Local authority is at risk for wireless towers,...
Local authority is at risk for wireless towers, said municipal lawyers on a NATOA webinar Monday about an NPRM released by the FCC Sept. 26 (http://bit.ly/193hsss). The FCC wants to clarify Section 6409 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and…
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Job Creation Act of 2012, which established a new federal governance of state and local review of eligible requests for modification of existing wireless towers or base stations, including requests for collocation, said the NPRM. The FCC is attempting to clarify a vaguely written law, said Matt Schettenhelm, a Best Best and Krieger attorney. The law doesn’t define a base station or a wireless tower, which is needed to get the scope of the law, said Schettenhelm. “We would prefer if the FCC would defer to the states, but we need a plan B that will actually work.” There are ways the NPRM could lead to out-of-hand regulation by the FCC that could rapidly increase small-cell growth, said Jonathan Kramer, Telecom Law Firm lawyer. “The FCC can only provide guidance on the government side of issue.” Local governments should file comments to show what local governments want, said lawyer Ken Fellman of Kissinger & Fellman. “The FCC noted in the NPRM that they do not want to become a national zoning board, but if they act on this issue, they will.” Wireless towers should be limited to structures meant for such use, said Fellman.