Pittsburgh is 'illegally' pocketing $580 on street light small cell fees says AT&T in a lawsuit

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Pittsburgh is ‘illegally’ pocketing $580 on street light small cell fees says AT&T in a lawsuit

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator April 8, 2021

AT&T is suing the City of Pittsburgh for allegedly failing to meet the FCC’s shot clock requirements and for asking excessive fees for new cell structures in the city’s rights-of-way. ... The carrier states that the fees and delays for installing small-cell network equipment along city roadways have prevented AT&T from providing service to the area and violates the federal Telecommunications Act and FCC orders.

The complaint, brought in federal court on Tuesday, says the city is requesting an annual fee of $850 for each cell facility to be built by the company, an amount that is nearly 215% higher than the $270 fee that is found to be reasonable by the FCC.

On December 8, 2020, AT&T finalized submission of two pole permit applications and paid the required filing fees. Both applications involved the swap-out of existing decorative light poles owned by the city with replacement poles of substantially similar design, the collocation of antennas at the top of each pole, and installation of radio equipment to be housed in shrouds.

The shot clock on the application expired on March 8, 2021, with the city taking no action on the applications, according to the complaint.

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