Perhaps it's not earth-shaking news that a Long Island town reached a settlement with Crown Castle, approved by a federal district court magistrate, allowing the company to install 43 small wireless antennas. Indeed, it shouldn't have to be.
But in this instance the settlement is newsworthy because Crown Castle filed suit back in 2017 after the town of Hempstead denied the company's plan to construct the wireless facilities which Crown Castle said were necessary to plug gaps in the town's wireless broadband coverage. The court's order states that without the requested antennas, Crown Castle "will be materially inhibited or limited from providing personal wireless and telecommunications services."
It's important for the residents of Hempstead – finally, five years after the filing of Crown Castle's lawsuit – to have the matter resolved so that they can enjoy improvement in their broadband wireless connectivity. But the real significance of the case goes far beyond one town on Long Island. Unreasonable delays by cities and towns across America in processing wireless facilities applications all too often lead to unnecessary and costly litigation before the facilities deployment can move forward. While local authorities have a role to play in considering applications for local facilities, obstructive actions which are inconsistent with the FCC's rules and policies regarding wireless deployment reduce overall consumer welfare and the nation's social and economic well-being.
The Hempstead, New York, case, and there are many other examples, demonstrates why various actions taken by Congress and the FCC requiring a streamlined wireless facilities approval process are important. And it shows why it's also important that there be no backsliding by the FCC or other policymakers that would allow – indeed, encourage – more Hempsteads to continue imposing unreasonable, and unlawful, roadblocks thwarting the deployment of wireless facilities, including, of course, small 5G antennas.
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