CTIA urged the FCC to nail down final...
CTIA urged the FCC to nail down final rules in its wireless infrastructure proceeding. CTIA Assistant Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Brian Josef spoke with Wireless Bureau Associate Chief Chad Breckinridge by phone Tuesday on the topic, said an ex parte filing…
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Thursday in dockets including 13-238. Josef laid out what he saw as several necessary changes the agency should make, such as excluding from the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) assessment “the installation of new or replacement antennas on existing structures more than 45 years old, if the new antennas are: (i) being added in the same location as existing antennas, (ii) no more than 3 feet taller than existing antennas (with limited exception), and (iii) comply with any requirements placed on the existing antennas based on prior NHPA review,” the filing said (http://bit.ly/1viO5MF). “The Commission should not require new antennas to be invisible from the street in order to qualify for the exclusion, as this approach would largely eliminate its benefits.” Equipment with an enclosure of 17 or fewer cubic feet should be categorically excluded from any environmental and NHPA review, it said, also suggesting the FCC interpretation of the Spectrum Act’s definition of “substantially change the physical dimensions” be “a definition consistent with the Nationwide Programmatic Agreement for the Collocation of Wireless Antennas.” The agency should also “make clear that existing legal, non-conforming structures, including both towers and base stations, are eligible for Section 6409(a) relief,” CTIA said.