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Omnipoint v. Nashua, NH: Partial Goverment Victory

Posted on February 8, 2008February 8, 2008 by Dr. Jonathan L. Kramer

In a ruling in the case of OMNIPOINT COMMUNICATIONS, INC. V. CITY OF NASHUA and CITY OF NASHUA ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT (Case No. 1-07-cv-00046PB, before Hon. Paul Barbadoro of the US District Court in the District of New Hampshire), the City has won it’s summary judgment motion.

From the Judge’s decision:

“Omnipoint Communications, Inc. (“Omnipoint”) alleges in this ction that the Nashua Zoning Board of Adjustment (“ZBA”) mproperly denied Omnipoint’s application for a special exception o construct a wireless telecommunications tower on property ocated within a 220-home residential development known as Coburn Woods. Omnipoint’s complaint consists of three counts. Count I s a conventional appeal from a decision of the ZBA brought ursuant to N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 677:4. Omnipoint claims in Count II that the ZBA’s decision violates the Telecommunications Act of 1996 because the decision is not supported by suubstantial evidence. See 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7)(B)(iii). It argues in Count III that the decision violates the Telecommunications Act because it effectively prohibits the provision of personal wireless services to the area that would be served by the proposed tower. See 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7)(B)(i)(II). The parties have submitted cross motions for summary judgment with respect to Counts I and II. For the reasons that follow, I grant the ZBA’s motion for summary judgment and deny Omnipoint’s cross motion for summary judgment. “

Case related documents:

Omnipoint’s Complaint
City’s Answer
Amended MEMORANDUM and ORDER

T-Mobile USA: Nearly 30 million customers

Posted on January 29, 2008February 3, 2008 by Dr. Jonathan L. Kramer

T-Mobile USA’s customer count increased by 951,000 during 4Q07. Of that number, 733,000 were new contract customers (as compared with pre-paid customers not on term contracts). T-Mobile ended the quarter and year with about 28.7 million subscribers. That followed a 3Q07 increase in subs of 857,000. The 4Q07 churn decreased to 1.8%.

Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile’s parent, served about 120 million subscribers worldwide at the end of 4Q07.

BELLEVUE, Wash.– (BUSINESS WIRE) — T-Mobile USA, Inc. (“T-Mobile USA”), the U.S. operation of Deutsche Telekom AG’s (“Deutsche Telekom” (NYSE:DT)) Mobile Communications business, today announced fourth quarter and full year 2007 customer results.

“T-Mobile continues to drive year-over-year growth by pioneering innovation that matters to consumers,” said Robert Dotson, CEO and President, T-Mobile USA. “In 2007, we increased growth to over 3.6 million net new customers. myFaves^SM was a major contributor to this growth, with 5 million customers at year-end using the service to make unlimited calls to the people who matter most to them. Part of this growth was also fueled by the debut of FlexPay^SM, a new option in the market that opens up access to more attractive offerings for certain classes of customers. In 2007, we also introduced our revolutionary HotSpot @Home^SM service to rave reviews for how we’re opening up new value alternatives for land line customers – all while we add outstanding call quality improvements in homes across America.”

In the fourth quarter of 2007, T-Mobile USA added 951,000 net new customers compared to 857,000 in the third quarter of 2007 and 901,000 in the fourth quarter of 2006. Net new contract customer additions amounted to 733,000 in the fourth quarter of 2007, or 77% of total net new customer additions, compared to 557,000 or 65% in the third quarter of 2007 and 783,000 or 87% in the fourth quarter of 2006. Contract churn was 1.8% in the fourth quarter of 2007, down from 2.0% in the third quarter of 2007 and 2.1% in the fourth quarter of 2006. Blended churn, including both contract and prepay customers, was 2.8% in the fourth quarter of 2007 and down from 2.9% in the third quarter of 2007 and fourth quarter of 2006.

T-Mobile USA’s converged device offering was significantly strengthened during the year with the successful launch of a number of converged devices such as the T-Mobile Shadow; the T-Mobile Sidekick iD, LX, and Slide; T-Mobile Wing; and the BlackBerry Curve – the first converged device enabled for the new HotSpot @Home service. The fourth quarter of 2007 saw a continued strong demand for these converged devices.

For the year ended December 31, 2007, T-Mobile USA added more than 3.6 million net new customers, compared to 3.4 million net new customers added in 2006. Net contract customer additions in 2007 amounted to 2.7 million, 74% of the total customer additions in the year – down from 83% in 2006. Contract customers comprised 83% of T-Mobile USA’s 28.7 million customer base at the end of 2007, compared to 84% in the third quarter of 2007 and 85% in the fourth quarter of 2006.

T-Mobile USA will release fourth quarter and full-year 2007 financial results on February 28, 2008.

9th Circuit to T-Mobile: Your Mandatory Arbitration Agreement is Unconscionable

Posted on January 28, 2008February 3, 2008 by Dr. Jonathan L. Kramer

On January 22, 2008, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision that T-Mobile’s arbitration agreement in its Washington State wireless contracts is tainted by substantive unconscionability and is not enforceable.

From the court:

“The issues on appeal are whether the arbitration provisions in Defendant T-Mobile’s service agreements with two of its customers are enforceable under Washington state law and, if not, whether the state law is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), 9 U.S.C. §§ 1-16. After two consumers of T-Mobile’s cellular phone service brought a class action against T-Mobile in state court for breach of contract and violation if the Washington Consumer Protection Act (the “CPA”), Wash. Rev. Code § 19.86.010-19.86.920, T-Mobile removed the case to federal district court and moved to compel arbitration per its service agreements. The district court denied T-Mobile’s motion to compel arbitration, holding that the arbitration agreements were tainted by substantive unconscionability and thus were unenforceable. We conclude that the Washington State Supreme Court’s decision in Scott v. Cingular Wireless, 161 P.3d 1000 (Wash. 2007), establishes that T-Mobile’s arbitration provision is substantively unconscionable and unenforceable under Washington state law, and that there is no federal preemption in light of our decision in Shroyer v. New Cingular Wireless Servs., Inc., 498 F.3d 976 (9th Cir. 2007). We therefore affirm.”

Full Decision in Louden v. T-Mobile USA

T-Mobile Proposes PCS Bell Tower at Florida Church

Posted on January 26, 2008February 3, 2008 by Dr. Jonathan L. Kramer

T-Mobile is proposing a stylish new stand-alone Bell Tower to hide a new cell site at the Duncan Road Baptist Church. 430 N.E. Duncan Rd, in Blue Springs, Florida.

The Examiner newpaper in Eastern Jackson County has a story on the proposed site, and an interesting elevation illustration (artist’s rendering) of the proposed bell tower. Click here to read the story and see the illustration.

It’s common practice for wireless carriers to construct attached or detached bell towers to camouflage cell sites. The CellularPCS Gallery has many examples you can see by clicking here.