"It is annoying to be cut in the middle of a conversation," said Tsui, an electronic engineer with a specialty in wireless connections. Tsui also chairs the Cupertino Telecommunications Commission.

"To have a good connection, the antenna has to be less than one mile away from your location," he said. "The closest antenna to my house is several miles away."

Many Cupertino residents share Tsui's frustration. The reasons for the city's poor cell phone reception is simple: Most of Cupertino's wireless facilities are built along highways 280 and 85. And a 1996 city ordinance basically restricts installing these facilities in residential areas because of safety and aesthetic concerns.

But the demand for a wireless connection at home is increasing as more people use cell phones as a major means of personal communication and for data transmission or Internet services. This means cell site facilities need to be brought into neighborhoods.

To address this trend, the city's planning staff has been working with its telecommunications commission to draft a wireless master plan so service companies can follow clear guidelines. (Right now, all wireless facility proposals are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the planning commission.)

The master plan also aims at explaining wireless technology in a simple fashion so residents can better understand it.

"This master plan is probably the first one of its kind in California," said senior planner Collin Jung, who is responsible for drafting the plan. "It's based on the staff's nine years of experience reviewing and analyzing applications for personal wireless service facilities and the evolving planning commission policy regarding the permitting of such facilities."

The draft was submitted to the planning commission for review at its July 28 meeting. The commission voted 4-0 to hold another hearing at its Sep. 22 meeting to have more public input. Chairwoman Angela Chen was absent.

Although the planners have tried to reach out since they started drafting the plan, they have received little input from residents and wireless service providers.

According to Jung, only one of eight wireless service carriers in Cupertino has accepted the city's invitation to help with the plan, and few residents have attended the telecommunications commission's public meetings. Only PG&E and Verizon Wireless sent representatives to the July 28 planning commission meeting, and no residents showed up.

"This is a great plan, but I am interested in getting more public input," said Planning Commissioner Marty Miller. "People are concerned about radio frequency radiation. We need people to be more aware of the technology and the city's plan."

PG&E representative Elizabeth Smith attributes the telecommunications industry's current financial crisis to the service providers' lack of participation.

"Our company deals with wireless service providers all the time," Smith said. "They are interested in plans like this, but they simply don't have the staff to participate."

The planning and telecommunications commissions believe more public involvement will help address people's fear of radio frequency radiation.

"I will say it is the fear of the unknown," said Telecommunications Commissioner Salvatore Algeri. "The antennas that will be allowed to be installed in the neighborhoods are very low-power and safe. They need to meet the city's and the federal government's safety requirements."

The public's input and better understanding of the technology will also help the city develop a better plan.

In the draft, elementary and middle schools are excluded from being potential sites, not because of possible health hazards but because the planning staff believes parents are more protective of their younger children and might oppose such plans. High schools are not excluded.

"You exclude elementary and middle schools from being potential sites because the children spend six hours at school every day, but you can put an antenna behind their house, where the children sleep eight hours every day. If radio frequency radiation has any health impact, that doesn't make sense to me," said Commissioner Chuck Corr while questioning the staff's recommendation to forbid installing wireless facilities throughout Cupertino Union School District property.

Even so, Corr said he understood the staff's concerns. "It is an emotional issue rather than an intellectual issue," he added.

Planning staff hopes more residents will show up at the next planning meeting.

"We develop the plan to facilitate people's use of cell phones," Jung said. "We want to know people's concerns before we finalize the plan."

Residents who are interested in reviewing the draft plan can visit the city's website at http://www.cupertino.org or contact the community development department at 408.777.3308.