D.C. Court of Appeals Agrees to Expedited Review of Case Challenging Backup Power Mandate
The D.C. Court of Appeals agreed to an expedited pleading cycle in a challenge by CTIA of an FCC mandate that cellsites and other telecom facilities usually running on local commercial power have emergency backup sources. The decision means CTIA and others in the industry should have a relatively quick decision in the case, though the actual hearing’s date is unclear. The court has yet to act on a Sprint Nextel move to stay the order while the case plays out.
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The backup power requirement was based on findings by the FCC Katrina Panel, but industry officials term it impossible to implement at many locations. In November, CTIA filed with the court asking it to vacate portions of the Katrina order mandating backup power supply. CTIA said the order exceeds FCC jurisdiction, was adopted without observance of procedures required by law and violates the Administrative Procedure Act.
Under the schedule released by the court, CTIA opening briefs and a shorter brief by petitioner USA Mobility are due Jan. 25. Intervenors supporting CTIA, which include T- Mobile, PCIA, MetroPCS and distributed antennas system company NextG Networks, must file by Feb. 1. The FCC response is due March 3 with intervenors in support of the FCC, APCO and the National Emergency Number Association required to file by March 10. The pleading cycle wraps up March 24.
In a pleading on Sprint’s request for a stay, the FCC noted that power loss after Katrina was “a major cause of widespread communications outages that severely hampered emergency response to the storm.” The FCC also noted that “in light of carriers’ concerns” about burdens from the mandate it “substantially relaxed the rule on reconsideration.” The FCC noted that the requirement doesn’t take full effect until early 2009.
The backup power mandate remains a big worry of companies owning cellsites and other communications facilities, especially distributed antenna systems, Jacqueline McCarthy, director of government affairs at PCIA, told us Friday. “The commission’s failure to make exceptions in cases where the addition of backup power is not feasible due to spatial or structural constraints really shows a lack of understanding on the commission’s part regarding zoning and the local issues that our members go through to put sites in areas where there are concerns about visual impact,” she said. “Backup power throws off that balance.”