AT&T, Verizon take aim at Lincoln (NE) as small cell battle goes local

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The wireless industry continues to urge regulators at the federal, state and local levels to make it cheaper and easier for network operators and others to install wireless equipment including small cells in new locations. And some of the nation’s biggest operators are starting to single out specific cities charging what they argue are excessive small cell deployment fees. It appears that the officials in Lincoln (NE) have emerged as some of the industry’s primary antagonists. “Verizon recently concluded that it would not deploy additional small cells in Lincoln, NE, at this time because of the $1,995/year attachment rate,” the operator said in a new filing with the Federal Communications Commission. 

Lincoln isn’t alone, of course. Operators ranging from Verizon to Sprint have pointed out what they argue are excessive fees in a variety of other locations across the country:

  • AT&T said it is “at an impasse” with the city of Oakland (CA) for a deployment of 60 small cell nodes because the city is charging a recurring rate of $2,300 per node.
  • AT&T also said it has delayed its deployment in locations in Maryland due, in part, to Howard County’s nonrecurring fee of $10,000 on top of $1,800 per permit, annual recurring fees of $25,000 for ROW rights and $1,000 per small cell node.
  • Verizon said Seattle (WA) is seeking $1,872 per pole per year with a 4% escalator “resulting in minimal small cell deployment” in the city.
  • Sprint said it has deployed more than 500 small cells in the City of Los Angeles, but none in Los Angeles County partly because of $9,820 in application fees there.

 


AT&T, Verizon take aim at Lincoln (NE) as small cell battle goes local