BILL ANALYSIS 1
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SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
MARTHA M. ESCUTIA, CHAIRWOMAN
SB 534 - Runner Hearing Date:
April 19, 2005 S
As Introduced: February 18, 2005 Non-FISCAL B
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DESCRIPTION
Current law makes local governments the permitting authority for
cellular telephone antennas.
This bill requires a cellular telephone company to post
information on its website when a public hearing is scheduled to
site an antenna or associated facility.
BACKGROUND
High quality cellphone coverage is dependent on an adequate
number of cellphone towers. It has sometimes proven difficult
for cellphone companies to obtain necessary local permits to
site such towers because of local concerns of unsightliness,
noise, and health effects (e.g. NIMBYism).
The rapid, widespread adoption of cellphones attests to their
utility, though adoption rates in the United States lag behind
other countries. Unfortunately, the advertising for cellphone
service has created unmet expectations for seamless, ubiquitous,
high quality reception. This expectation has not been moderated
by the cellphone companies, who could do so by providing
customers with detailed coverage maps. The inability to use
one's cellphone as expected has led to customer dissatisfaction.
COMMENTS
Construction of cellphone towers often pits local residents and
property owners against cellphone companies and, indirectly,
their customers. Through public meeting laws residents are
required to be notified of local government actions to site
cellphone towers. By requiring cellphone companies to post
tower siting information on their website, the author is trying
to level the siting playing field by encouraging tower siting
supporters to participate in the process.
But it would seem to be clearly in the interest of cellphone
companies to alert their customers of their efforts to improve
service. Consequently, the cellphone companies already have an
incentive to notify customers of their cellphone tower siting
efforts. (Certainly there is nothing in state law to prevent a
cellphone company from contacting its customers and encouraging
them to participate in the tower siting process.) Therefore, a
mandate for the cellphone companies to post the information on a
website seems unnecessary.
The large cellphone companies probably have hundreds, if not
thousands, of pending applications to site cellphone towers
throughout the country. To the extent customers are interested,
they'll only be interested in the potential cellphone tower
sites which will improve the service where they use their
cellphone. A simple listing of pending cellphone applications
and hearings may not be useful to customers. The bigger issue
is how to get customers interested in cellphone tower siting.
That may be a more appropriate issue for the cellphone companies
than state government.
POSITIONS
Sponsor:
Author
Support:
None on file
Oppose:
None on file
Randy Chinn
SB 534 Analysis
Hearing Date: April 19, 2005