Eloquent and elaborate quotes with references to Winston Churchill, the 1969 presidential inauguration and the devil himself spewed forth from press releases last Wednesday as three wireless associations praised the joint agreement between local governments and the wireless industry on antenna-siting moratoria.
The Personal Communications Industry Association chose words from the 1969 presidential inauguration to compare to last week’s antenna-siting moratoria decision: “We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another-until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices.”
” `This is not the end, this is not even the beginning of the end. Perhaps, however, it is the end of the beginning,’ was how Winston Churchill described a crucial point in the Second World War. That sentiment should guide us today,” said the press release from the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association.
“This agreement is a historic beginning, where the real winner is the public,” said American Mobile Telecommunications Association President Alan Shark at the beginning of AMTA’s press release. “And unlike any other agreement I have been part of, the devil is not in the details,” Shark said.
Pretty lofty speeches for an industry that did not achieve what it wanted initially: for the Federal Communications Commission to issue a blanket pre-emption against local governments issuing antenna-siting moratoria.
Nevertheless, this solution is the one the wireless industry needs.
The agreement calls for local governments to use negotiated guidelines in developing moratoria and notes that moratoria should only be used as a stop-gap measure while local governments enact zoning ordinances for siting antennas. If the wireless industry becomes frustrated with a particular locality or a specific locality believes the industry is being unreasonable, either party may request the non-binding resolution process. The agreement maintains both parties’ rights to seek a legal remedy if they are unhappy with the outcome of the resolution process.
Some communities, no matter how enlightened about the benefits of wireless, are not going to want antennas placed on their land. But no community likes federal law shoved down its throat.
It looks like the wireless industry finally is learning this lesson.
