Morrisville Wireless Telecommunication Facilities Master Plan - 2013

Wireless Telecommunication Facilities Master Plan - Town of Morrisville, NC – Adopted July 23, 2013

Robert F. Roche of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) stated in The Unpredictable Certainty: White Papers (1997) “…the wireless paradigm has resulted in more than 200,000 new jobs, and almost $19 billion in private-sector investment…and in spite of these gains and the promise of another $50 billion in investment over the next 10 years, there are impediments to this success…Some local jurisdictions are preventing the deployment of antennas, either through outright bans, extensive delays, or application of unscientific “local technical standards” to radio frequency emissions…” Roche further suggests the CTIA should: “…1) urge President Clinton to direct federal agencies to make available federal land and sites for telecommunications infrastructure; 2) urge the FCC to develop national standards on radio frequency emissions over local standards; and 3) urge the FCC to advocate the primacy of national telecommunications policy over local policies that are hostile to competition…” This perplexing situation prompted the adoption of Section 704 of the Federal Telecommunication Act of 1996. Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) policies impacting deployment of wireless facilities are, with certain exceptions, unchanged since the enactment of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. The overall concept as passed by Congress was to facilitate the creation of a wireless infrastructure to parallel the wired infrastructure that existed in the United States. The FCC’s mandate has been to work towards accomplishing that goal, and the current Commission in particular has paid great attention to moving that task forward. Section 704 of the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 retains local governments’ zoning authority over the deployment of wireless telecommunication facilities subject to several specific requirements. First, zoning regulations and decisions may not unreasonably discriminate among the wireless providers, and may not prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the deployment of wireless infrastructure. For example, some communities adopted development standards restricting the distance between towers to three miles. In some geographic locations with sparse populations this may have been adequate for 1G deployment; however the Laws of Physics make it impossible for 2G wireless deployments to meet this spacing requirement. Unknowingly some communities inadvertently prohibited the deployment of 2G. Second, local governments must act on applications for new wireless infrastructure within a “reasonable” amount of time Third, the local government must provide in writing a reason for any denials and the decision must be supported by substantial evidence.

C-2