Verizon and AT&T Provided Cell Towers for McCain Ranch

The company navigated a lengthy county regulatory process that hit a snag on environmental concerns. The request ultimately prevailed when a contractor for the company invoked the Secret Service after John McCain secured the Republican nomination.

After checking with Verizon and the McCain campaign, Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said an e-mail sent in May by the service's technology manager could be perceived as a request for temporary coverage under the service's contract with Verizon.

"This was something that was being addressed before we were out there," Zahren said. The agency could have made do with existing cell coverage in the area, he said, because it uses multiple layers of communication, including a secure land radio network. Zahren said the contractor was not authorized to invoke the Secret Service in dealings with the county.

Documents that The Washington Post obtained from Arizona's Yavapai County under state public records law show how Verizon hired contractors to put a tower on the property. At that point, many counted McCain out of the race.

On Sept. 18, 2007, a contractor in Mesa, Ariz., working for Verizon surveyed the McCain property. Another contractor drafted blueprints that called for moving a utility shed and installing a 40-foot tower with two antennas and a microwave dish, surrounded by a six-foot wooden fence.

Construction costs would be $22,000, records show. Industry specialists said the figure probably covers only the tower and fence because the antennas, dish and power source would run the cost into the six figures. On Dec. 4, Cindy McCain signed a letter authorizing Verizon Wireless to act on her behalf to seek county land-use permits.

Coverage maps that a Verizon contractor submitted to the county show that the tower would fill gaps in unpopulated parts of Coconino National Forest and on about 20 parcels of land, including a handful of residences, and two small businesses open by appointment only.

"It is fairly sparsely populated in that pocket along Oak Creek," said Kathy Houchin, the Yavapai County permitting manager.

Three telecommunications specialists The Post consulted said the proposed site covers so few users that it would be unlikely to generate enough traffic to justify the investment. Robb Alarcon, an industry specialist who helps plan tower placement, said the proposed location appears to be a "strategic build," free-of-charge coverage to high-priority customers. A former Verizon executive vice president, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he worked for the company, agreed with Alarcon, saying, "It was a VIP kind of thing."

Verizon spokesman Nelson declined to comment when asked whether this had been considered a "strategic build."

Cindy McCain signed a contract with Verizon on May 6, granting free use of her property for a year in exchange for "the benefits of enhanced wireless communications arising from operation of the Facility."

Over Memorial Day, McCain hosted potential vice presidential running mates at the ranch, but the area still lacked coverage. Richard Klenner, then the wireless communications chief of the Secret Service, which had recently started providing protection, sent an e-mail to Verizon.

"Is there any way of speeding up the process?" he asked, adding that he wanted Verizon to "explore every possible means of providing an alternative cellular or data communications source in the referenced area and provide any short-term implementation of any type as a solution in the interim."

Staff researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report.