Paramus, New Jersey, violated the Communications Act by...

Paramus, New Jersey, violated the Communications Act by denying a wireless tower siting application from Sprint and T-Mobile, ruled a U.S. District Court in Newark. The companies had appealed a 2009 borough zoning board denial on aesthetic grounds to place a 125-foot monopole at either of two residential locations. The denial in the absence of a feasible alternative constitutes “an effective prohibition of wireless service” in violation of the law, ruled Judge Kevin McNulty on Monday. Key in the case was whether a distributed antenna system (DAS) was an acceptable alternative, he said. “A DAS is not a feasible alternative because it will not offer comparable wireless service when measured against the coverage that can be provided by the proposed macro facility.” Paramus officials were not immediately available for comment.