Crown Castle Says 5G Deployment Shouldn't Be 'Us Against Them'

Colorado increased broadband penetration to 86 percent of rural households from 83 percent in October, said state Chief Information Officer Theresa Szczurek. State funding and rural electric cooperatives are driving that improvement, she said. Spreading broadband is a big priority for Gov. Jared Polis (D), especially as a tool to reduce healthcare costs through telehealth, she said. “We are realigning the resources of the Colorado Broadband Office to provide more assistance to communities and service providers in developing implementation plans.”

Local governments know 5G technology “has to move forward in a rapid fashion,” but shot clocks are “certainly a concern for local governments” that aren’t used to facing such deadlines, said Mike Sutherland, Littleton deputy director-community development. The municipality is working with industry to clarify what needs to be done when, he said. “There's quite a few permits that need to be done," and doing it on time is challenging, he said. "I'm not sure it all fits in a 10-day or a 60-day or 90-day shot clock.” Sutherland worries about the volume of applications increasing, he said: Littleton can’t handle 3,000 applications weekly like Denver.

Some Colorado localities are following the state law rather than the FCC order at least until federal rules are tested in court, said local telecom attorney Ken Fellman, who represents some of the cities challenging the FCC at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Industry is honoring the provisions negotiated for the Colorado law, he said. More than half the states have such laws. Fellman doesn’t think they're needed, but "ours, compared to other states, sucks the least.”

The FCC claimed its order pre-empted almost none of the state laws, but was more restrictive than Colorado’s law, Fellman said. The agency expanded the definition of collocation to include all existing structures even if not previously approved, he said. The state limited the size of small cells and associated equipment to 17 cubic feet, while the FCC allowed up to 28, the size of some refrigerators, Fellman said. Colorado’s bill is more lenient on fees for recovering costs, and the state law gave a 90-day shot clock for collocation, compared to the FCC’s 60 days, he said. Terms in the FCC order allowing aesthetic limits only if they are objective and reasonable invites litigation, he added.

“People think I'm crazy” for being the only industry official on a panel with two local representatives, but Crown Castle is working well with Colorado localities, said Harry. One recent example was Lakewood sending the wireless infrastructure company a copy of proposed guidelines, he said. The firm provided feedback that it didn't allow for a critical piece of T-Mobile infrastructure, and Lakewood officials promised to discuss the issue, he said.

Harry defended the pre-emptive FCC order, saying it's meant to speed 5G deployment and “equalize right-of-way users.” It’s better to work together because carriers will spend elsewhere when a community puts up barriers, he said. Wireless officials complained in New York City last week that some cities continue to resist 5G despite FCC and state pre-emptions (see 1906210045). American Electric Power told the 9th Circuit Monday the FCC’s pole attachment order violates the Telecom Act (see 1906250012).