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CCA Applauds FCC's Improvements to its Facilities Siting Rules(Targeted News Service Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 -- The Competitive Carriers Association issued the following news release: Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) adopted a Report and Order streamlining several sets of rules to ease the process for wireless carriers and their vendors to deploy new wireless infrastructure. CCA applauds the Commission's rule updates, which include easing the burdens of environmental and historical preservation review of facilities under certain circumstances, expanding providers' ability to put up temporary towers in times of emergency, and defining important provisions of the Spectrum Act and Communications Act (as amended) in a functional, common sense manner. "I am pleased the Commission adopted the Order, updating its siting rules to reflect consumers' insatiable demand of mobile broadband services," said CCA President & CEO Steven K. Berry. "Before today, the rules for putting up a small cell or distributed antenna system were essentially the same as those for a150 foot tower. By today's Order, carriers deploying some small cells and distributed antenna systems will be able to avoid onerous review of these applications. This means faster deployments of state-of-the-art mobile broadband facilities." "CCA likewise supports the Commission's decision to formalize the ability of carriers to put up temporary towers without a lot of red tape by refining the applicability of its 2009 'shot clock' declaratory ruling. CCA similarly supported the FCC before the Supreme Court in the City of Arlington case upholding the Commission's authority to issue that ruling. More recently, CCA led the charge in urging the Supreme Court to further remove barriers to tower siting by clarifying provisions of the Communications Act in T-Mobile South LLC v. City of Roswell, GA, for which Commissioner O'Rielly voiced support in today's meeting. The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on November 10, 2014 and CCA, along with other parties, has filed a brief as amicus curiae with the Court." [Category: Telecommunications] TNS 18DejucosGrace-141018-30FurigayJane-4905312 30FurigayJane (c) 2014 Targeted News Service |