N.J. County Unlawfully Denied Small Wireless Facilities Application: Verizon

The denial by Monmouth County, New Jersey, of Verizon’s application to install nine small wireless facilities (SWFs) in the public rights of way violated Section 332 of the Telecommunications Act because the denial wasn’t supported by substantial evidence in the written record, alleged Verizon’s complaint Thursday (docket 3:23-cv-18091) in U.S. District Court for New Jersey in Trenton. The denial also constituted a material inhibition of service, in violation of the TCA’s sections 332 and 253, and violated the FCC’s 2018 shot clock order on SWFs, it said. Verizon needs to deploy the SWFs because its wireless network in that portion of the Jersey Shore has exceeded its capacity, said the complaint. “During the summer months this lack of capacity causes blocked calls,” it said. This service blocking “most recently occurred this past Labor Day weekend,” it said. Due to the county’s actions and omissions, “Verizon has been, and will continue to be, damaged and irreparably harmed,” absent the permanent injunctive relief it seeks, said the complaint.