Locating Cell Towers Near Me: A Step-By-Step Guide

Often times, when looking at cellular carriers, we are concerned with coverage. Carriers are in a race to blanket the largest area with service, and areas without cell coverage are becoming fewer and further between. What is good news for our devices, however, can be detrimental to our health.

Individuals who suffer from Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity, for example, may experience a variety of symptoms when near a cell tower or other strong generator of EMF radiation. Furthermore, RF-EMF radiation, the same type that is emitted from a cell tower, has been recognized by the World Health Organization’s International Association for Research on Cancer as possibly carcinogenic for humans.

If you are concerned about the potential health effects of cell tower radiation, you may be wondering: “How can I locate cell towers near me?”

This guide seeks to answer that question. We’ll go over a few different resources for locating nearby towers, as well as how you can test the radiation levels in and around your home. It’s worth noting that we will primarily be looking at 4G cell towers here. For step-by-step instructions on locating 5G cell towers, see Locating 5G Cell Towers Near Me.

AT&T

AT&T has the second-largest coverage area of any other cellular provider. When it comes to 4G, AT&T blankets approximately 68% of the United States. As you can see from the coverage map below (accessible here), there are a few dead areas but much of the contiguous United States is covered.

Now, let’s take a look at their exact tower locations for a sample area. We’ll go over how you can find out this information for your own hometown, as well.

AT&T cell phone tower map

The above image, obtained using CellMapper.net shows the location of AT&T’s 4G cell towers around the Denver metropolitan area. The numbers inside the yellow circles signify how many towers are in that general vicinity. If we zoom in to one specific area further, we can see the precise tower locations.

Once zoomed in, you can click on a circle in order to see the overall range of the transmitter.

This essentially tells us not only where the cell tower is, but what homes and structures are within its range.

The color of the tower’s dot corresponds to its signal strength. For example, a bright green dot transmits between -40 and 85 dBm.

AT&T towers near me

To find this information out about your own area, you can use CellMapper.net. First, navigate over to that web page and your screen will look something like this.

The primary difference is that instead of showing Denver, your screen will show your local area. Zoom in or out using the plus and minus sign on the map to find your exact neighborhood. Then, you need to select a provider. Each cell provider has different tower locations, and since we’re looking at AT&T right now, we’ll first find them in our drop-down menu.

As a shortcut, to find AT&T you can type in “310”.

Select AT&T, and then shift your focus to the “Network” field. Click the drop-down arrow, and your options will look something like this.

Select 4G, and allow the map to populate. You are now looking at the locations of all AT&T 4G cell towers near you. Note that while Cell Mapper does provide the locations of some 5G towers, it does not show them all. For instance, if you search for 5G towers in Denver it returns no results even though AT&T rolled out 5G in the area in March 2020. If you want to see 5G towers, follow our advice earlier and head over to Locating 5G Cell Towers Near Me.

Sprint and T-Mobile

In August of 2020, Sprint and T-Mobile completed a merger that had been in the works for nearly two years. They have mostly rebranded as T-Mobile, erasing the Sprint name. In spite of that, it’s anticipated that it will be another two or three years before both carriers are operating on the same network, For now, Sprint users rely on one set of towers while T-Mobile relies on another.

T-Mobile’s 4G coverage area: (map accessible here)

Sprint’s 4G coverage area: (map accessible here)

Sprint and T-Mobile cell phone tower map

As mentioned earlier, the two carriers utilize separate towers. For now, Sprint uses CDMA while T-Mobile uses GSM technology, although that could change in the future. For the purposes of this guide, however, we’ll look at their tower locations separately. CellMapper.net will again be our tool of choice for this section.

In our sample area, Denver, here is the location of Sprint’s 4G cell towers.

Next, we have the location of T-Mobile’s 4G cell towers.

Sprint and T-Mobile towers near me

First, let’s pull up the data for Sprint. From the Cell Mapper homepage, click on the Select a Provider drop-down menu and select “Sprint – 310120”. For network, we’re still looking for 4G

Once the map populates, we can see the location of Sprint 4G cell towers in the area. Navigate over to your exact neighborhood and zoom in for more information.

To see the location of T-Mobile’s towers, again click on the drop-down menu under Select A Provider. This time, you’re looking for T-Mobile USA – 310260.

Select T-Mobile and wait for the map top populate. From there, you can see the T-Mobile 4G towers in your area.

Verizon

Verizon’s network is well-known for its extensive coverage. It’s estimated that the carrier covers 70% of the United States, reaching around 98% of Americans. Their current 4G LTE coverage map looks like this (and is accessible here).

In order to achieve that much coverage, how many towers does Verizon need?

Verizon cell phone tower map

It’s difficult to find an exact number of towers that Verizon has, but the above image from CellMapper.net shows that the number is pretty substantial. For comparison’s sake, this is the same map for AT&T:

And T-Mobile:

And Sprint:

Going back to our local example, this is what Verizon’s tower locations look like in the Denver metropolitan area.

Verizon towers near me

To find where the Verizon towers near your home are, you will once again make use of Cell Mapper. This time, under the Select A Provider screen, type in “311” to bring up Verizon – 311480.

Select Verizon, and the map will populate for your local area. Again, you can zoom in on the tower and click on it to reveal more information on the transmission range.

Testing tower radiation near your home

If you’re curious how much radiation from a nearby tower actually reaches your home, you can check that, as well. The caveat, however, is that it requires the use of an EMF meter. If you don’t already have one, we usually recommend the TriField TF2. There is also our guide to EMF meters for any budget if you need more help selecting the right meter for you.

Once you select a meter, head outside and turn it on. If you have visual contact with the tower, you can test the strength at a variety of distances, similar to in this video.

You can check the levels inside your house, as well. It’s important to note, however, that you will also be picking up EMF from other devices in and around your home. Even if you were to turn off your electricity completely, your meter will likely still pick up radiation from surrounding WiFi signals, smart meters, power lines, and other devices. Cell towers aren’t the only thing generating EMF radiation around your neighborhood — but they are a large contributor to the overall problem.

Final thoughts

The examples in this guide were based on the main cell phone carriers in the United States. If there are other, smaller carriers in your area, they may operate off their own towers, although many simply lease space on another carrier’s transmitter. Nonetheless, to check the location of smaller carrier towers, use that same Cell Mapper tool but browse the provider menu until you find the one you’re looking for.

The prevalence of cell towers means great things for our connectivity, but it comes at a huge price. EMF radiation has not been shown to be safe– in fact, there is substantial evidence to the contrary. To learn more about some of the research, head over to the Top 30 Studies on EMF Radiation.

Not only could more cell towers mean higher rates of cancer and other health issues, but consider life as a person with Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity. There are very few pockets of the country that are completely devoid of cell coverage. The spots that do exist tend to be quite rural and far-flung, making finding housing and work a challenge.

Fortunately, there are some things that can be done to reduce your exposure to EMF radiation from cell towers and other sources without having to relocate to a remote corner of the world. The Definitive Guide to Whole House Protection can help with actionable solutions to make your home an EMF-free oasis.