Community planners, elected officials, and members of communities

Municipalities Play an Important Role in Meeting Demand for Wireless Service

ExteNet Systems invites community planners, elected officials and residents of communities across the U.S. to learn more about the company and its distributed networks for use by wireless carriers.

ExteNet has a municipal relations group that is dedicated to educating public officials (elected and planning/permitting staff) and communities about the many benefits delivered by a distributed network architecture.

Wireless subscriber connections in the U.S. now total more than 300 million, up 46% since 2005. Meantime, nearly 27% of U.S. households no longer have landlines and use only mobile devices, up more than 200% since 2005. And, approximately 400,000 emergency 911 calls are made each day with mobile phones. This demand for high-speed wireless data and voice has made distributed networks a desirable choice for carriers and communities.

Requests for Rights-of-way Agreements

This wireless industry growth means more communities are facing more requests for rights-of-way agreements to install equipment in an effort to improve wireless service. In 2010 alone, 15,000 new outdoor distributed network nodes were deployed in metro areas, according to In-Stat, a technology research firm.

The installation of a distributed network is well suited for areas where communities want to maintain their aesthetics. Distributed network installations consist of minimally sized antennas and boxes installed on poles and streetlights that are in rights-of-way, with fiber optic cable attached to each pole aerially or underground.

Municipalities initially unfamiliar with distributed networks are now seeing that applicable land use codes are similar to other utilities. This is because distributed network providers are categorized as telecommunications utilities rather than as wireless carriers. As distributed networks and providers become more familiar to planning staffs and local decision-makers, it is becoming clear that these installations do not require an intensive conditional use permit review.

Distributed network installations are generally subject to Federal and/or state laws that allow companies like ExteNet to install its facilities in public rights-of-way, subject to reasonable, non-discriminatory local requirements and limitations. Under Federal and/or state laws, the company is entitled to attach its equipment to existing utility poles and other infrastructure such as conduits, subject to limitations of the pole/conduit owners.

ExteNet provides facilities and services for transporting signals for use by companies (typically wireless carriers) with licensed radio frequency spectrum. ExteNet does not provide the actual wireless signal or services to carrier subscribers.

As a provider of distributed networks for use by wireless carriers, ExteNet works closely with cities, townships and communities across the country. ExteNet holds a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) or grant of authority from state regulators. After meeting with a municipality, ExteNet and its wireless carrier customers will suggest (1) a design for the distributed network (2) the locations where the network should be built to help improve coverage and capacity and (3) which type of equipment will best serve each area.

Read about distributed antenna systems deployed by ExteNet Systems in several communities here.

Learn more about our regulatory status – and see the current list of more than 20 states where we have published tariffs and have regulatory approval here.