For several years on the communications commission, also as administrator of the Rural Utility Service and now is head of pcia, the Wireless Infrastructure association which is what, mr. Adelstein . Guest this association represents the company that builds Wireless Networks, basically, the ones that deliver all of that content to your cell phone, your smartphone, your tablet. The big Cell Phone Companies are on there, at t, verizon, sprint, tmobile as well as companies that own and build the cell towers, the antennas that you find in Shopping Malls. All of the equipment thats behind the scenes that makes possible what you see on that little screen. Host so how many cell towers are there in the u. S. Right now this. Guest theres hundreds of thousands of them and, you know, the fact is its hard to keep up with the level of demand that we have for new infrastructure because of the demands that consumers are placing on the infrastructure we have today. Host what are some of the legislative issues that your organization focuses on . Guest well, were focused on making sure that we can eliminate barriers to getting those networks in place, building out these networks is our priority. So sometimes there are local siting issues, sometimes there are federal rules that might affect how we deploy things or what the impact might be on Historic Sites or the environment. We want to make sure we are sensitive to those issues. At the same time, we want to move forward on deployment because our customers, those who use these devices every day in their lives, depend on having a good, strong connection on getting the daytoday want where they want it, wherever they want it, and that means having a really robust Wireless Network,. Sos the spectrum auctions upcoming, big deal to you guys . Guest a very big deal. The fact that there is not enough Going Forward for the demand on the networks. In the next five years theres going to be an eightfold increase on the amount of data travels over these networks. The question is, how do you deal with that . Basically, theres three levers that our Companies Use to make sure they can meet those demands. They use spectrum, and they need more spectrum. They can use Technology Like moving from a 3g technology to whats called 4g, fourth generation, is more efficient. It allows to travel more over the same spectrum. And the third lever is infrastructure, the one we represent at pcia. Infrastructure is what delivers that out there. Now, the spectrum auctions hes because it takes many years. People dont really think about the fact it takes many years once spectrum is allocated for it to actually take that data off of existing frequencies on to new frequencies. And thats because we need to change out the handsets that people are using, and that doesnt happen every day. It happens over a series of years that the old happenedsets come out handsets come out. Many people are still using old 3g handsets and many using 2g, feature phones. Were going to be waiting a long time, and tear not allocating it fast enough to get that in place. Thats why we need this auction to happen as soon as possible. I think chairman wheelers being careful and deliberate about how hes getting it dope, but in the meantime, were talking about several years before we really get much help and maybe more than that from that particular band of spectrum. So were not seeing a lot of new spectrum coming out. So the short term is infrastructure, and you know youre in trouble when your shortterm solution is infrastructure because it takes a long time to get these things zoned, sited, built, up and running. Thats what carriers were saying, i was talking to a Major Network for one of the carriers who said in a spectrumconstrained world, we need to densify our networks. That means theyre building in, theyre adding more antennas within where they might have one on a tower now, theyll colocate next door, build a new one, talking about putting small cells in place in what are called contributed Antenna Systems that might go in a convention center, a Shopping Mall or stadium. So were looking at all these Different Solutions to deal with the fact that theres this sue tsunami of data that members are demanding, and we want to keep up with that. It helps local communities to keep up with this. We want to make sure our data is welcome, it can roll out quickly, effective and deliver the Service Consumers want at an affordable price. Host joining our conversation is paul kirby, telecommunications reports. One of the things pcia has pushed for is legislation that would allow you to probe pose infrastructure. Ways to deploy that infrastructure in a more streamlined, easier fashion, and some of the localities say it would violate zoning laws and their sovereignty. Wanted to get, i guess, your response to that argument and why the rules the fccs looking at is important. Guest look, local authorities are our partners in building these Wireless Networks. We wouldnt have this huge system, we talked about all those towers and antennas in place today if we hadnt gotten approval from local authorities. What Congress Said in the law they enacted in 2012 as part of the broader piece of spectrum legislation was that they want to make broadband a national priority. What the fcc has said is that broadband ask a national is a national priority. What were asking for in this rulemaking that the fccs looking at is lets have localities join that, and increasingly i think they are seeing the importance of broadband to their communities, to jobs, to health care, to education, and theyre acting to get these things done, but not all of them are. So what were saying is, look, Everybody Needs to get onboard. Six states this year alone have enacted legislation to streamline broadband deployment. We expect that the fcc is going to do the same. Theyve been really very great partners with us and working with state and local government toss make sure we can get broadband where it needs to go. Now, theres a lot of reasons for this. We issued a study recently, people talk all the time about the economic benefits in broadband. We said lets put pen to paper and put a number on it. We had independent economists research this, and our companies are making huge investments in capital expenditures, the largest of almost any industry this the world. 35 billion a year over the next five years each year theyre going to be investing in the United States in infrastructure building these things out. What does that mean though . That small investment has disproportionate impact on the economy because broadband is revolutionary in how it changes everything. It changes how businesses operate, where jobs are created, how health cares delivered, how education is taught. All of these things are made possible by wireless broadband. So this study calculated what is the value to the economy. It turns out that we expect, if policymakers allow us to make these investment, that there will be 1. 3 trillion with a t increased Economic Activity additional Gross Domestic Product, gdp, as a result of these investments in Wireless Infrastructure over the next five years, and that translates into 1. 3 million jobs. Thats 1. 3 million jobs at a time when we dont have enough. Not just in the Wireless Industry, but in all the other industries that are adding. But it also takes some away. You might not have as many toll booth operators when people are using a Wireless Network to whip through the toll lane. So local communities, i think, are getting this. Sos the fcc. But specifically, i mean, some of the rules concern one of the proposals that the industry has favored is a few years ago the fcc adopted what are called their shot clock rule and basically says localities have to act by a certain period of time. The industry has said, okay, if they dont do it by then, it should be deemed granted. Why is that necessary . Guest well, congress saw the need for this. Congress said in this law in 2012 that they passed that if an application is made for local zoning that it must be approved, must be approved and cannot with denied. Cannot be denied. That is congress. So what theyre saying, is and these are in the case of when youre colocating, in other words, you might have an existing tower that at t is op, but tmobile wants to colocate. So rather than building a new tower, why not let them do that . Why not let them go on . That shouldnt require new zoning because the tower was already zoned. So why would you go through that process again . The president has set a goal of 98 of the country having wireless broadband by 2016, and what congress is saying, what were asking the fcc to interpret is theres no room for delay when its something that should be automatic. You mentioned earlier distributed Antenna System. They are among a category that are not the fullsized towers people are used to seeing. Tell us why its necessary for the fcc to adopt rules to streamline the deployment of what are called das systems. Guest these are smaller, by definition. They dont take up space of a 200foot tower, theyre not as intrusive, and they shouldnt be subject to the same rules. The macro system, we call it, of towers is going to be the backbone of the network no matter what. But theres a need to fill in spaces where theres extra demand inside of a stadium in a very busy urban corridor where they want to put small cells to target that capacity to where people are using their devices and drawing down a lot of data. But if same requirements go to each one of these antennas, each node on the Antenna System is going to slow the process down. As a matter of fact, itll kill the Business Model. Frankly, this is very expensive building these networks out. And the fact that these companies are forced to do this because theres not enough spectrum is something that we are seeing, because they need to get the service where its got to go. But you can break the back of the Business Model if it ends up costing the same amount in terms of Regulatory Compliance to put in each cell as they would have to go through to build an entire tower. So these are not going to provide the same level of coverage, they cant be subject to the same costs and regulatory hurdles or it wont work. So if we want to get service where its needed, we need to do that. I mean, take the example of poles. Were talking about utility poles. A lot of times you can put a Communications Device on them. Because its a licensed Communications Device, it gets through all this regulatory review. It was a transformer that the Electric Company that owns that pole was putting up, theres none of these reviews because its different. But, in fact, the small cell would be smaller than a transformer. And yet because it is what it is, it has to go through additional regulatory hurdles. All were saying is lets streamline this process. Yes, lets make sure that all the bases are properly covered, but there needs to be a stream laurened, quicker process streamlined, quicker process. The Cable Companies are trying to build out these wifi networks, and theyve done well so far, but theyre going to run into more and more issues if we dont streamline the process. The fcc totally gets that. The fccs working with us on that. Host jonathan adelstein, you talk about streamlining, is that Something Congress can work on or are you talking about localities . Guest this is really both federal and local, how they look at the small cell versus the large tower. There are federal rules in terms of Historic Preservation, section 106, theres an Environmental Protection act that apply. So the question is how do you streamline that process so that the fcc doesnt get caught up. If that happens, were not going to be able to bring the benefit of broadband to these communities. Its going to get slowed down irretrievably. Theres no time to wait. The president , the fcc, the congress have said we need to get these networks built quickly. If we find were throwing regulatory hurdles in front of each little node on a 200knolled Antenna System, its going to take forever and kill the Business Model. Thats why were looking at streamlining federal rules, streamlining local and state willinglations as well. Host do you face in your industry nimby, not in my backyard rules . Guest well, sure we do. You hear people concerned about whether somethings going to be sited in their back yard, but that shouldnt block the majority of the community. There might be a handful saying not in my backyard, but others are saying we want this. And increasingly were seeing, yes, in my backyard. People want this. Most young folks that you talk to dont even have a wire line phone anymore, and 40 of all americans dont use a wire line phone. So they want cell service. When a Young Persons shopping for a home or using a realtor, one of their must haves is Wireless Service. I mean, my kids have to have their broadband. You wont put up with it if you dont get good service. But what about, you know, that . The attitude is really shifting. Were finding that people are increasingly welcoming. Yes, there are always people that dont want it in their back yard, but thats precisely why the industrys responding. Were targeting to where its needed most, building distributed Antenna Systems where theres demand, we can, you know, hide and do stealth techniques to make things blend into the environment more. But in the end, look, weve got to build bigger networks. Theres no way to meet that kind of demand over the next five years without building more infrastructure. And people, i think, are beginning to get that. Another issue the industrys always faced is an issue that some localities try to get authority over. They have no authority over it. Its an fcc issue. Thats something you always face even with small cells, even with das. People say, okay, fine, das is small, but what if theres 100 of them or 1,000 of them, so how do you counter that . Guest i think people need better education on this. All the studies have shown this is perfectly safe, but i understand that people have concerns, and we need to address them. The fcc now is involved this doing a comprehensive study of rf, radio frequency emissions and what safety implications there are, if any. We really believe, i mean, i was on the fcc for seven years, theres no way theyre not going to protect the public. Thats what they do for a living, and they set the rules. Localities, by law under section 322 of the Communications Act, are not allowed to take this into consideration this local zoning decisions, but they do it all the time, you know . They say dont put it near a school. Dont put it near a school . Those kids are using broadband every minute of the day. Theyre sucking up huge demand on their ipads be, their iphones, using it for their education. Thats preseussly where we need it. As a matter of fact, some schools can gain revenue, and its completely safe. Look, i understand, you know, some soccer dad or soccer mom might not know because thats not what they do for a living. So its very important the fcc put out, i think, intelligible information to the public from a reputable source, the fcc, as to what is and isnt safe so that parents feel comfort can be, as they should. Because every studys come back the same way. Will really are no Serious Health implications here, and if there were, i wouldnt be in this job. I mean, i believe we need to get this broadband out, and its something we can do with complete safety. But the public, i think, needs to be educated about that. I think and understandably so. Now, fcc chairman tom wheelers been very active since he came in november. He worked for the Wireless Industry when you were at the fcc, he was the head of ctia. Can you give us a sense of how hes done so far, and are there issues he hasnt addressed so far that you would nudge him on . Guest well, you know, i think chairman tom wheeler is the right person at the right time for that job. I was thrilled when the president announcemented his appointment. Ive known him for many years, and he is a person of impeccable integrity, hes a person whos a strategic thinker, hes decisive, hes bold when he needs to be, hes thoughtful and careful. Hes remarkable in how fast hes moving on a number of fronts at the fcc. Hes able to manage, hes able to draw on the lessons of hesly and understand that were at a Pivotal PointMany American history where we have this opportunity to build this Enormous Network thats going to transform be how we live our daily lives, how we educate our kids, how we deliver health care, how we have our First Responders go into a burning building with the blueprints on them. He gets all that, and hes focused like a laser beam on how do we enable this to happen. So hes look at how the capital flows, and he gets. And if theres delays because of regulatory hurdlings that capital wont blow to investment flow to investment to get signal where it needs to be for the end user. You know, a priority for us is this notice of rulemaking that we mentioned at the beginning, this idea that