While we in the country insist on lots of local control over public matters, what it usually boils down to is politics and self-interest on a microscopic scale. It also means very little gets done. Slowly.
When siting communications towers or wind farms, the best and worst of our civic commitment is on display. Higher authority is not to be despised in such cases.
The unanimous “declaratory ruling” made good on a promise FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski made in an otherwise coolly received speech at an industry conference in early October. Under the new rules, state and local governments must act within 90 days of receiving an application for a co-location, that is, a tower site to be shared with other operators, and 150 days for other applications. Carriers have complained that governments are frustrating their efforts to improve coverage by sitting on tower applications indefinitely.
The FCC also ruled that state or local governments may not use the fact that wireless service is available from another carrier as ground for rejecting an application. And they may not require a zoning variance for every cell site. [More]
One small step for better broadband and phone coverage.
3 comments:
Lot of small gov't that lacks leadership in decision making. It's better to wait and wait and wait before making a decision, than to make one and risk upsetting 5 people that may have voted you onto the board. Don't even get me started about township gov't. "We really don't support the deal, but we'll take the tax dollars for the new grader!"...ugghh! Try getting a livestock site approved with this kind of "local control"!
John, surely you do not mean to imply that Washington DC acts expeditiously?! Uh, where is that SURE program to cover 2008 crop losses that was passed in the 2008 Farm Bill?
VA:
Touche. But you've never watched local school boards dance around badly needed consolidation for 50 years, perhaps.
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