But cell phone service providers are trying to remedy the situation.

Every few months, there is a proposal for a new cell phone tower in Saratoga.

This time it is the turn of Cingular Wireless.

At a Saratoga Planning Commission meeting on Oct. 27, the representatives of Cingular Wireless got permission to build a new cell tower at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on Saratoga Avenue.

They will now apply for a building permit. The tower is expected to be complete by April next year, according to Luke Stamos, the planner for Ruth and Going Inc., the engineering firm associated with the project.

The proposed tower will be disguised as a 60-foot-high redwood tree. It would support and screen six Cingular PCS antennas.

Stamos said at the meeting that since cell phone consumers were on the rise, companies had no choice but to go into residential areas. "Our tower is not going to interfere with radio and television frequencies. All our sites have a GPS system tied into the 911 services. It would tell the emergency services the location from where a person is calling," said Stamos.

He claimed that the church greatly appreciated the revenue it would be getting by the installation of the antenna.

Jeff Johnson, a resident from the area, also spoke at the meeting. "My wife travels around the world. She needs a quad-band technology cell phone so that she can use it abroad to call home. Cingular is one of the few services to offer that kind of phone," he said.

Johnson said that he had very weak reception for the phone that he currently used. He also said that installation of the antenna would foster a sense of competition and improve cell phone services in the city.

A cell phone tower disguised as a flagpole is scheduled to go up at the library next year. Another "invisible" tower is scheduled to go up at the Saratoga High School by next spring.