Opinion ID: 200247
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Consideration of Services by Out-of-town Carriers

Text: 40 Second Generation attempts to buttress its argument by saying the coverage that does exist should be ignored and so this is actually a situation where no carrier provides coverage. The only carriers that provide coverage in the purported gap are U.S. Cellular, which provides roaming service via the Cingular Wireless network, and Cingular Wireless, which is not licensed in Pelham and provides service from a tower in Dracut, Massachusetts. 41 Second Generation raises a question of law as to whether the town or court may consider service by these carriers. In ascertaining the existence and extent of coverage for purposes of resolving an effective prohibition claim (and indeed the proposed solution), we hold it permissible to consider (1) roaming service, (2) the coverage provided from towers in other towns, and (3) service by carriers not licensed in the jurisdiction at issue. See Cellular Tel. Co., 197 F.3d at 71 (Under the right conditions it may be possible to provide an adequate level of personal wireless services to a particular community solely through facilities located outside that community.); accord Omnipoint Communications MB Operations, LLC v. Town of Lincoln, 107 F.Supp.2d 108, 117 n. 8 (D.Mass.2000). 42 Second Generation protests that this result would allow Pelham to displace onto other jurisdictions the obligation to host new cell towers and would infringe the rights of carriers that purchased FCC licenses for the geographic area including Pelham. Both these arguments overlook the fact that licensed carriers may be able to co-locate on the same (existing) tower(s) used by out-of-town carriers. 12 The argument, moreover, runs contrary to the TCA's emphasis on protecting the interests of consumers and residents rather than those of carriers and developers. 43