Updated Tower Rules Needed as Carriers Expand Their Networks, Industry Tells FCC
The FCC should not apply “retroactively” Federal Aviation Administration marking and lighting changes for communications towers or replace the FCC’s current “due diligence” standard with inflexible deadlines for lighting repairs, CTIA said in comments on an April 12 notice of proposed rulemaking on construction, marking, and lighting of antenna structures. NAB, PCIA, AT&T and Verizon Wireless also urged the FCC to streamline its tower rules in light of rapidly expanding communications networks.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
"The Commission should avoid rule changes that will result in inconsistencies between the FCC’s rules and those of the FAA, the expert agency tasked with recommending prospective marking and lighting for individual antenna structures schemes prior to construction or alteration,” CTIA said. “As the FCC has recognized previously, the FAA is the federal agency that has the expertise to recommend the appropriate marking and lighting of towers and non-tower structures so as to ensure the nation’s air safety.” CTIA argued that tower operators need some flexibility on deadlines for repairing lighting. “The repair of tower lighting systems does not lend itself to a specific timeframe,” the group said. “Numerous variables can impact the length of time necessary for a repair.”
CTIA also said the FCC should reject any mandate that an Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) be filed whenever the FAA issues a “determination for reasons other than changing the height, location or lighting scheme of a tower.” Also, the FCC should not require that towers post more than one sign with their ASR number, but should make clear where the sign should be located, CTIA said.
NAB warned that some of the rule changes proposed by the FCC could “impose substantial burdens” on tower operators. NAB agreed with CTIA that setting an inflexible timeframe for repairs “is not appropriate for lighting system repairs, and could be unachievable due to a variety of circumstances beyond a structure owner’s control.” Repairs “are not simply
'changing a light bulb,'” and require hiring qualified tower climbers, NAB noted.
NAB supported a proposal to eliminate inspection requirements for lighting systems. “This would appropriately focus attention on the overriding goal of the rule, namely, that lighting required under the Commission’s rule remain functional, and if this and the other obligations under the rule are not satisfied, the antenna structure owner may be subject to enforcement, regardless of the owner’s inspection practice,” the group said.
PCIA’s top recommendation is that the FCC clarify and streamline the antenna structure registration process to guarantee consistency with FAA rules and requirements. PCIA also urged the FCC to delete references in its rules to “outdated FAA Advisory Circulars” and “update and clarify” rules on the maintenance of antenna structures. “As the Commission is well aware, this is a critical time in the nation’s history for infrastructure deployment,” PCIA said. “The Commission has recently auctioned spectrum in the AWS and 700 MHz bands and imposed some of the most aggressive buildout requirements in the FCC’s history. The FCC and the Administration have also set ambitious goals to expand broadband deployment. … All of these efforts will require substantial investments in infrastructure."
AT&T and Verizon Wireless also emphasized the importance of updating the FCC’s antenna rules. “The rule changes proposed in the NPRM will streamline and modernize the tower marking and lighting rules and will improve the protections for air safety that are the purpose of the FCC and FAA regulations,” AT&T said.