Current Situation
Since the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, there has been an explosion in the growth of cell phones and other wireless communications applications.  This has resulted in the construction of many “sites” along roadways and in population centers to accommodate the many different service providers.  Now that the carriers’ initial build outs have been completed, there are many opportunities that exist to develop new sites in underserved/rural markets as well as to develop filler sites to handle holes in coverage and offload traffic from oversubscribed sites.

Regulation of the location of sites has been left up to municipal governments.  One of the problems local officials face is that, according to current legislation, they must grant a carrier a permit if the carrier can demonstrate a need for a new antennae array.  Axiomatically, there will forevermore be resistance from some members of every community that they do not want any more towers in their town.  This creates an opportunity for churches to offer space in their steeple in return for financial consideration, and thus create a very nice win-win-win situation for everyone: churches receive a stream of income, wireless companies increase their coverage, and communities avoid the proliferation of unsightly towers.