Section 6409(a) of last year’s Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 prohibits state and local governments from denying any eligible facilities’ request for a modification of an existing ‘wireless tower or base station’ that does not ‘substantially change’ the physical dimensions of such tower or base station. However, municipalities and operators have sometimes gotten stuck in debates regarding the definitions of tower, base station, and substantially change as described in the law. On Friday, January 25, 2013, in an attempt to settle the debate on Section 6409(a), the FCC released a Public Notice, further defining and clarifying the definitions of these terms.
California Wireless Law, Alan Hearty, Middle Class Tax Relief, Job Creation Act
Alan D. Hearty