02/12/1996 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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League of Minnesota Cities 145 University Avenue West St. Paul, MN 55103-2044 BACKGROUND ON PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES (PCS) The Federal Communications Commission has awarded two licenses for wireless digital personal communications services (PCS) for much of the north central U.S., including Minnesota, North and South Dakota, as well as portions of Wisconsin and Iowa. PCS digital communications services are expected to enhance and compete with current cellular analog phone services. PCS will offer wide- ranging, portable and versatile applications that will enable individuals and businesses to use secure, accurate over -the -air paging, voice, fax, video and data transmission with the advantage of a single phone number available at any location to which the transmission is sent - as long as the signals can be received. FCC auctions of wireless spectrum will continue next March, with the possibility of two more PCS licenses to be awarded for Minnesota and other areas in the north central portion of the country. Receiving and transmitting those signals will depend on an extensive infrastructure, with many more sites required for PCS antenna, towers, and smaller repeaters to provide the flexibility and universality of service necessary for PCS to be fully operational in this area. Many more sites will be required for PCS equipment than the type and number of towers required for cellular communications. With that in mind, cities need to be prepared to consider local land use, zoning, lease agreements and other site -related considerations when responding to site selection inquiries and requests. With the expectation that increased affordability of PCS will drive down prices, those working on behalf of new wireless communications providers insist that such services will replace land -line plain old telephone service (POTS). Cellular phone services may be forced to change over from current analog to digital technology in order to compete. As a result, more sites and equipment changes can be anticipated. In the November issue of the Louisiana Municipal Review published by the Louisiana Municipal Association (LMA), an article describing the arrival of PCS technology in that state pointed out that the industry will need to build as many as 100,000 new towers throughout the country over the next five years. By comparison there are just 15,000 towers in place nationally for cellular communications. The industry expects there to be as many as 160+ million PCS subscribers by 2003, compared with 25 million cellular users. In Louisiana, efforts are underway to identify city property where towers will be located. Using as much public property as possible reduces the impact on neighborhoods and other portions of the community of the larger number of sites required by PCS providers. Co -location also becomes a serious consideration in efforts to convince providers to place equipment on a single tower, eliminating a number of sites which would otherwise be required. The city of Huntsville, Alabama has completed a master lease agreement to receive 15 percent of the gross lease revenues earned from use of PCS towers which are available as co -locations for other providers. The city also anticipates using the towers for its own communications systems. Industry spokesmen indicate that such facilities can be used for police communications, lighting posts for parks and athletic fields and other uses. AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER 312)281-1200a (800)9254 122 TDD(612)281-1290 Fa.v612 251.1299