The Russian Hill Neighbors organization has renewed its opposition to the proposed installation by AT&T of hundreds of above-ground utility cabinets. The organization’s president, Dan Holligan, informed members in August that RHN has “vehemently opposed this construction for several years and will continue to do so.”
At issue is the placement of four-foot-tall utility cabinets near some of AT&T’s boxes as part of an extension of the company’s fiber network, bringing high-speed fiber closer to more of its customers’ homes and enabling it to deliver more digital communications services.
The plan has been a source of contention for years, including a legal fight that resulted in a court ruling in AT&T’s favor. In addition to RHN, opposition has come from such groups as SF Beautiful, which argues that the cabinets should be on private property or placed underground. The Coalition for San Francisco neighborhoods has even issued literature with instructions on how to formally protest “these monstrosities.”
AT&T said that it has worked with local neighborhood and merchants associations and conducted “site walks” to determine the best locations for the utility cabinets.
