Opinion ID: 764058
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Unreasonable Discrimination Claim

Text: 21 Sprint claims it has been subjected to unreasonable discrimination in violation of subsection B(i)(I) because its application was treated less favorably than that of Frontier Corp., a cellular provider whose application for a single tower in the town's industrial area was approved by the Town Board in 1993. The record is sparse on this issue, but Sprint appears to base its claim on two grounds. First, Sprint asserts, and the Planning Board concedes, that Frontier did not have to undergo the extensive environmental review process with which Sprint had to contend. Second, Sprint points out that Frontier was permitted to construct a tower, consistent with its coverage plan, that allows it to provide in-building coverage, whereas Sprint's application for the three towers it requires to provide in-building coverage was denied. 22 Sprint has produced no direct evidence that Frontier provides greater coverage than Sprint would be able to if it were to site one or two towers in less sensitive parts of town. Sprint only points out that PCS systems (like Sprint's) require more towers than do analog cellular systems (like Frontier's) to provide the same level of service. This is because the analog cellular system operates at a comparatively higher power and lower frequency. 23 We assume, arguendo, that the Board's treatment of Sprint's application could be construed as discriminatory because (1) Sprint, but not Frontier, was required to undergo a time-consuming and costly environmental quality review procedure, and (2) the Board's denial of Sprint's three tower application could disable Sprint from matching Frontier's level of coverage. Even so, we think that the Planning Board's actions still would not be unreasonable within the meaning of subsection B(i)(I). [T]he Act explicitly contemplates that some discrimination among providers of functionally equivalent services is allowed. Any discrimination need only be reasonable. AT & T Wireless PCS, Inc. v. City Council of Va. Beach, 155 F.3d 423, 427 (4th Cir.1998) (internal quotation marks omitted). The legislative history of the TCA contemplated that the very form of discrimination asserted by Sprint would occur and should be permitted.[T]he phrase unreasonably discriminate among providers of functionally equivalent services will provide localities with the flexibility to treat facilities that create different visual, aesthetic, or safety concerns differently to the extent permitted under generally applicable zoning requirements even if those facilities provide functionally equivalent services. For example, the conferees do not intend that if a State or local government grants a permit in a commercial district, it must also grant a permit for a competitor's 50-foot tower in a residential district. 24 H.R. Conf. No. 104-458, at 208, reprinted in 1996 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 222. 25 In other words, local governments may reasonably take the location of the telecommunications tower into consideration when deciding whether: (1) to require a more probing inquiry, and (2) to approve an application for construction of wireless telecommunications facilities, even though this may result in discrimination between providers of functionally equivalent services. See AT & T Wireless PCS, 155 F.3d at 427 (discrimination based on traditional bases of zoning regulation such as preserving character of neighborhood and avoiding aesthetic blight not unreasonable). As far as the record reveals, that is what occurred in this case. Thus, we reject Sprint's unreasonable discrimination claim.