wireless

Morgan Hill considers broadband roadmap to catch Silicon Valley

3 November 2016 by Steve Blum
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The City of Morgan Hill, on the edge of Silicon Valley just south of San Jose, does not share its usually good and occasionally excellent broadband infrastructure. Unlike most of the San Francisco Bay Area, which is largely served by AT&T and Comcast, Morgan Hill’s telecom infrastructure is owned by Frontier Communications and Charter Communications, and performs significantly below the Californian average.

Tellus Venture Associates recently completed a telecoms infrastructure element for Morgan Hill’s general plan update.… More

California law allows cities to limit mobile carriers, not vice versa

19 September 2016 by Steve Blum
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Necessary fixtures?

Last week’s California appeals court decision affirming local authority to deny permits for wireless facilities, and other telecoms infrastructure, on aesthetic grounds also went a long way towards clarifying what criteria and considerations cities can use when managing use of the public right of way.

The California public utilities code has two sections with different standards for telecoms project review. The first section (7901), which has a hundred year history, says telephone companies may…

Construct…telephone lines along and upon any public road or highway…may erect poles, posts, piers, or abutments for supporting the insulators, wires, and other necessary fixtures of their lines, in such manner and at such points as not to incommode the public use of the road or highway.

… More

Telcos can't trouble, annoy, molest, embarrass, inconvenience, hinder, impede or obstruct Californians, court rules

16 September 2016 by Steve Blum
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Don’t bother ugly ducklings, either.

California cities may regulate the aesthetics of cell sites and other wireless telecoms facilities. That was the ruling yesterday from a California appeals court, in a case brought by T-Mobile, Crown Castle and ExteNet against the City and County of San Francisco (h/t to Omar Masry there for the pointer).

The major argument in the case hinged on the definition of use. California law (section 7901 of the public utilities code, if you’re keeping score) says that telephone companies can build infrastructure on “public roads and highways in such manner and at such points as not to incommode the public use”.… More

California legislature approves LA fast track wireless reviews, sorta

12 September 2016 by Steve Blum
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The way California law works now, if a permit application for a new cell tower is held up for more than five months because of reviews or challenges resulting from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), then the permit is deemed approved. Yep, regardless of whatever other issues are involved, once the shot clock expires, permission to build a new cell tower is automatically granted.

Suppose, though, that CEQA didn’t apply to…

  1. Antennas, including microwave dishes and arrays.
… More

Expect more federal preemption of local wireless site reviews

8 September 2016 by Steve Blum
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There’s no partisan bickering in Washington over locating cell sites. The great divide is between federal and local governments. After making the obligatory nods toward local communities, top aides to all five FCC commissioners agreed that clearing the path for the millions of new cell sites that 5G networks will require is a top priority. They told the audience at the CTIA’s trade show in Las Vegas yesterday that in order to make 5G work, the cost of constructing cell sites, particularly the time and money required to get permit approval from cities and counties, has to come down.… More

If carmakers haven't figured out wireless in 20 years, they never will

3 July 2016 by Steve Blum
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More unlicensed spectrum for WiFi and other uses will add value to the U.S. economy. That’s the argument FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel is making to congress as a matter of general policy and to colleagues as opportunities to reallocate frequency assignments are evaluated.

One immediate thing the Federal Communications Commission can do – and democrat Rosenworcel as well as republicans Michael O’Rielly and Ajit Pai want to do – is to shift 75 MHz of spectrum around 5.9 GHz (5.850 GHz to 5.925 GHz, to be exact) from an unlicensed but otherwise restricted short range, transportation-related allocation to general use.… More

Bills to scrap local cell site review and California Public Utilities Commission delayed

22 June 2016 by Steve Blum
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Don’t have to look far to find a horse in Sacramento.

Afternoon update: There’s a growing consensus that AB 2788 is dead, rather than just delayed. Resurrection is always possible while the legislature is in session, though. We’ll know its status for sure, at least its current status, by Monday, if not before.

A proposal to allow mobile carriers to install cell sites pretty much anywhere they want – including on publicly owned property – without meaningful review by local government has been bumped by a week.… More

Bill forcing California cities to lease cell sites, scrap permits magically appears

20 June 2016 by Steve Blum
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Camouflaged with associated equipment. Can’t get any smaller than that.

Using a legislative maneuver delicately referred to as gut and amend, assemblyman Mike Gatto (D – Los Angeles) transmogrified a bill about natural gas storage into a free pass for mobile phone companies to 1. install cell sites pretty much anywhere they want with little or no oversight by local governments and 2. force local governments to lease publicly owned facilities for the purpose (h/t to Omary Masry at the City and County of San Francisco for the pointer).… More

Wireless local loop is looking faster, says AT&T

2 October 2015 by Steve Blum
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Might work fine here.

AT&T is starting to position its wireless substitute for wireline broadband service as able to meet the Federal Communication Commission’s 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload standard. According to a story in FierceWireless…

AT&T said it is currently testing fixed wireless local loop (WLL) technology in select areas of the country with local residents who want to try the service, including in Alabama, Georgia, Kansas and Virginia, and is seeing speeds of around 15 to 25 Mbps.

… More

Express lane bill for tower permits clears California legislature

1 September 2015 by Steve Blum
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Not much point if no one pays attention.

Permit applications for new cellular towers and other wireless telecoms facilities will be deemed granted in California, if local governments don’t make a decision within Federal Communications Commission deadlines. Assuming governor Jerry Brown agrees.

The California assembly waved assembly bill 57 through on a 66 to 8 vote last week, agreeing to amendments made in the state sentate. The measure puts teeth in the FCC’s shot clock: if an application for a new tower or other wireless facility isn’t approved or denied in 5 months or one for collocation of equipment on existing facilities isn’t acted upon within 3 months, then the permit is automatically granted.… More