On July 8, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit declined to act on the CTIA’s request to block the FCC rules on emergency power of telecom sites (including cell sites).
From the order:
RANDOLPH, Circuit Judge: Hurricane Katrina exposed several weaknesses in the Gulf Coast’s communications infrastructure, among which was the loss of power for critical communications networks. To address this problem, the Federal Communications Commission promulgated a rule requiring commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) providers to maintain a minimum amount of emergency backup power for “all assets necessary to maintain communications that are normally powered from local commercial power.” In the Matter of Recommendations of the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks, 22 F.C.C. Rcd 18,013, 18,035 (2007) (“Reconsideration Order”).
The rule thus requires a backup power source (e.g., batteries or generators) for every cell site and paging transmitter unless an exemption is met. Petitioners, who are wireless and paging service providers, oppose the backup power rule on the grounds that the Commission adopted it without statutory authority, that the parties lacked notice, and that the Commission acted arbitrarily and capriciously. We decline to address these contentions now because the case is not ripe for review.
You can download the entire order by clicking here.
