The cellphone service in the Wintergreen area has evolved a great deal over the years but it is now to the point where no big changes are seen coming; what you see on your cellphone’s signal strength indicator is what you’ve got. And, thanks to the mountains and trees, what you get signal-wise depends a lot on where you are.
There are now seven cell phone towers on the mountain and two in Stoney Creek, says Curtis Sheets, who is the lead administrator regarding cell towers on Wintergreen property in addition to his job as chief of Wintergreen Fire and Rescue operations. 5G is now on most towers here.
Which cell phone service provider is the best choice for those at Wintergreen? There is no clear champion, says Sheets. It depends on where you live and how you travel. AT&T had an overall coverage advantage at one time, but the T-Mobile and Sprint merger means T-Mobile now has a significant edge in this area.
As a public safety professional Sheets would like to see more of Wintergreen covered with adequate cell phone service. Much of the northern half of the homes on the mountain now have no cell coverage and there are dead spots areas in Stoney Creek. While he couldn't go into specifics, he said the property owners association would likely "cut a deal" with a provider to broaden the coverage in some areas.
Wintergreen's mountain got one new cell phone tower in 2018, saw another tower expanded in 2019 and, in the same year, Beech Grove (at Routes 151 and 664) saw a new tower. In 2017 T-Mobile to the mountain.
Verizon's old wooden pole tower was replaced in late 2019 with a taller steel tower on the same location (on Water Works Lane, across from Founder Overlook on Wintergreen Drive). The taller tower has increased the area covered. Verizon also added a tower on Beech Grove Road near Devils Backbone.
Both Verizon's replacement tower and T-Mobile's newest tower (on Fern Circle at the water tank just off Devil's Knob Loop) expanded coverage a great deal.
AT&T has long had towers in the valley at the fire station in Stoney Creek and three on the mountain. Two of AT&T's towers are near the other cell towers on Fern Circle and Water Works Lane, plus AT&T has a lone tower at the top of the Big Acorn ski lift (near Pinnacle Drive).
T-Mobile is on the towers at Routes 151 and 6. The T-Mobile offers good coverage in much of Stoney Creek (with a tower at the water tank off of Hearthstone Lane). T-Mobile has two formerly Sprint towers on the mountain as well as a tower where Beech Grove Road meets Route 151. Verizon–which has only one tower at Wintergreen–has long had the best coverage throughout Nelson County, notes Sheets, but Verizon’s advantage isn’t what it once was.
Note: This 2017 report was updated on February 12, 2020, to say the mountain’s Verizon tower’s work is done and the Verizon tower near Devils Backbone is live, plus made note of the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. Updated on March 17, 2018, to reflect that the new T-Mobile tower is live. It was reviewed and updated in November 2023 to include the merger of Sprint and T-Mobile.