[TowerTalk] hosting a commercial service on my tower

[David Gilbert]

I don't disagree with the trends you describe, but I think you may have 
the ramifications backward.  I am friends with the proprietors of a 
local wireless ISP, and they tell me that BECAUSE of all those increased 
regulatory concerns the FCC is actually encouraging the use of existing 
towers ... including amateur radio towers ... for such modest commercial 
ventures instead of proliferating more of them.

Each situation needs to be evaluated on its own and some of the 
extrapolations I've read in this thread don't make much sense.

73,
Dave   AB7E



On 1/22/2014 6:40 PM, Bill Jackson wrote:
> All,
>
> I am not a Telecommunications Lawyer and I did not sleep at a Holiday Inn
> Express last night, but I offer up these thoughts for consideration.
>
> Many of the privileges we enjoy as Amateur Radio Operators are the result of
> our consistent stance is that we are a not for profit, non commercial radio
> service.  This has resulted in the waiver of many of the regulatory
> processes that commercial entities must comply with in order to install and
> maintain wireless communications infrastructure.  In my own case, I was able
> to install my "dream" antenna farm with only a simple application for a
> building permit because I was able to truthfully say that my tower was to be
> used strictly for my hobby and in no way would generate any revenue for
> myself or any other commercial entity.  This enabled me to bypass the normal
> process of going before the County Planning Commission and County Board of
> Supervisors to obtain approval.
>
> Anyone who works in the wireless industry knows that there is an ever
> increasing amount of regulation at the federal, state and local levels.  For
> instance, the latest wrinkle is the FCC is now tying the National
> Environmental Policy Act into any commercial license application that
> involves an antenna structure.  For the moment, the interpretation by the
> FCC is that any newly licensed antenna support structure such as a tower or
> even a simple pole is subject to a full blown environmental and
> archeological assessment costing thousands of dollars before construction
> can begin.
>
> My concern is that hosting a commercial entity on a structure that was
> originally permitted and built under the guise that it is a non-commercial
> antenna structure may be construed as a shrewd way of getting around the
> regulations, with the end result being more regulation of antenna structures
> that are intended solely for Amateur radio use.
>
> Please consider what ramifications the agreement you are making with the
> commercial entity may have on the next ham in your community who wants to
> put up a tower on his property.
>
> Thanks and 73
>
> Bill Jackson, K9RZ
> Washington County, Nebraska
>
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