Subject: "ALOTOF" activity here, Antenna siting articles (fwd)
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 215009 -0600 (CST)
From: "Roy L. Beavers" <rbeavers@llion.org>
To: emfguru <rbeavers@llion.org>
--------------------------------------------------
........Should be read by those in court cases, etc.....guru.....
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 20:00:14 -0700
From: "Bill P. Curry"
To: "Roy L. Beavers"
Subject: Antenna siting articles
Roy, I got several articles on antenna siting from the web pages of the CTIA -
the cellular phone industry's official information distributor. These may be
of some interest to your readers.
This article is from the Chicago Tribune web pages, via a link from
the CTIA.
COUNCIL TABLES DECISION
ON CELLULAR TOWER
Janice Neumann
November 11, 1998
OAK FOREST -- More than 40 residents turned out
Tuesday night to urge the Oak Forest City Council to
reject plans for an 85-foot-high cellular tower in a
residential area, but action was tabled because three
aldermen were absent.
The issue is expected to be revisited during the next
council meeting.
Representatives for Sprint Communications have
requested a zoning variance from the city for
the tower
to sit on property owned by Jack Gibbons Gardens
Inc., a restaurant at 147th Street and Oak Park
Avenue.
According to a city map, the site would be 150 feet
from residential property to the north. But homeowners
living east and north of the restaurant said the
construction would encroach on their space.
Resident Kathy Karwoski started a petition, signed by
60 residents opposing the tower, which was delivered
to the city clerk Monday.
The Planning and Zoning Commission had
recommended the variance on Nov. 4.
This article is from the Washington Post - via a link from CTIA
Slugging It Out Over Antennas in Rock Creek Park
By Mike Mills
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 3, 1998; Page E01
Peace agreements have been brokered in the Middle East
and
Northern Ireland, so why is it that
the five-year impasse over putting up wireless
communications
antennas in Rock Creek Park
hasn't been resolved?
Bell Atlantic Mobile, which wants to improve cellular
phone
reception in one of the nation's
largest urban parks, has made some headway recently.
But company
officials privately concede
that residents living near the park and opponents in
the National
Park Service are far from
exhausting their options to keep approval at bay.
Rock Creek Park is a huge dead zone for most cellular
signals. The
National Park Police and
the Road Runners Club of America agree with Bell
Atlantic Mobile
that better coverage along
the parkway would improve road and recreational
safety.
To fill in many of the dead spots, Bell Atlantic
Mobile wants to
put up two antennas, one at the
80-foot mark of an existing 100-foot light pole on the
park's William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis
Center at 16th and Kennedy streets NW. The other
antenna, a 120-
to-150-foot monopole,
would be disguised as a pine tree near a Rock Creek
maintenance
facility, according to the
company's latest proposal.
"Neither of these facilities are areas one thinks of
as parkland,
though they certainly are
on park
property," said Bell Atlantic Mobile spokeswoman
Audrey Schaefer.
"We are doing everything
we possibly can to submit responsible proposals that
are consistent with enjoyment of the
park."
But residents near the tennis center, still upset
about the stadium being located there, have an
arm-long litany of worries about the tower.
Unsightliness is one. Harm from radio waves to
humans, animals, even foliage, is another, despite
industry assurances that the transmissions
are safe.
"We really need to be more aware of all that's going
on, how it will affect people health-wise
and happiness-wise," said Loretta Carter Hanes, a
72-year-old
resident whose apartment in the
Shepherd Park neighborhood overlooks Rock Creek.
The National Park Service recently ordered Bell
Atlantic to pay $25,000 for part one of a
three-stage environmental assessment -- the bills for
parts two
and three will be delivered
shortly. The company has hired SAIC Corp., whose area
offices are
in McLean, to complete
its study by next spring.
The survey will consider the antennas' effect on
scenery, migratory birds and safety -- more
people, after all, would be yakking and driving on the
curvy, low-speed parkway. It will
explore alternative locations and technologies
such as campus-
style emergency phones. And it
will determine whether an even more detailed federal
environmental
study is warranted, a park
official said.
Last month, a five-foot-round blue helium balloon
floated over the
stadium for four days. Bell
Atlantic Mobile used it to take photos of various
places where the
balloon was visible, and now
it's using the photos to develop computer simulations
of how the
antenna would look on the
stadium.
Bell Atlantic Mobile officials said they needed the
balloon to be up only for a day. But the Park
Service required it to fly for four, to give
residents a lingering
look at the proposed antenna site.
Why aren't the area's other major wireless carriers --
AT&T Corp., Cellular One, Nextel Corp.
and Sprint PCS -- involved? Because they're letting
Bell Atlantic slug it out, hoping to
"co-locate" their antennas on Bell Atlantic's sites
once approval is granted.
That's exactly what worries some park officials.
"There's a real concern that a number of
companies will come after Bell Atlantic," said an
official who asked not to be identified.
....... This article is from the Philadelphia Inquirer......
Paoli Pike cellular tower
is approved by Willistown
WILLISTOWN -- The same Zoning Hearing Board that
rebuffed one application
to plant a cellular tower here approved another
similar application from a
different company yesterday.
The board granted approval to a plan by Omnipoint
Communications Enterprises
Inc. to put a 140-foot cellular tower on the
property of a
wholesale nursery on Paoli Pike.
Omnipoint appealed to the board after the
township's zoning
officer rejected the
plan, having found that cellular towers are
permitted only in
industrial zones.
Omnipoint said a provision in the zoning
ordinance allowing
utilities also
allowed the cellular tower at that site.
It was the same argument that Sprint Spectrum
unsuccessfully presented to the
Zoning Hearing Board in March in its request to
install a 150-foot cellular tower
behind Bobby's Seafood Restaurant on West
Chester Pike.
But Omnipoint later added to its appeal the
argument that Willistown's zoning
ordinance effectively prohibits cellular phone
companies from providing
consistent service -- an act prohibited by the
1996 federal Telecommunications
Act. It was that point that swung the board in
Omnipoint's favor, according to
the board's written decision.
Sprint has since filed two lawsuits against
Willistown in U.S. District Court.
Like the Omnipoint appeal, the Sprint suits
allege Willistown violated the
Telecommunications Act.
There were several more articles, but I will simply say that you can get to
them at the address http://www.wow-com.com/professional/siting/index.cfm.
This web site may be password protected. I have had the right to use this
site because of my consultancy status - though I have never had any clients in
the telecommunications industry.
One more item of considerable significance: This is how the cellular phone
industry regards the actions of Congress this past year.
CTIA Analysis: The 105th Congress and the Wireless Industry: Much Accomplished;
Some Business Still Unfinished
WASHINGTON, DC-"The wireless industry celebrated some very real victories in
the 105th Congress," observed Thomas E. Wheeler, president
and CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. "But there
are still very important matters for our industry and our customers
that must be resolved. Come January, we will be working aggressively with
Congress to bring closure to these issues." Following is CTIA's
summary of congressional action during the past year that will have an impact
on the wireless industry.
+ Wireless Fraud: The wireless industry dealt the "bad guys" the classic
one-two punch in the area of telecommunications fraud. For years, the
cloning of phones was the most costly form of wireless fraud. The 105th
Congress passed the "Wireless Telephone Protection Act" which banned
devices that scan for a phone's numerical identity codes and reprogram
another phone to match it, making the phones indistinguishable for billing
and tracking purposes. The bill also closed the legal loophole that requires
proof of "intent to defraud" to prosecute cloners.
The other element to combating fraud was acted upon in the final days of the
105th Congress with the passage of the "Identity Theft and
Assumption Deterrence Act". Recent analysis has shown that subscriber fraud
in the wireless industry has overtaken cloning as the most costly
fraud issue. At the urging of the wireless industry, the legislation was
modified to expand the definition of illegal activity to include fraudulently
assuming the identity of another person through the use of a
telecommunications instrument or via telecommunications identifying
information.
+ Wireless E 9-1-1 Legislation: In a mere six months, legislation was
introduced in the House and Senate with the intent of promoting a
comprehensive end-to-end communications system to save lives. The legislation
would make 911 the universal emergency number throughout the
United States. It would also provide funding for local governments to improve
their 911 systems, provide research on improved vehicle crash
notification systems, streamline antenna siting on federal property in order
to improve coverage, and provide parity between wireless and wireline
companies in terms of liability protection for emergency calls.
Because of last minute objections and a packed legislative calendar, the
"Wireless Communications Public Safety Act" did not have the
opportunity to be passed to the floor of the House and Senate for a vote.
However, the wireless industry is encouraged by the strong statements of
House Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin, Senate Commerce Committee
Chairman John McCain and Senate Communications
Subcommittee Chairman Conrad Burns that this piece of legislation will
receive Committee attention in the opening days of the 106th Congress.
+ CALEA: Legislation was passed in the House of Representatives that would
extend both the compliance and grandfather dates. Key members of
Congress advocated on behalf of the industry before the FCC with regard to
the extension of the compliance date. It is clear from report language
included in the Omnibus spending bill that Congress is displeased with the
fact that there is still no set standard and will urge the Justice
department to seek a solution with industry. This was accomplished despite
the strong resistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
+ Number Portability: Congress voiced its opinion on the FCC decision as to
whether or not to forbear on number portability requirements for
the wireless industry. After a letter from 22 members of the House and 9
members of the Senate, the FCC decided in early September to grant a
nine-month extension from June 30, 1999 to March 31, 2000 for implementation
of number portability requirements for wireless telephone
systems.
+ Y2K: CTIA supported legislation passed in the 105th Congress that would
protect its member companies from liability in their efforts to
exchange information to correct the Y2K millennium bug.
+ Taxes and Mandates: CTIA was successful in bringing the issues of excessive
taxes and mandates to the attention of Congress, highlighted by
the introduction in the House and Senate of a bill to repeal the outdated,
unfair and regressive 3 percent federal excise tax on telephone service.
Although the House and Senate did not pass the measure, the issue was a
springboard for informing members of the fact that the wireless
consumers pay 20 to 30 percent in taxes and mandates on their wireless bill.
In addition, the Omnibus spending bill included a provision that extended the
Research and Development tax credit through June 30, 1999.
The "Internet Tax Freedom Act" was included in the Omnibus spending bill that
included a three-year moratorium on new state and local taxes on
Internet access.
Because of our industry's exchange of ideas with Congressional leaders, CTIA
expects the issue of unfunded mandates to be considered next year
when Congress addresses the reorganization and oversight of the FCC.
+ Universal Service: The federal telephone excise tax repeal discussion was
successful in spurring Congress to address the need for a cap on the
universal service fund and greater oversight of the management of the e-rate
program at the FCC.
+ Bankruptcy (C-Block): A provision was placed in the Omnibus spending bill
that would have created significant difficulties for wireless
companies to finance growth. At the final hour, the provision was jettisoned
from the bill. The legislation would have raised $200 million by
recovering broadcast licenses from companies that successfully bid for
broadcast spectrum but later declared bankruptcy.
+ Bankruptcy: Although the Bankruptcy bill died in the closing days of this
Congress, the House version of the bill included a provision that
expanded the definition of "basic utilities" -- which cannot be terminated --
to include telephone, telecommunications, cable television and satellite
communication. The wireless industry was successful in having the utility
provision dropped from the conference report.
+ Anti-Tower Siting Legislation: The industry was successful in countering
efforts to repeal the Federal guidelines on State and local zoning
authority adopted by Congress as part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. The
industry particularly noted the growing importance and benefits
of wireless communications in emergency situations.
CTIA is the international association for the wireless telecommunication
industry.
After all this, I think we private citizens are going to have to contact our
congress people and give them a little more education about the significance
of grass roots movements!
--
----
Bill P. Curry, Ph.D. |Physics is fun.
EMSciTek Consulting Co. |Trying to make a living!
22W101 McCarron Road, |Phone: (630) 858-9377
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137 |Fax: same, but require prior notice
Home page: http://www.EMSciTek.com
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Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.feb.se/EMF-L/EMF-L.html