Company planning to build tower, offer Sprint service

A new wireless company plans to sell Sprint PCS service in Springfield.

Roberts Wireless has purchased the former restaurant property on the corner of Battlefield and Jefferson to renovate into a technology mall, said Steven Roberts, chief operating officer and president of Roberts Wireless, a St. Louis-based provider of Sprint PCS wireless services. The company is charged with building out markets throughout Missouri for its wireless service, Roberts said.

"Sprint corporate has built out St. Louis and Kansas City. We're charged with coming in and building out markets such as Springfield, Branson, St. Joe, Pittsburg, Kan.," he said.

The company is also set to put up a 195-foot tower for its wireless service on the Jefferson and Battlefield property. City Council will May 1 hold a public hearing on a use permit for the tower.

Roberts and his brother, Michael Roberts, lead Roberts Wireless from St. Louis, but the Springfield location will be a regional hub for the company, he said. The Robertses also have a stake in several other companies in St. Louis.

Steven Roberts said the company will hire up to 50 people in the Springfield area, and it will renovate the former restaurant at Battlefield and Jefferson to 13,500 square feet of retail and office space.

"About 3,500 square feet of that space will be used for us, but the rest we will lease out to businesses that are complementary to ours," Roberts said.

Sprint PCS is digital wireless, which means it uses different technology than cellular service, Roberts said.

"We plan to completely cover the southwest Missouri market. It's really a new phone company coming to town," he said.

Roberts Wireless will have a retail store in the space at Battlefield and Jefferson, and it will employ salespeople as well as technicians.

In addition to the tower it is building, the company will need more space on towers for its system.

"We try to collocate wherever possible. Our tower itself will be able to accommodate some collocators. Right now we're identifying the tower space we'll be needing," Roberts said.

Randy Talley will serve as general manager of the Springfield office. He said the company is preparing to launch its service in the area near the end of 2000.

The Springfield market is another market being added to the nationwide PCS system Sprint is building, Talley said.

"There are two major advantages with PCS technology: clarity and dependability. A call is as clear on a PCS phone in Dallas as it is in Springfield," Talley said.