CTIA files suit against backup-power requirements

The mobile-phone industry asked a federal appeals court to overturn a new federal mandate setting minimum requirements for backup-power sources at cell sites and other wireless facilities, arguing the government overstepped its legal authority in attempting to address communications problems caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Wireless industry trade association CTIA filed the legal challenge against the Federal Communications Commission in the U.S. Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit. The FCC’s Katrina decision, among other things, requires mobile-phone carriers to provide at least eight hours of backup power at all cell sites otherwise serviced by local power companies. The FCC Katrina ruling also calls for new reporting requirements that the cellphone and tower industries consider overly burdensome. Industry officials predict the backup-power mandate could cost wireless companies hundreds of millions of dollars to implement.
CTIA and PCIA, the national wireless infrastructure association, have been critical of the backup-power rule and previously urged the FCC to reconsider it.