Published: September 04, 2008 09:41 pm         

Cell network expansion in West Virginia in jeopardy

U.S. Cellular has recommended 12 sites in West Virginia to build new cell towers in 2009, six of which are in the Beckley and surrounding trade areas, but those expansion plans could be jeopardized if federal funding is cut, claims U.S. Cellular chief executive officer John Rooney.

“The Federal Communications Commission is considering a proposal to cut in half the amount of federal dollars that cellular phone companies can use to build new networks in West Virginia’s rural areas,” Rooney said.

“The proposal would eliminate portions of the Universal Service Fund intended to help build cell towers and other wireless infrastructure in rural areas.”

Rooney says many public safety officials are worried that many of West Virginia’s rural areas will be left with dangerous dead zones.

“This can jeopardize your safety during emergencies like car accidents, natural disasters and domestic violence,” Rooney claims.

The number of 9-1-1 and emergency calls placed via cell phones, for example, has grown exponentially in recent years, according to Rooney, from 55,000 emergency calls per day in 1995 to more than 290,000 calls per day in 2007.

“This clearly shows the increasing importance of the cell phone as an emergency lifeline,” Rooney said.

“That’s why this recent proposal by the FCC is so troubling to me, and potentially dangerous for rural West Virginia.”

Rooney says wireless carriers cannot always justify the setup and maintenance costs of building reliable networks everywhere they are needed.

“Congress created a program called the Universal Service Fund to provide telecommunications carriers with an incentive to build communications networks in sparsely populated rural areas that would otherwise not support investment,” he said. “Contributions to the USF come from consumers when we pay our phone bills. In fact, West Virginia consumers contribute an estimated $43 million to the USF annually, but only receive $21 million per year in federal support for new wireless construction. Comparatively, landline companies in West Virginia receive $53 million per year.”

Rooney says the FCC placed a cap on the wireless portion of the fund earlier this year, and now proposes drastic cuts.

“If the FCC cuts USF support for wireless carriers, West Virginia will lose roughly $8.8 million per year in USF funding, or about 41 percent of current levels,” he said. “Dozens of new cell sites could be canceled or delayed.”

Rooney says the funding cuts would offer consumers very little savings and would threaten the company’s planned expansion in rural West Virginia.

“Cutting the fund in half would save consumers just 17 cents a month, about the cost of a teacup of gasoline,” he said. “Which would you rather have, a teacup of gasoline once a month or reliable and dependable wireless service every day of the year?”

U.S. Cellular’s plans include 70 new cell tower site over the next five years in West Virginia, according to Rooney.

The FCC is likely to take up the issue before the general election in November, he said.

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