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Can You Hear Me Now?

National sports teams are doing it, owners of the nation's tallest buildings are getting in on the act, why a few homeowners are even cashing in…and we aren't talking about selling endorsements (Your water is brought to you today by Mr. Whipple and the good folks at Charmin. We look forward to your future business!).

From water towers to artificial-looking trees, as the number or subscribers across the nation increases for cellular, wireless Internet and fax, video imaging, and teleconferencing, the need for new antennas will become even more critical…and possibly even profitable for those that just happen to have a piece of prime real estate rising above the horizon.

According to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, the number of cellular and personal communications services (PCS) antennas has increased from 51,000 back in 1997 to nearly 190,000 in 2006. Currently, according to the industry association, service providers are siting, or adding, roughly 15,000 new antennas each year.

So, it is a pretty sure bet that wireless service providers are looking for locations to place new antennas. On building rooftops, highway right of ways, and yes, even on water tower...additional antennas will be popping up anywhere that's needed to provide an uninterrupted signal as callers move about. While there is clearly a potential for water systems to cash in on the current crop of new antennas that are springing up, there are also a number of potential pitfalls that could arise.

In this issue of the Safe Drinking Water Trust eBulletin we'll look at ways that your utility might be able to cash in on the wireless craze while maintaining its focus on the larger issue...providing safe, affordable, drinking water for yourself and your neighbors.

Additional Resources
New York state’s Practical Guide for Communities Managing Wireless Telecommunications Facilities Siting
www.dos.state.ny.us/lgss/pdfs/telecom.pdf

Location, Location, Location…

Almost overnight they appear across the horizon. Silhouetted against the sky or squirreled behind trees or buildings, cellular telephone towers are everywhere in the cities, suburbs, and towns of America.

Faced with federal licensing requirements and increased competition, wireless service providers are under increased pressure to extend their networks geographical bounds. Forecasts in the late 1990s suggested that 100,000 cellular telephone towers would be in place by 2010. However, that estimate proved to be far too conservative as early as 2001.

Despite the nation's seemingly endless desire for new or expanded service, the growth of cellular networks continues to be a source of controversy across the nation.

Objections and concerns often range from the visual impact to the perceived health risks associated with placing antenna towers (some more than 250-feet tall) in populated areas. In an attempt to manage the proliferation of new towers, many communities have initiated zoning ordinances or other actions, such as temporary tower-building moratoriums.

Despite their best efforts to deny permits for the construction of towers, cellular and other wireless service providers have often been successful in overturning local restrictions through the courts citing the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which prohibits communities from imposing outright bans on wireless equipment.

These, and other, concerns have led to the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) movement which, in turn, appears to be leading wireless service providers to take a renewed interest in placing antennas on existing structures.

Steel In the Air founder Ken Schmidt, says that while the potential exists for water systems to turn their lofty parcels of real estate into cash, enticing a wireless service provider to place an antenna on your tower is not as simple as you might think.

According to Mr. Schmidt, there are certain factors that could make your site stand out above the rest, including:

1. Distance to adjacent towers: If there is an existing cellular tower within one mile of your location, chances are not good that another will be built. The local zoning jurisdiction will generally require the use of existing towers first. If there are no towers nearby, then your property may be more desirable if:
2. Dense population or high traffic counts: The location is surrounded by either an urban or suburban population or alternatively nearby roadways have high traffic counts If you are in a rural area and are not within ½ mile of a major highway or town of 2,000 or more, chances are very slim that your site will be attractive to wireless service providers.
3. Zoning: Many jurisdictions have ordinances that allow communications towers only in particular land use zones (industrial, commercial, agricultural) and do not allow them in others. If you have an industrial parcel surrounded by residential property, the likelihood that a wireless carrier could use your property increases.

Even if you find that your location still appears favorable after reviewing this list of qualifications, it is best to remember that patience is a virtue. If a tower is needed in your area, today or in the future, it is almost a sure bet that the wireless service providers already know about you. These folks spend significant money and resources designing their systems around very specific radio frequency engineering standards and often target specific geographic locations.

Additional Resources
Tower Locator
www.cellreception.com/towers/index.html

Cellular Carrier Lease Proposal Websites
www.t-mobilelandlords.com/homeLandlords.aspx
www.crowncastle.com/contact/propertyRegistration.shtml
www.americantower.com/atcweb/LandOwners/LandOwners.htm
www.americantower.com/atcweb/LandOwners/LandOwners.htm

What to Do When the Cell Phone Rings

Let's just say for the sake of discussion that your water system finds itself in the lucrative position of being selected as a possible site for one of the 15,000 new antennas that will be popping up across the country this year.

After climbing to the top of your water tower and screaming at the top of your lungs "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?", it would be a good idea to get in touch with your state primacy agency to check into state regulations regarding the placement of an antenna on a portion of your system and to retain the services of an attorney, a consultant, or possibly even both!

Even if you are eventually able to hammer out the terms of a potential lease agreement, it is important to remember that there is a good chance that you will be faced with an agreement that could span the next 25 years. So, don't let the sound of imaginary cash registers going "cha-ching" in your head rush you into any agreement until you are fully aware of the current, and future, impact it may have on your system.

The cost of a qualified attorney or consultant is generally minimal compared to the money that you will receive over the term of the lease, or the amount you could be forced to pay if damage is done to your system during the installation process.

According to many industry experts, one of the first questions you should ask potential counsel is specifically how many wireless leases they have negotiated. If the answer is less than 5, it might be a good idea to keep looking. While Ben Matlock did a bang-up job defending the maid that was accused of killing her employer in the television series staring Andy Griffith, he wouldn't exactly be your first choice in negotiating a cellular lease.

A cellular tower lease agreement could be a very lucrative proposition for your system if handled properly. Where else can you sit back and receive a nice monthly check for simply allowing a dish roughly the size of a bathtub to be mounted on your property?

Wireless Service Providers: Answering More Than Just the Phone

If you find yourself in the position of negotiating a lease agreement with a wireless service provider, it is important that you start the process off by consulting with your state primacy agency and a good attorney. Next you will want to start asking a whole host of questions, including:

1. What are the local zoning codes and ordinances related to towers and antennas?
2. What is the going rate for a tower or antennae in this area?
3. What is the average lease payment offered by the provider?
4. Why are you interested in our property?
5. Are we willing to provide the service provider with 24-hour access to the site?
6. What type of antennae will be installed? Will the installation damage our water tower or facility?
7. What are the termination terms of the lease?
8. Will the wireless service provider maintain liability and property insurance in sufficient amounts?
9. Is the wireless service provider willing to pay a portion of any real estate taxes on the site?
10. Can You Hear Me Now?

This is also a good time to explore the possibility of having the wireless service provider install a "stealth tower." This is where the wireless service providers camouflage equipment to resemble church steeples, smokestacks, and even artificial trees. While we admit that a 20-foot pine tree protruding from the top of the local water tower might raise a few eyebrows, an antenna disguised to look like a flagpole might be the icing on the cake for local residents.

Tip: Remember, you aren't the only system in the country that has debated whether or not to lease space for an antenna…why not ask neighboring water systems about their own decisions and even their leases—you might just benefit from their experiences.

Additional Resources
Federal Communications Committee Tower Siting info
http://wireless.fcc.gov/siting/

Time Magazine article on Stealth Tower Designs
www.time.com/time/insidebiz/article/0,9171,1101021209-395336-1,00.html

Protecting Your Investment

Poor workmanship and improper installation of wireless antennas can spell disaster for utility providers. Looking beyond any short-term financial gains that a system can hope to receive from leasing space for an antenna, it is critical that system decision makers remember that their most important responsibility is to provide a safe, reliable supply of drinking water...not faster internet service or a clearer signal to local cell phone users.

While leasing revenues from antenna installations have been a welcome development for many water utilities, problems stemming from improper installation have occurred. In a nutshell, some installers fail to recognize that a water tower is not simply a platform for their antenna. Installation problems have resulted in:
• structural damage,
• coating and corrosion damage,
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations,
• restricted access to ladders, access ports, and hatches,
• contamination of water supplies due to improperly sealed penetrations of the tank,
• interference with future painting plans, and
• problems with aesthetic appearance.

These problems can result from improper reinforcement of penetrations through the base and roof of the structure, welding damage to coatings, failure to replace vent screens, and other engineering concerns. Some systems have also experienced problems later down the road when it came time to paint their towers resulting in lengthy debates, and even court appearances, over the disruption of service while antennas were removed and protected during the painting process.

It is also important to remember that if your system has an existing maintenance contract with an outside company to paint and/or maintain your facilities, that company will need to be consulted so that you don't inadvertently void or cause problems with an existing agreement.

To avoid these common mistakes, water system decision makers should always follow three simple steps to ensure that the job is done properly:

1. Require the wireless company to provide drawings of the entire installation, including site utilities, ground structures, equipment panels, cable routing, and antenna structures before any installation is agreed upon.
2. Have a qualified engineering firm experienced in both water tower design and antenna installation perform a structural analysis of the tank to ensure that it can safely support the antenna. Next, they should review the drawings submitted by the wireless service provider and verify that the proposed installation won't interfere with tank's normal operations.
3. Finally, the water system should have the engineering firm inspect the completed installation for conformance with the drawings.

And remember, the time to require these steps is when the system is negotiating the lease. Once the antenna is installed it may be too late.

Additional Resources
AWWA Opflow article on protecting water storage tanks from antenna installation damage
www.awwa.org/communications/opflow/2006/March/Features/OPF032006_Feature_1.cfm