Localities Back Expected SCOTUS Appeal of FCC on Small Cells

Local and union officials support an imminent appeal to the Supreme Court of the FCC’s 2018 small-cell orders Monday. Many localities were expected to have challenged the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision upholding much of the FCC orders by Monday’s deadline (see 2102080058). Local governments' expected cert petition wasn't yet available.

The appeal “will be happening,” said NATOA General Counsel Nancy Werner during the local telecom officer association’s Monday webinar on small-cell preemption impact. Austin, part of the local group behind the original appeal, supports appeal, said Director-Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs Rondella Hawkins. The Communications Workers of America “supports local government interests,” said Campaign Attorney Ceilidh Gao.

NATOA urged the FCC to abandon the 2018 small-cell order and restore local government authority, in a report with CWA released Monday. Preemption increases local costs and reduces safety, said the survey of 48 local governments nationally. More than half say preemption forced them to hire more staff or increase overtime, half say it increased consultant costs, and 38% contend it led to higher make-ready costs. And 44% of localities had companies installing equipment without a permit, more than half say companies damaged public property at least once, and 57% say installers failed to restore roads, sidewalks or other infrastructure. More than a third report preemption delayed their digital equity efforts.

The 2017 Texas law limited application fees to $500, when Austin’s actual cost per permit is $1,250 to $1,500, Hawkins told the webinar. It had to spend $200,000 more annually on staffing and paid $500,000 to a consulting firm to develop standards and application templates, she said. As of February, the city approved 682 of 946 applications received, she said. The city has “doughnut holes” in wireless coverage that disadvantage its most vulnerable communities and exacerbate digital inequity, but it can’t use fee waivers or other incentives to sway where companies deploy, Hawkins said.

Illinois would extend sunset of its 2018 small-cells law until Dec. 31, 2026, under a bill (HB-2379) weighed Monday by the House Public Utilities Committee. The current law expires June. 1. The Small Cell Subcommittee voted 5-0 to move the bill to the full committee. The full committee later voted 20-0 to clear the bill.