CUMBERLAND – The installation of a cell phone antenna in a church steeple has been hailed as a “win-win situation” for the telecommunications company and the congregation.

U.S. Cellular expects to complete work this week at the Congregational Church in Cumberland, where the old wooden top of the steeple was removed to make way for the antenna. The device will be hidden inside a replacement plastic and fiberglass steeple.

Besides paying a rental fee to the church for use of the steeple, the company is spending thousands of dollars shoring up the church tower supporting the steeple, which dates back to the 1800s.

For U.S. Cellular, the benefit lies in having an antenna that will provide better service for cell phone customers while remaining hidden from view.

Use of church steeples as sites for antennas has become increasingly common. The First Parish Congregational Church in Yarmouth had an antenna installed in its steeple about a month ago.

While he could not provide statistics on how many church steeples are used for the purpose, U.S. Cellular spokesman John Simley said the company strives to place its antennas unobtrusively on existing structures such as water towers or steeples – which typically are the tallest buildings in a town.

“It’s kind of a win-win situation,” said Doug Pride, chairman of the Cumberland Congregational Church’s stewardship ministry committee. “They get an antenna and we get some compensation.”

He and other cell phone users in town also expect to get better reception from the antenna on the 80-foot church tower. “This is one of the areas where cell phone use is a bit limited,” Pride said. He said U.S. Cellular approached the church a few months ago to propose the tower.

Church members would not disclose the size of the monthly payment for use of the steeple, and Simley would only say that his company negotiates a fee for each situation.

“It ranges quite a bit depending on the value of the tower to us,” he said. The fees can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars, he said.