Verizon, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the nation, has sued Chilmark after the town denied upgrades by the cellular company that would have expanded cell coverage to its customers.
The federal lawsuit, filed by Verizon on March 16 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, asserted that town officials overstepped their authority in a January decision when the select board unanimously rejected Verizon’s proposal to install small cell wireless antennas on 14 utility poles to boost coverage for its up-Island customers.
The board cited concerns that the upgrades only benefited Verizon, and could create an unfair advantage for the company and its customers. Tim Carroll, Chilmark town administrator, previously told The Times another concern was that “duplication of equipment” by Verizon on the utility poles, where American Tower leases equipment space to cell carriers, could lead to financial inviability for other companies when existing leases start ending next year.
Tim Carroll, Chilmark town administrator, declined to comment and said the board will meet soon about the case.
Verizon seeks to overturn Chilmark’s “arbitrary and capricious” denial through the court system and be allowed to “install, operate, and maintain” its small cell equipment.
In the suit, Verizon alleged Chilmark didn’t support its denial with “substantial evidence,” and had not provided its reasoning in writing, which the company claimed violated the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
“The town has no regulations or written policies establishing any standards for the board’s review of proposed attachments to utility poles in town rights of way,” the suit reads. “The application and the other information Verizon presented to the board in support of the application demonstrate conclusively that none of the 14 small cells on existing utility poles will interfere with the use of the town right of way or create safety or other issues.”
Verizon also alleged the town unreasonably discriminated against the company “when it lacks a legitimate regulatory purpose or is intended to favor one technology or provider over another,” and effectively prohibited wireless service by blocking it from making the upgrades it needs.
Cellular connectivity is an enduring issue in Chilmark, with “dead zones” in various parts of town, which have been raised as a public safety risk. In Chilmark and Aquinnah, Verizon utilizes a distributed antenna system (DAS), in which strategically placed nodes to enhance signal strength for cell phones are installed on aging equipment owned by American Tower. Verizon shares this equipment space with AT&T and T-Mobile. Chilmark also currently bans cell towers for public use.
“This results in the degraded service that the town itself has repeatedly complained about and demanded that Verizon address — yet the DAS’ structural limitations make meaningful improvement in service impossible,” Verizon’s suit reads.
