Antenna & Tower Siting  

CTIA Position:
CTIA-The Wireless Association® and the wireless industry are dedicated to providing the highest quality wireless experience to consumers. Wireless carriers are working tirelessly to build and maintain their network infrastructure to meet the growing demand for mobile wireless broadband services.

Tower siting is a vital piece of the wireless industry. It enables mobile services, including voice and broadband, for consumers, businesses, and public safety. To expand their service offerings and meet consumer demand for “always-on” broadband, wireless carriers need to be able to build out their networks, which involves constructing new towers or adding new equipment to already existing structures.

Both Congress and the Supreme Court have recognized the importance of taking concrete steps to ensure that the tower siting zoning process does not become a barrier to the reasonable deployment of, and competition among, diverse wireless networks.

In addition, the FCC provided much-needed certainty to the tower siting process by adopting a declaratory ruling in November 2009 which set a definitive time frame for local zoning authorities to act on tower siting requests. The time limit to address requests for collocation is 90 days and the time for addressing requests for new tower construction is 150 days. Local zoning authorities who do not meet the time frames will have “failed to act,” tower applicants’ right to appeal to the courts for action on their requests. Also, a zoning authority may not deny an application filed by one provider based on the presence of another wireless provider in a given area.

CTIA and the wireless industry will continue to work with the FCC, state and local zoning authorities and others involved in tower siting to provide more Americans with the most advanced wireless services and technology on the planet.

Key Points:

• Delays or Inaction on Tower Siting Applications By Zoning Authorities Impedes Wireless Build-Out & Expansion of Services. The ability to deploy wireless systems and expand wireless broadband service depends on the availability of sites for the construction and placement of towers and transmitters. However, wireless carriers face a significant problem of many zoning authorities failing to resolve wireless tower site applications within a reasonable period of time. In Spring 2008, CTIA surveyed seven members on cell site backlogs and found that they collectively had more than 3,300 wireless siting applications pending before local jurisdictions. Of those, approximately nearly a quarter have been in queue for more than a year, and more than 180 such applications have been awaiting final action for more than 3 years.
• Investment in Wireless Infrastructure Positively Impacts the U.S. Economy. According to a 2008 study by Pearce and Pagano that looks at the value of investment in wireless broadband to the economy, direct investment of $17.4 billion in infrastructure for wireless broadband will have a seven- to ten-fold increase in GDP within 24 months and add from 4.5 to 6.3 million jobs (in Table 1, p.5) directly or indirectly to the economy. A 2007 study by Crandall, Lehr, and Litan, found that a 3 percent increase in broadband penetration could create 880,000 jobs. In addition, other studies have found that building a new tower provides work for approximately 20 positions over a 4-6 week span, and each additional wireless carrier who installs antennas injects approximately $40,000 into the economy.

Last Updated: January 2010