AT&T Faces Long Delays in Siting Antennas

Carriers investigate a vast number of potential cell sites unsuccessfully every year because the zoning laws or the fire codes are too restrictive, the landlord is uncooperative or the neighbors object, AT&T wrote in comments filed in the FCC's "broadband acceleration" proceeding. And even when it is successful, the carrier said it experiences lengthy delays.

For example, AT&T averaged more than two and half years from the initial search to site acquisition and zoning approval for its cell sites that went online in 2010 in major markets such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

"Unfortunately, a variety of factors continues substantially to delay carriers' attempts to place new equipment and upgrade existing equipment, and unnecessarily increase the carriers' costs of doing so," AT&T wrote in comments filed in the proceeding (WC Docket No. 11-59).

To begin with, the search rings that the carrier produces are much smaller today than they were in the past as networks have matured, limiting the number of potential sites.

"In many of the urban and suburban areas throughout the country - where new cell sites are most needed - there simply are not that many suitable locations available for new cell sites, particularly for carriers with mature networks," AT&T wrote.

A growing number of municipalities are passing regulations that prohibit cell towers in residential areas, which are exactly the areas where additional coverage is needed.

"In some cases, entire areas may be severely restricted; for example, in San Francisco, many areas that require additional coverage and capacity are residential areas … in which cell site approval is most difficult (if not impossible) to obtain," AT&T wrote. "Zoning in residential portions of Chicago broadly restricts wireless installations, and any attempt to obtain a variance is typically hopeless."

New York

Regulation that restricts wireless siting sometimes comes under the guise of fire codes. In New York, new fire codes limit the amount of space and the location of antennas on the rooftops.

"Given the large number of competitive carrier sites on New York rooftops (along with other types of equipment), these new restrictions will implicate 20 percent to 30 percent of all of AT&T's potential new sites and upgrades in that city," AT&T wrote.

Chicago

AT&T notes that although the City of Chicago has adopted certain restrictions that significantly delay the deployment of new cell sites, in other respects it has adopted forward-thinking policies and procedures that have helped to speed certain broadband deployments, such as distributed antenna systems.

The City of Chicago limits the height of an antenna site, on buildings as well as towers, based on the number of collocated wireless carriers (75 feet for one, 100 feet for two, and 120 feet for three). Because many buildings in the Windy City exceed 120 feet in height, a wireless carrier cannot place a new wireless site on a rooftop unless it finds three other carriers to join it. The only alternative for the carrier is to file a special use variance, which the city rarely grants, according to AT&T.

"Other areas of Chicago have adopted ordinances that make it virtually impossible to add new towers," AT&T wrote. "For example, the Village of Park Ridge has an ordinance that requires a 'fall zone' to be constructed around any wireless telecommunications tower that is equal to 125 percent of the height of the tower."

San Francisco

AT&T has seen the deployment of its Lightspeed network (needed for U-verse services) thwarted by the City of San Francisco's interpretation of the California Environmental Quality Act, even though city staff found that the network would not affect the environment.

"However, [the staff] finding has been appealed to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, where it has faced opposition solely for aesthetic reasons," AT&T wrote.