Many industry comments on an FCC proposal to...

Many industry comments on an FCC proposal to change its wireless tower siting rules, partly in response to the 2010 spectrum law, are “problematic,” said a filing by numerous cities and local government organizations (http://bit.ly/1oxdRr3). The wireless industry is seeking changes that would streamline rules, particularly for distributed antenna systems and small cells (CD March 7 p1). “Some commenters would allow local governments to protect against safety hazards recognized in particular ordinances (building codes) yet would mandate that local governments ignore safety hazards addressed elsewhere,” the cities said. “They also would apply Section 6409(a) [of the spectrum law] much more broadly than the statute permits, and call for a Section 6409(a) enforcement scheme that would present serious constitutional problems.” Comments show “near unanimity that Section 6409(a) does not apply to a state or local government acting in a proprietary capacity, and no comment demonstrates a need for the Commission to attempt to define what is and is not proprietary,” the filing said. The local governments also said “adopting the Commission’s proposed rules in their current form would have major adverse consequences for public safety, the environment, historical structures, and local communities -- consequences that Congress could not have intended. Although the industry’s comments seem to recognize that the proposed rules, read literally, would go too far, the industry’s solutions still result in many of the same problems.”