Matt Kapko
mocoNews.net
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 6:00 PM

The FCC's plan to require all cellphone towers to have at least eight hours of backup power has hit the skids, the AP reports. The White House Office of Management and Budget rejected the proposal late last week because the FCC failed to get public comment before passing the new rules last year. Federal regulators also criticized the FCC for not giving wireless companies information that would be useful in the process. Furthermore, the feds called into question the FCC's ability (namely manpower) to study the hundreds of thousands of documents the wireless industry would have to produce to fall in line with the regulations. The FCC told the AP that they're considering changing the proposed rules or may vote to override the OMB's decision, but a federal appeals court that put the rules on hold last summer would still have to rule before anything becomes final.

The FCC began crafting the rules after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which left many cell towers without power. The carriers have made a strong case against the FCC's rules, saying they would be hard pressed to implement longer backup power in more populated areas, and that zoning and permitting restrictions would make it impossible in some locations.

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