Rehoboth’s Surf Avenue gets dune-side cellphone antenna

It’s not the Boardwalk, but it’s still just steps to the beach.

Verizon has installed a small wireless cell antenna on the east side of Rehoboth Beach’s Surf Avenue.

Located near the Pennsylvania Avenue dune crossing, the antenna was installed in early December and placed on top of an already existing light pole, said Lynne Coan, city spokesperson. No additional permit applications for that immediate area have been submitted, she said.

The new Verizon antenna is now the closest to the beach in Rehoboth. That distinction had previously belonged to an AT&T antenna that was installed at the ocean end of Stockley Street in 2020.

For now, Verizon is not pursuing Boardwalk antennas. The company approached the city in November 2019 about installing 18 antennas along the Boardwalk by replacing the existing light poles with ones that have antennas built in. In January 2021, the number dropped to 16, and then it dropped again to 12 in July 2021. The city announced in March 2022, Verizon had withdrawn all applications for the Boardwalk.

Nothing has been resubmitted to date, said Coan in an email Jan. 24.