AT&T Not Investing in Some Markets Because of Zoning Rules; Wireless Groups Urge Action
AT&T said the FCC should adopt a shot clock of 60 days for small cells collocated on existing poles and 90 days for small cells placed on new poles. The company said in docket 17-79 deployment is in some cases…
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dictated by local hurdles. In Lincoln, Nebraska, “high fees have delayed its residents the benefits of AT&T’s small cell deployments,” it said, citing similar problems in other cities in the state. “AT&T has for now focused more of its small-cell operational resources in the region on Des Moines and other Iowa communities, where cost-based fees and other predictable benefits of small cell legislation have created a more favorable environment,” it said. The carrier similarly hadn’t deployed any small cell sites in Portland, Oregon, “due to its annual recurring [rights-of-way] access fee of $7,500 per node plus an annual recurring fee to attach to city-owned infrastructure in the ROW in the amount of $5,500 per node downtown/$3,500 per node in other areas,” it said. The cities didn't comment. Siting rates and fees for wireless infrastructure deployments should be “cost-based, transparent, and non-discriminatory,” said CTIA and Wireless Infrastructure Association officials in a meeting last week with Will Adams, aide to Commissioner Brendan Carr. “Updated siting policies at the federal, state, and local levels play a key role in enabling the wireless industry to deploy the thousands of small cells needed to create capacity for today’s 4G LTE networks and build out" 5G, said a filing posted Monday in docket 17-79. “Rates and fees that are based on a locality’s costs to review applications and, where applicable, manage right-of- way use will ensure that localities can recoup expenses resulting from management of wireless siting, while promoting broadband deployment.” Meanwhile, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai defended steps commissioners took on wireless infrastructure rules in March (see 1803220027), in a letter to Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., posted Monday. “Our wireless infrastructure rules have been a poor fit for the 5G networks of the future, and our efforts to unleash spectrum for consumer use will be moot if carriers can't deploy the physical infrastructure needed to bring next-generation services to the American people,” Pai said. “The Commission's recent action on this front is a giant leap forward in updating our wireless infrastructure rules.” Pai stressed that the FCC had done extensive consultation with tribal groups prior to approving the order.