Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a landmark lawsuit yesterday, asking the court to declare Google a public utility, reining in the ways the powerful search engine provides search results to Ohioans. “Google uses its dominance of internet search to steer Ohioans to Google’s own products–that’s discriminatory and anti-competitive,” Yost said. “When you own the railroad or the electric company or …
FCC, carriers asking SCOTUS to permanently put Portland’s ‘David & Goliath’ 5G order concerns to bed
The FCC, DOJ, carriers and wireless organizations strongly voiced their opinions last week to the U.S. Supreme Court that the high court should not consider the City of Portland, Oregon’s request to reopen challenges to the FCC’s 2018 orders that allowed the nation’s wireless operators to standardize the installation of 5G small cells on the local level in municipal rights …
COVID-5G conspiracist and serial litigator wants 10th Circuit to revisit New Mexico 5G cell tower ruling
The Tenth Circuit abandoned its judicial duty when it shot down most of the constitutional claims in March in a lawsuit accusing Santa Fe, NM of exposing residents to dangerous radiation levels by installing telecom equipment in public rights-of-way, a local alliance group has told the court. The Santa Fe Alliance for Public Health and Safety along with Monika Steinhoff, …
Broadband trade groups sue NY over $15 internet mandate. Gov. Cuomo says, ‘Bring it on’
Trade groups representing internet service providers sued the state of New York on Friday, alleging that a new mandate requiring ISPs to offer low-income internet plans capped at $15 each signed two weeks ago oversteps the state’s regulation authority. The lawsuit was filed by industry associations including the New York State Telecommunications Association, CTIA- The Wireless Association, ACA Connects – …
Terra Towers’ lawsuit against Torrecom alleges Peppertree and Goldman conspiracy
Majority shareholders of the telecommunications infrastructure firm Continental Towers LATAM Holdings Limited have filed a lawsuit against the Weston, FL-based company Torrecom Partners, LLC. The complaint alleges a conspiracy in coordination with Continental’s minority shareholders, Goldman Sachs and Peppertree Capital Management, to depress the company’s value and force a merger that would enable Continental’s minority shareholders to squeeze its majority …
Long Island town believes it has the right to deny applications for nodes with ugly antennas
The Town of Hempstead in Long Island, NY, last week aggressively replied to a summary judgment bid from Crown Castle that accused Hempstead of unfairly blocking the towerco from building 48 DAS nodes. In their response, Hempstead said that on January 18, 2017, Crown Castle submitted applications for the first 14 of 48 DAS nodes in the town’s right-of-way. The …
Pittsburgh is ‘illegally’ pocketing $580 on street light small cell fees says AT&T in a lawsuit
AT&T is suing the City of Pittsburgh for allegedly failing to meet the FCC’s shot clock requirements and for asking excessive fees for new cell structures in the city’s rights-of-way. The carrier states that the fees and delays for installing small-cell network equipment along city roadways have prevented AT&T from providing service to the area and violates the federal Telecommunications …
Lack of training kills a high school day laborer climber and his employer claims it was his own fault
Lakaram Karanjeet was working part-time for Rise & Rise Wireless, Inc. while he was in high school. He died on June 28, 2019 when he fell from this New Jersey 150-foot monopole. An investigation by Wireless Estimator into a lawsuit brought against multiple defendants exposes a wireless construction contractor that had no safety programs in place, few owned assets and …
Third strike against small Colorado telco requires it to reimburse the U.S. $6.75 million
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled March 15, 2021 that a rural telecommunications carrier based in Alamosa, Colorado owes the FCC $6.75 million for improperly claimed Universal Service Funds (USF) it received between 2005 and 2010. In 2016, the FCC demanded that Blanca repay the $6,748,280 in funds it received which it was not entitled. Blanca …
Crown Castle sues after it’s told that its landlords have to agree to not build a competitive structure
Crown Castle Towers, AT&T, and Sprint have brought a federal lawsuit against the Town of Riverhead, N.Y., the Town Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Planning Board and the Town’s building administrator for alleged “unreasonable delays” and “unsupportable effective denials” of their application to erect a 120-foot monopole. The template nature of the complaint, in part, is similar to the many …
DC Judge questions the existence of FDA working groups cited in FCC’s RF exposure order
A D.C. Circuit panel judge yesterday, during oral arguments, appeared unconvinced of the Federal Communications Commission’s support of their findings that cell phones and other connected devices pose no risks to human health. The Environmental Health Trust, Children’s Health Defense, Consumers for Safe Cell Phones and ten individuals filed a lawsuit against the FCC for review of the Commission’s order. …
Maine city and its planning board’s monopole siting spat could result in $1,000-a-day contempt fines
Bay Communications III LLC of Mansfield, Massachusetts wants to erect a 120-foot monopole on 182 Camden Street in Rockland, Maine and has had to resort to asking a federal court to find the city and its planning board in contempt of court for failing to follow through on a negotiated settlement reached in a November 12, 2020 U.S. District Court …
Illinois county’s ‘storage facility’ zoning language leads to AT&T lawsuit
AT&T filed a complaint in the Southern District of Illinois against the Monroe County, Illinois’ Board of Zoning Appeals and Board of Commissioners for their alleged “unlawful denial of a wireless communications facility siting request” in violation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as well as state and local laws. The carrier claims that the Act “preempts State and local decisions that …
Mediacom accuses West Des Moines of making secret $50 million fiber deal with Google
West Des Moines, Iowa approved a $50 million project to build a fiber network under the city and then secretly worked out a deal to give Google Fiber exclusive access to the conduit network, according to a lawsuit filed by MCC Iowa LLC, a subsidiary of Mediacom Communications Corporation. The complaint against the city and the West Des Moines City …
Google accused of search monopoly in landmark antitrust lawsuit brought by the DOJ
The Justice Department today filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google that says the most popular search website abused its dominance over smaller competitors. Justice Department attorneys and Republican led States Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indian, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Montana accuse Google of illegally using its monopoly power to suppress competition and hurt consumers through exclusionary deals like the one …
FCC chief lauds the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for their denial of a stay of the FCC 6GHz order
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai took to Twitter today with two thumbs up after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied emergency stays sought by AT&T and others of the the FCC’s decision to open the 6GHz ban for unlicensed WiFi. The FCC passed an order in April to open the band which is primarily used by broadcasters, …
FCC fines Sandwich Isles and its founder $50 million for fraud
The Federal Communications Commission has fined Sandwich Isles Communications, Waimana Enterprises, and Albert S.N. Hee of Hawaii $49,598,488 for violations of Universal Service Fund program rules that resulted in millions of dollars in improper payments. The agency issued the Notice of Apparent Liability in 2016. However, the fine might be more emblematic than enforceable against Hee, 67, who appears to …
After five-year legal battle, Berkeley must end extra radiation warning requirement
A federal judge ruled last week that Berkeley, California cannot require cell phone retailers to warn customers about the possible radiation dangers from holding phones close to their bodies, a conclusion that was largely based upon the FCC’s assessment that the warnings are unneeded and would be injurious to business. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen wrote in an 18-page order …
Family of man killed in Missouri TV tower collapse sues structure’s owner and design engineer
The family of the owner of a tall tower erection company killed when a 1,891-foot TV tower collapsed near Fordland, Missouri in 2018 has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Missouri State University Board of Governors (MSU) and South Carolina-based Tower Consultants, Inc. (TCI) who contracted with MSU to retrofit their structure as part of the FCC’s repacking effort. Steve Lemay, …
Feds want dangerous Florida contractor to be kept off streets while awaiting retrial
Prosecutors informed a Virginia federal judge Tuesday that a former government fiber optic design and installation firm contractor also providing cell site services is a danger to his Florida community and should remain in jail. They said the defendant in a $16 million fraud case has a “proven record of violence, threats, obstruction,” and failed to abide by previous court …
