T-Mobile withdrew its application to install a wireless facility just ahead of a June 17 San Francisco Planning Commission hearing on the St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church conditional use request. The company has encountered organized, educated citizen opposition to this and other facilities near homes and schools. Last Thursday, T-Mobile got a continuance after citizens presented arguments against another installation.
T-Mobile’s withdrawal letter for the St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church site concludes:
We view this as a case of unfounded fear overshadowing thoughtful planning, science and reason. This withdrawal will not eliminate the need for improving wireless coverage in the area. To fulfill its federal mandate and its commitment to customers, T-Mobile must re-apply with one or several alternative sites. We trust that the Commissioners and community will favorably consider the alternatives in light of T-Mobile’s voluntary withdrawal of this application.
The “federal mandate” it refers to is probably their FCC license to build and operate a network in the area, but no federal mandate requires the company to expand infrastructure (from 582 existing to 1,530 antennas within 5 years) in order to attract broadband customers, which is T-Mobile’s goal.
With just one carrier’s plans to almost triple the number of its antennas within five years in one city, Glendale citizens’ worries about cell tower and antenna proliferation seem very reasonable. A national strategy for managing wireless infrastructure that takes citizen and resident concerns into account is overdue.
It’s gratifying to see that some local governments are not buckling under the unfair constraints of the 1996 FCC Telecommunications act.