DAS In Action: Feds recognize need for more towers

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski wants to be known as the broadband chairman, and as such has been at the forefront of removing obstacles that prevent wireless broadband deployments, said Josh Gottheimer, senior counsel to the chairman during PCIA’s DAS Forum “DAS In Action: Capital View” conference here last week.
Gotteheimer and Matthew Hussey, telecommunications, commerce, science and education adviser to Sen. Olympia Snowe (D-Maine), both listed the need for more spectrum during speeches at the event. Mobile broadband is a “bright light in the economy,” Gotteheimer told the audience, citing PCIA statistics that 53,000 jobs will be created as operators move to advanced networks. As such, the FCC needs to do anything it can to remove barriers to broadband deployment, including the need for more towers. During an exchange with the audience, Gotteheimer was told some municipalities are still resisting the agency’s shot-clock ruling, which sets a timeline for how long municipalities have to rule on a tower-siting application. The shot-clock has helped a bit, audience members told the FCC counsel. But cities that are still likely to resist following federal rules are finding ways to get around the shot-clock regulations, including not deeming the application process complete. The clock starts once the application is completed. “We can’t afford to let time be the enemy,” Gotteheimer told the crowd. Infrastructure has keep pace with increased demand for broadband services. “There’s no reason that permitting should take years.”
Snowe’s aide, Hussey, detailed the congresswoman’s RADIOS Act, which would modernize spectrum planning, management and coordination. The bill includes a measure establish Wi-Fi hotspots in public areas of federal buildings and streamline federal rights-of-way and tower sitings on federal buildings. “Spectrum is the marquee issue of the 112th Congress,” Hussey said..
The RADIOS initiative is important because the federal government is the nation’s largest landlord, owning 3.2 billion square feet of property. The government is also the nation’s largest land owner, and so needs to be a facilitator in bringing wireless coverage to its citizens, Hussey said. “I’m cautiously optimistic” the bill would move forward in Congress.