School Board Member Jay Cunningham said Lithonia has Wireless Dead Zones? Tell That to the FCC!

(click headline for full story)  In November 2011, the FCC released the "Connect America" fund, a program to encourage and accelerate the deployment of 3G wireless technology to those areas of the U.S. where it was not currently available.  In other words, the FCC wanted to know where the "dead zones" for coverage were located and how they could be eliminated.

The first phase of this mission was for the FCC to identify the areas of the U.S. that would qualify for the "Mobility Fund," or access to federal dollars to encourage building out of networks to rural and highway destinations not currently serviced.  So, they identified where there is an actual "need" for more cell towers in the U.S. in order to provide adequate coverage.

The map below is a screen shot of the FCC's interactive map.  This view shows the Atlanta, GA market in a close-up perspective.  Note, nearly every county in the Greater Atlanta area, including DeKalb County, GA, is NOT shaded in light grey.  This indicates that DeKalb County, according to the FCC, which sets the standards, is not in need of further build-out to support 3G and does not have any areas that would qualify for the federal program. 

In other words, in DeKalb County, GA, the FCC does not recognize any "dead zones." So, we ask ourselves, what is the reason for MORE towers?  If the FCC says we do not need them and the citizens of this county are saying that we do not want them,

why are our county officials continuing to approve further permits for them?

Below is the FCC interactive map that allows you to zoom in or out of certain areas to determine where the needs still exist to bring the nation up to 3G capabilities.  For more information about this program or how the FCC determines where the "dead zones" still exist (though clearly NOT in DeKalb County, GA), please visit the official FCC website and the latest article titled: 

Data, the Way You Want It.