California Wireless Association: News

Steve Jobs Expresses Frustration Over San Francisco Siting Process

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L. A. Times Cites DAS Permitting Confusion

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Huntington Beach to put cell towers on ballot

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Cell towers get poor reception from community

A recent article in the Newport Beach/Costa Mesa Daily Pilot discusses the confusing regulatory situation for DAS. Click here to read the article..

CTIA sues SF over cell phone radiation law

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San Francisco passes cell phone labeling law, comments on CNN show public is skeptical of need

While the article summary may have gotten it wrong by asserting "Wireless industry says it's misleading, there is no consensus on health risks," the public comments on CNN in response to the article seem to show a growing awareness that the scientific community has reached a consensus that there is no evidence of any risks. Click here to read the article.

Why do we focus on the least important causes of cancer?

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Seybold's take: Be proactive for wireless

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Slate Puts RF Concerns in Perspective

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CalWA urges Senator Boxer to Consider Importance of Wireless Infrastructure in Deliberations on National Broadband Plan

In anticipation of the Senate's upcoming hearings on the National Broadband Plan, CalWA's Regulatory Committee has sent a letter to Senator Barbara Boxer encouraging her and her colleagues to consider the importance of wireless infrastructure to the accomplishment of the goals set forth in the Plan. "Wireless infrastructure is the sine qua non without which access to wireless broadband services is impossible. Development of advanced wireless facilities spurs economic and job growth both through the deployment of the infrastructure, and through the benefits of increased access to wireless broadband that bears the promise of enabling whole new industries as yet unimagined."

A copy of the letter can be obtained by clicking here.

A copy of the National Broadband Plan can be obtained by clicking here. (Large file - 12 MB)

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Film Premiere by California Wireless Association at CTIA Wireless 2010 Highlights the State’s “Mobile Majority" and Leaders in the Public Safety Community

WATCH FILM

LAS VEGAS, MARCH 21, 2010 – CTIA WIRELESS®, CTIA’s spring trade show that brings tens of thousands to Las Vegas, is the location for the premiere of an educational film being released by the California Wireless Association (CalWA). The video titled “You Can’t Have One Without the Other” brings attention to Californians’ high demand for mobile connectivity and the wireless infrastructure that must exist to meet that demand. The content features representatives of the California State Firefighters Association and the American Red Cross, Orange County Chapter.

“More than 80 percent of Californians own a mobile phone and many of them no longer own a landline telephone; what we call California’s Mobile Majority,” said CalWA president Jon Dohm. “Mobile connectivity is not just about personal convenience. Mobile devices are all about business, social interaction, as well as personal and public safety. People should understand that our mobile infrastructure and networks must be up-to-date to handle the massive amount of coverage and capacity that Californians crave.”

According to CTIA, The Wireless Association, approximately 150,000 9-1-1 calls are dialed every single day in the United States on a mobile phone – that’s more than half of all 9-1-1 daily calls. First responders and emergency relief organizations in California, and across the United States, depend on mobile technology to help them in the field during responses, as well as to help muster action from teams of volunteers. The five-minute video – to be used to help educate the public as well as regulatory authorities that must approve cell sites in local communities – includes interviews with representatives of the California State Firefighters Association and the American Red Cross’s Orange County Chapter.

“As a firefighter, I know mobile connectivity can be an essential link that can help save people’s lives in emergency situations,” said Kevin Nida, president of the California State Firefighters Association. “When an antenna location is not approved by local authorities, it is more likely that mobile calls will not be possible near that location – or that a carriers’ network could be over capacity. If I can’t get a voice call through, or get data transmitted to a mobile device with the information needed, it diminishes first responders’ abilities to provide the best care precisely when it is required.”

With more than 30 million mobile phone users in the Golden State, the CalWA video is planned to be shown at community meetings and to public officials responsible for reviewing and approving permit applications for updated and/or new cell sites.

To view the video, click here.

If you are interested in learning more about the CalWA video or wish to obtain a copy, click here to send an email to PR@calwa.org.

Peter Bohley's Presentation at the CalWA Luncheon at the Grand Californian Hotel on February 25 Now Available

Many of our members have been very complimentary of the terrific Introduction to 4G presentation given by Peter Bohley of RepeatedSignal Solutions. Peter has very graciously allowed us to post his PowerPoint presentation on the CalWA web site. You can download a copy by clicking here.

Ninth Circuit Orders Permit for Tower in Anacortes, Washington; Clarifies Test for "Effective Prohibition"

On July 20, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision in the case T-Mobile USA Inc. v. City of Anacortes, App. Case No. 08-35493, Slip Op. (July 20, 2009). The case, Anacortes, is the court’s first decision on the application of federal laws to local permitting of wireless facilities since the court’s en banc reversal in Sprint Telephony PCS, LP v. County of San Diego, 543 F.3d 571 (9th Cir. 2008), which the U.S. Supreme Court recently decided not to review. The Sprint decision was disappointing to the wireless industry, which had been fighting especially hard in the Ninth Circuit courts to contain abuses of local zoning authority resulting from open-ended wireless ordinances. Anacortes, which upheld a district court order to issue permits to T-Mobile for a 116-foot monopole located on church property, demonstrates that the Sprint decision was not as broad a grant of authority to local governments as some jurisdictions have claimed, but rather was more narrowly concerned about ensuring evidentiary support for a specific type of legal claim: “effective” prohibition of wireless services. Anacortes holds that a zoning board’s decision to deny permits for a wireless facility may nevertheless have the effect of prohibiting wireless services in violation of the federal telecommunications act even if the decision to deny the permits is consistent with the evidentiary requirements of a local zoning ordinance.

The case also stands for the proposition that an order to issue permits is an appropriate remedy for such a violation. The case is particularly important in that it is one of the few cases to rule that a denial constituted effective prohibition of wireless services even though the denial otherwise complied with the law. In so holding, the court provided significant guidance as to how the courts are to treat claims of effective prohibition. The case establishes that a provider must first make “a prima facie showing of effective prohibition by submitting a comprehensive application, which includes consideration of alternatives, showing the proposed [wireless communication facility] is the least intrusive means of filling a significant gap.” The burden then shifts to the local jurisdiction to “show that there are some potentially available and technologically feasible alternatives,” a showing that the provider may still dispute. The court also recognized that the “construction and operational costs that [the provider] would have to bear” is an appropriate consideration regarding the feasibility of a proposed alternative.

It is important to note that Anacortes in fact tried to rebut T-Mobile’s review of alternatives by offering several of its own alternatives, but the Court was not convinced and found the City’s suggestions to be unsupported, too speculative, or, with regard to the City’s effort to caste T-Mobile’s branded in-home service technology (HotSpot@Home) as a feasible alternative, irrelevant. In other words, the locality’s burden to show viable unexplored alternatives is not satisfied by merely proposing new locations. It must also provide credible and informed analysis demonstrating the alternative is both available and technically feasible. A copy of the Ninth Circuit slip opinion is available on our website at www.calwa.org.

The California Wireless Association (CalWA) is a nonprofit professional association that brings a unified voice to the wireless industry as we find ourselves facing the uniquely challenging marketing, operations and regulatory terrain of our state. In addition to providing general awareness of the wireless industry, educating consumers and public officials about the wireless industry and the critical role it plays in California, CalWA cultivates and fosters relationships among the members of the wireless industry and conducts fundraising for several charitable organizations. A copy of the decision may be downloaded by clicking here.

SUPREME COURT DENIES SPRINT'S PETITION FOR CERTIORARI IN SPRINT V. COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO

The United States Supreme Court has denied Sprint's petition seeking review of the Ninth Circuit's En Banc decision. Thus, the En Banc decision is now final.

The decision may make it more difficult to bring facial challenges to local wireless ordinances absent proof of actual prohibitive effect, but leaves intact the ability to challenge local zoning decisions on permit applications where the decisions violate federal restrictions, for example by prohibiting or having the effect of prohibiting the provision of wireless services, unreasonably discriminating among providers of functionally equivalent services unreasonably delaying a decision, failure of such a decision to be in writing and supported by substantial evidence contained in a written record or basing such a decision on the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions to the extent that such facilities comply with the FCC's regulations concerning such emissions. It also has no effect on challenges based on state law, such as the Permit Streamlining Act or other state limits on local jurisdictions' authority.

California Wireless Association: News

Steve Jobs Expresses Frustration Over San Francisco Siting Process

L. A. Times Cites DAS Permitting Confusion

Huntington Beach to put cell towers on ballot

Cell towers get poor reception from community

CTIA sues SF over cell phone radiation law

San Francisco passes cell phone labeling law, comments on CNN show public is skeptical of need

Why do we focus on the least important causes of cancer?

Seybold's take: Be proactive for wireless

Slate Puts RF Concerns in Perspective

CalWA urges Senator Boxer to Consider Importance of Wireless Infrastructure in Deliberations on National Broadband Plan

Film Premiere by California Wireless Association at CTIA Wireless 2010 Highlights the State’s “Mobile Majority" and Leaders in the Public Safety CommunityWATCH FILM

Peter Bohley's Presentation at the CalWA Luncheon at the Grand Californian Hotel on February 25 Now Available

Ninth Circuit Orders Permit for Tower in Anacortes, Washington; Clarifies Test for "Effective Prohibition"

SUPREME COURT DENIES SPRINT'S PETITION FOR CERTIORARI IN SPRINT V. COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO

Film Premiere by California Wireless Association at CTIA Wireless 2010 Highlights the State’s “Mobile Majority" and Leaders in the Public Safety Community

WATCH FILM