One southern California city’s consideration of small cell equipment in its rights-of-way is emblematic of the larger national trend happening across the country. Apple Valley—a town of about 70,000 residents—is weighing the installation of small cell equipment on publicly owned property and is working with a consulting company to explore the idea, reports the Daily Press.
“We’d be looking at Apple Valley’s assets,” Greg Steininger, the National Vice President of Communications at 5 Bars LLC, told the Daily Press. “You’ve got city buildings, you’ve got light posts. You’ve got parks in areas, bus stops. And the carriers are looking at all those assets and areas within the rights-of-way to place small cells and densify the area.”
5 Bars LLC is a consulting company who works alongside municipalities to market and lease city-owned property for wireless equipment. It has begun working with Apple Valley to explore possible revenue streams that could be created through wireless equipment.
Steininger said his company specializes in ensuring the aesthetic quality of small cell devices and that cities are able to retain their visual appeal while harboring wireless equipment. He also said carriers approach municipalities with a large quantity of small cell requests, requiring complicated master site plans.
“Many of (these communities) have come to us because the carriers are coming to them with large quantities of small-cell sites to be approved,” Steininger said, adding that each proposal is about one-inch thick. Although a deal has yet to be finalized between Apple Valley and a wireless carrier, Steininger estimates that the town at its current population would require a minimum of 70 small cell sites to fulfill capacity requirements.
In total, Steininger estimates the small cell market to reach about one million small cell sites across the United States within the next three to five years. He emphasized the need for municipalities to act swiftly in deploying small cell equipment, as several states—including California—are considering laws that would limit local authority over the zoning of the equipment.
Inside Towers has reported extensively on similar state laws in Ohio and Florida, which have faced significant pushback from local communities in those states.
“If a state enacts some type of legislation, that can override the rights or the ability of cities to use or leverage their assets,” Steininger said. “If you’re in a contract with a company like 5 Bars, and that legislation is enacted, there’s a grandfather clause…and you would not be beholden to that legislation.” SB 649, which would enable the enactment of small cell infrastructure across the Golden State, is currently being considered in the California Legislature.
March 30, 2017
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