Jonathan Kramer on Wireless Tower Siting

Today the U.S. Supreme Court denied cert in the Sprint v. County of San Diego and Level 3 v. St. Louis cases.
For local governments and telecom carriers in the 9th Circuit, this means that telecom carriers who want to challenge a zoning decision will in most ever case have to show that the local ordinance, [...]

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Should cell phone tower data be made available to law enforcement without a warrant?  That what the US Department of Justice (DOJ) would like to see.
In an appeal filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, the DOJ says it should have the the authority to compel wireless carriers to provide cell phone switch [...]

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OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Feb 06, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S) will release its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2008 on Thursday, Feb. 19. The results will be posted at www.sprint.com/investors at approximately 7 a.m. EST. Sprint Nextel management will host a conference call at 8 a.m. EST to discuss the [...]

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The various femtocells being marketed by the major carriers require that they be place near a window.
Huh? They need a good view to not feel along all day?
Actually, it’s because the femtocells need to know where they are installed so that the carriers can (try to) meet the E-911 location requirements.
Femtocells have built-in GPS receivers [...]

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(Note from Jonathan: This article was written by my colleague Robert Smith, and published at Planetizen.com.  I’m reprinting the article here with Robert’s permission to ensure a wider readership.  Note, however, that the decision reported here does not mean everything you might think it does.  For example, local zoning controls in Section 332 are recognized [...]

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Personal Cell Phone Account Of President-Elect Obama Accessed By Unauthorized Employees

11/20/2008
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. — Verizon Wireless President and CEO Lowell McAdam made the following statement today:
“This week we learned that a number of Verizon Wireless employees have, without authorization, accessed and viewed President-Elect Barack Obama’s personal cell phone account. [...]

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By now many/most/all? of you know that on September 11th, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Sprint Telephony PCS, L. P. v. County of San Diego case.  The court held 11-0 that the ‘Auburn’ decision standard announced by the same court eight years ago was wrong, and reversed itself.
The now-discredited Auburn permitted a [...]

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Wireless Industry attorney Scott Olson of Cooper Erving & Savage LLP (Albany, NY) has written a very interesting blog essay on his “Cell Tower Siting Blog” offering hiring suggestions to governments looking to employ wireless advisers.  The title of his essay is, “Choosing a Wireless Consultant.”
While it may seen like Scott (on the wireless industry [...]

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As reported by staff writer Seth Rosenfeld in the San Francisco Chronicle (Aug 30, 2008, Page C-1), the California Public Utiltiies Commission is investigating whether T-Mobile has been constructing cell sites in Northern California without following local building laws.
The article quotes Susan Carothers, a CPUC spokesperson who said, “CPUC staff is looking into allegations concerning [...]

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On July 8, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit declined to act on the CTIA’s request to block the FCC rules on emergency power of telecom sites (including cell sites).
From the order:
RANDOLPH, Circuit Judge: Hurricane Katrina exposed several weaknesses in the Gulf Coast’s communications infrastructure, among which was the loss of power for [...]

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