree, behind its branches you’ll find something Mother Nature isn’t capable of growing: a cell phone tower.
“From right there. It looks like a real tree,” said Lovinsky Cantave.
People along Green Boulevard near Collier Boulevard in Golden Gate say they just can’t help but notice the 147-foot-tall tree. It’s nearly three times as tall as its neighbors.
“It ain’t no Christmas tree,” Michael ‘Slick’ Miller said. “If it is, we got the biggest one in town.”
It certainly does look like an artificial Christmas tree you’d find at the store. The branches are long and slender, giving you a look at the trunk of the tower.
However, Jean Dsinord didn’t even notice it, despite living right across the street.
“I wouldn’t even question it. I’m not even going to lie,” Dsinord said.
Some people on social media did, calling out the gargantuan, oversized and downright silly-looking piece of nature.
After all, it does stick out like a sore thumb.
“I think it’s cool,” Miller said.
In 2021, NBC2 first told you that more than 100 people that live in the area filed complaints with the FCC over poor cell service. They demanded change and they’re getting it in a big way.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: New cell tower proposed for Golden Gate Estates
“They got to look at the glass half full somehow, some way,” Miller said.
He doesn’t just look at the glass half full, it’s overflowing. At the end of the day, they could’ve been stuck with just a metal pole sticking up in the air.
“Oh, definitely the tree. Hell yeah. Why not,” Miller said.
“To be honest, that is way better than regular phone towers,” Dsinord added.
The site is still under construction.
According to permits filed with Collier County, Verizon, T-Mobile and Dish Wireless are among the carriers that will have antennas here.
As for when they’ll be powered on, the companies didn’t respond with a date.
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