https://wireless.blog.law/2019/09/02/ajit-pai-loc-govs-delay-small-cell-sites/ Musing about Telecom and More Mon, 14 Oct 2019 14:17:59 +0000 hourly 1 https://wireless.blog.law/2019/09/02/ajit-pai-loc-govs-delay-small-cell-sites/#comment-38307 Mon, 14 Oct 2019 14:17:59 +0000 http://wireless.blog.law/?p=3490#comment-38307 In towns where there is public opposition to close proximity wireless cell antennas, local officials must respond to their constituents, which is time-consuming. It would be reasonable to require that the industry that is profiting from use of our PROW be required to pay for the additional staff time required to deal with the industry’s applications, annual recertifications, etc. A $5000 application fee seems quite reasonable because an expert (independent from industry) should be hired to thoroughly assess applications and regularly inspect installations with unannounced testing to ensure that they are in compliance with FCC standards. (It recently came out that some commonly used smartphones exceed even the FCC’s woefully inadequate and antiquated standards.) In my town, related public records act requests and other requests for info go unanswered due to staff overload. Residents who feel disrespected and ignored may end up resorting to lawsuits. The telecom companies that profit can and should pay for the messes they cause.

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