Sprint Spectrum L.P. has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Seattle challenging a six-month moratorium on tower building put in place in February by the city council of Medina, Wash., calling it a violation of the new federal telecommunications law.
Medina, which extends only about two square miles, has suspended further tower building based on aesthetic concerns, said Ed Mattix, chief public relations officer for Sprint Spectrum, a joint venture of Sprint Corp., Tele-Communications Inc., Cox Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp. The town already is home to AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and U S West NewVector Group cellular towers.
Mattix said the moratorium is prohibited under the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 and Federal Communications Commission rules. Medina City Attorney Kirk Wines disagrees.
The “Federal Telecommunications Act preserves local zoning authority but says you cannot completely restrict access to telecommunications,” said Wines. “We’re just taking six months out to decide what’s actually needed by the providers.”
Sprint filed a temporary injunction in the Seattle court, which the judge has denied. Wines does not think Medina is in violation “and neither did the judge,” he added. A hearing on the issue is scheduled for May 27.
“We need the site in Medina, otherwise there will be long-term quality and coverage issues,” said Mattix. Due to congested wireless traffic across the Evergreen Point bridge across Lake Washington-one of the highest-volume calling areas in the country, according to Mattix-the location is vital for supporting Sprint’s forthcoming personal communications networks, he said.
“We’re very sensitive to the needs of cities, working with them as much as we can to get sites that are acceptable in all ways.” But in the interest of the company and potential customers, Sprint must move forward as quickly as possible, Mattix added. A broader concern of the moratorium is that it sets a precedent and slows down the process of delivering services to consumers, Mattix said.
The irony in this dispute, which flies in the face of technology, is that Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates is constructing his multimillion dollar estate in the town of Medina.
