The wireless industry’s toughest challenge may not be choosing 3G standards, or whether the handset
or the network should transmit E911 information. Rather, the industry’s greatest stumbling block may be its
customers.
The majority of the nation’s 60-plus million wireless phone users most likely do not believe in the
cellular towers critical to their wireless habits-at least, not when those towers are near their homes.
While the
wireless industry may have the Telecommunications Act of 1996, state and local zoning ordinances to back its tower-
siting efforts, people are not so easily convinced.
This month, two tower issues received attention from the
consumer press, and the underlying theme was the same in both cases: People don’t want towers near their
homes.
A Colorado health study released this month found no definitive link between the cluster of towers on
Lookout Mountain and the cases of benign and cancerous brain tumors among people who live nearby, according to
The Denver Post.
Lookout Mountain overlooks the city of Denver, offering some nice views. Friends of mine got
married up there. However, part of the mountain is loaded down with all types of transmission towers that can only be
described as ugly.
“A neighborhood group called Canyon Area Residents for the Environment has repeatedly
raised concerns about the potential health effects of the antennas, particularly as the Jefferson County commissioners
consider a proposal to build a bigger tower and consolidate antennas for high-definition TV there,” according to
the Post article.
Because some of the towers on Lookout Mountain have been there for 40 years, some people are
questioning whether homeowners on Lookout Mountain are really concerned about their health or their property
values.
The GTE Wireless case is clear cut. A Texas jury ordered GTE to pay $1.2 million to a couple who said a
100-foot cellular phone tower located near their home has decreased their property’s value and decreased their privacy.
(The jurors must have really valued privacy.)
The new tower was erected to replace two existing towers housed on
the city property.
GTE, which had a deal with the city to build the tower, said it decided to fight the Texas lawsuit in
court because it feared the case would be precedent-setting.
If homeowners can sue telecom carriers-and win-
because a tower not located on their property brings their property values down, look out. That avalanche you hear is
the roar of lawsuits coming down the mountain.
