The wireless industry needs prompt decisions on zoning...

The wireless industry needs prompt decisions on zoning applications in order to continue to grow, CTIA said in an amicus brief in T-Mobile South v. Roswell, Ga. The case, to be heard this fall by the Supreme Court (CD May 6 p12), examines whether local governments have to provide detailed written explanations when they deny carriers’ applications to build new cell towers in their jurisdictions. “The wireless industry is facilities-based and depends on quick and effective judicial review of local zoning decisions to meet the ever-growing consumer demand for more and better wireless services,” CTIA said in Supreme Court docket 13-975 (http://bit.ly/1nektZH). Carriers still face “too many cases of obstruction and delay” when they file applications with local governments to build wireless facilities, the group said. “While the whole community benefits from having a new facility and thus better service, usually only nearby landowners who object to the facility have enough of an incentive to communicate with their representatives or attend meetings to protest.”