An Analysis of Facility Siting Issues Under Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996

As mobile cellphone carriers become more prevalent, the regulations for siting antenna, towers, and associated equipment are expanding in kind. As each carrier must use its own technology, and must also pay the federal government for the licenses to use the radio-frequency waves to transmit their information, many carries are seeking assistance in siting issues in local siting issues from the federal government. Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 provided some assistance in the carriers’ attempts to ease the process of tower and facility siting. This article takes up Section 704 and local telecommunications facility siting requests and discusses facility siting, the balancing of interests & authority among the various levels of government, and key procedures and requirements under the federal law.