Tired of cell phone calls dropping out? Here’s some good news: New mini cell towers that augment service in dead spots and high-demand locations are going up in Huntersville, and other nearby towns are watching carefully how they work out.

Called distributed antenna systems, the poles are being put up by private companies, which then sell their services to major cell phone companies.

“In plain English, these poles provide cellular service in areas of high demand” said . “Basically they fill in the gaps where the regular cell towers don’t provide great service,” according to Janet Pierson, Huntersville’s town clerk. The same poles have come under fire in communities like Piper Glen.

Crown Castle and American Tower have placed 78 in Huntersville during the past several months. “The coverage gaps are really needed due to the increasing use of data on the newer smart phones,” Pierson added. “It’s pretty much a data capacity issue.”

Winston Salem-based Crown Castle designs, engineers, constructs, installs, operates and maintains the small cell networks and associatedfacilities” said spokesman Sandy deSostoa “Although it is Crown Castle’s preference to attach its equipment to an existing pole, in some instances a new pole may be set in the public right-of-way, an expense which is borne by Crown Castle.” The company says their mini-towers, also called nodes, are in line with FCC rules and regulations.