May 1, 2005
First Come Cellphone Towers, Then the Babel
Fears that cell phone towers will reduce property values and cause health problems from radio-frequency emissions have created the kind of opposition that is usually reserved for waste treatment plants in many towns, reports the NY Times.
"The towers, sometimes disguised as fir trees, cacti or flagpoles, were once confined mostly to sparsely populated stretches of highway or industrial zones. More are being planted in residential areas as the wireless companies - responding to subscriber demands - race to build their networks for seamless coverage.
But many suburbanites would rather put up with bad cellphone service than allow the structures in their midst. In fact, many dead spots in the nation's wireless networks persist not from technological limitations but from community resistance to the towers."
Ed Donohue, a lawyer based in Washington who has represented wireless carriers in several cases, estimates that more than 500 cell tower disputes around the country have ended up in court.
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