WASHINGTON-After doing an about-face and agreeing to clear a backlog of siting applications held up at the Federal Communications Commission, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said he has been unable to shape a compromise.
The wireless industry increasingly has been concerned as hundreds of tower-siting applications remain pending at the FCC mostly due to the controversial tribal notification system implemented by the commission as part of a nationwide programmatic agreement on tower sitings and historic preservation.
The Tower Construction Notification System is an interactive, log-in and password-protected system that depends on information voluntarily provided by tribes, tower owners and carriers. TCNS was set up nearly a year ago to help tower owners and carriers contact tribes regarding proposed tower sitings. The purpose was to allow historic preservationists and tribal cultural authorities to warn the tower applicant if a proposed tower could be a problem.
The improvements allow a tribe to exclude certain areas from notification. If an area is excluded, a tower owner should not expect a response.
The FCC set up TCNS after several Native American organizations complained that they were being left out of the tower-siting process, but tower-industry representatives believe the system is not working.
While the FCC said that it would step in if a tribe did not respond to two contacts by a carrier about a proposed site, it has not established a process or decided how long after it attempted to make contact it would deem the proposed site acceptable.
Earlier this year, CTIA proposed a three-strikes-and-you-are-out process, but it went nowhere.
Last month at the PCIA tower show in Florida, Fred Campbell, Martin’s wireless legal adviser, said the chairman, who had objected to cell sites being subject to historic preservation oversight by the FCC, wanted to reconsider the nationwide programmatic agreement. This set off a firestorm that resulted in Martin backing down and offering a compromise to his colleagues.
“I have been very clear. I questioned whether there was federal jurisdiction for these issues. I asked my fellow commissioners to reconsider that. I then proposed a streamlined review. I proposed following the CTIA proposal that they filed in the record. I think we have proposed all three of those. There has yet to be a majority to support any one of the three,” Martin told reporters following an appearance before the House telecommunications subcommittee on public safety. “We are still trying to get something out that would allow for tower sitings.”
Martin’s comments echo similar statements he made Sept. 22. At that time, it appeared the commissioners were close to an agreement.
“We are on track to solve this problem now by putting a process in place that allows tower construction to proceed after proper notification of the tribes. I’ve been working hard to craft a solution that ensures both proper notification and clearing out the backlog. And this new process should facilitate progress on future construction requests, while respecting our government-to-government relationship with the tribes,” FCC Commission Jonathan Adelstein told RCR Wireless News.
