BREAKING NEWS: Briarlake's FCC License is Approved

Notice to Briarlake Elementary School Community:

 

PowerTel, Inc. has an approved FCC Permit for Briarlake Property

And, that Permit Now Belongs to T-mobile! 

April 16, 2012 (click headline for full story)

According to the website www.antennasearch.com, the campus of Briarlake Elementary School was pegged as a potential cell tower location way back in 1998. 

Apparantly, the campus is already approved by the FCC for a tower that was originally planned by PowerTel, Inc.  As you will see in Figure A above, the proposed tower site is still on file and registered as 149.9 ft. in height, even though no such tower actually exists on the Briarlake campus today. 

The location is indicated in Firgure A below:

FIGURE B:  This photo which has graced the home page of PTA-led protest group,

No Briarlake Tower, LLC, is similar to the photos provided by T-mobile

to the PTA members at other schools dipicting what the school might look like

with a pine-tree type tower, called a "mono-pine."  The No Tower Briarlake website

states that it was created by a parent to show the "absurdity" of a tower at their school.

But, the location is oddly similar to that of an already approved tower location back

from 1998 which Get the Cell Out - ATL has recently discovered on the records.

In 1998 when this permit was applied for, PowerTel was in the process of setting up its own GSM network in the Southeast U.S., with its headquarters being in West Point, GA. That is the same address listed in the FCC license on file for Briarlake Elementary.

We overlooked this FCC permit until now because we were told by No Tower Briarlake, LLC, leadership that the permit was for a satelite dish that was no longer in use.  That does not appear to be the case as the permit specifies that the tower that was granted was for a structure that stands approximatey 150 ft. tall.

However, we have been trying to understand why Lakeside and Narvie J. Harris have not received signed leases nor do they have FCC permits.  Brairlake Elementary School, on the other hand, has a signed lease, but we have not located any signs of a recent FCC Permit.  


The other six schools have both their leases and FCC permits.  All the other permits were issued around September of 2011.  Only schools with both signed lease agreements and approved FCC permits are eligible to move to the final paperwork round in this process which is to submit a local application for a zoning variance and a building permit.  This is the stage of the process where we expected public notification and input would be sought from the county as that is the process for a Special Land Use permit. 

If you have been following the story, you will know that the school system and T-Mobile have communicated to the county commissioners that they plan to seek a Special Administrative Permit which does not follow the same public notification process or standards for approvals.  The CEO and Director of Public Works or Director of Planning and Sustainability will need to make these final authorizations and have been warned by the commissioners and the public that the towers will likely be non-compliant with our zoning ordinances.

See what you think about the information (above) that is located on www.antennasearch.com and chime in on our comments sections.  After further review of this information, we now believe T-mobile will attempt to build its Bariarlake Tower over the Summer.  It appears that the tower will go immediately behind, or even on top of the gym, as indicated in Figure B, a photo that is located on the website for No Tower Brairlake, LLC.

We have been skeptical that the tower locations previously mentioned by T-mobile for Briarlake Elementary School campus would actually pan out to be correct for several reasons.  For one, our advisors have told us that T-mobile's usual claim is that they need to be on the highest ground possible, not stuck down low in a valley like the outdoor classroom space at Briarlake.  Second, the playground does not offer enough space for proper setback from the road or neighboring homes.

So, it is looking more and more like Figure B, above, is a very accurate rendetion of how "Option C" will look at Briarlake Elementary School. 


But, can T-mobile use a location approved for another company?  They can if they own that other company, too!

Upon further investigation, GTCO-ATL has learned that PowerTel, Inc. was actually acquired by by Deutsche Telekom AG on May 31, 2001.  They were made a subsidiary of VoiceStream Wireless, Inc., which was acquired by Deutsche Telekom on the same day.[1][2]  And, who, exactly is Deutsche Telekom (which means "German Telecom")? 

Well, it just so happens that T-Mobile International AG is a German holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany.  So, basically, the FCC license for a Briarlake tower, approved in 1998 by the FCC for PowerTel, Inc, is now already in the hands of the same people who own and operate T-mobile.

 

Exactly WHO is T-mobile?  Who is Deutsche Telekom?

Deutsche Telekom was formed in 1996 as the former state-owned monopoly Deutsche Bundespost was privatized.  As of June 2008, the German government still held a 15% stake in company stock directly, and another 17% through the government bank KfW (so, more than one third is owned by the German government (the only government the U.S. has declared war against - twice!).

Still think it is okay for our school board to be making a decision like this without following the rules of our county zoning ordinances and against warnings from our commissioners and protests from our neighborhoods and parents?  Well, let's see what this organization is known for... 

Guess what?  Deutsche Telekom is known for a major violation of privacy rights!  They even won the European version of the "Big Brother Award" for the most blatant disregard of people's privacy.

As part of a major  eavesdropping controversy, charges were filed against Deutsche Telekom for allegedly abusing call data to snoop on supervisory board members and journalists.[3] 

In October 2008 the company confirmed that personal information of 17 million mobile phone customers had been copied.[4][5]

The Deutsche Telekom eavesdropping controversy became public at the end of May 2008 through an article in the weekly, Der Spiegel.[6] The prosecutor has initiated investigations against eight former members of Deutsche Telekom's advisory board, executive board and former employees. The investigation focuses on alleged eavesdropping against journalists and members of the supervisory executive boards of Deutsche Telekom.  They were looking for the source of press leaks.

Keep that in mind as you think about the our school board, with certain members still under suspicion for corruption in connection with the former superintendent Crawford Lewis who is awaiting trial.   And, pay attention to what else is going on around town that might also be related - such as all the security cameras that have been going up at every intersection and along the Interstates lately. 

And those cameras are likely the tip of the iceburg with many, many more cameras still to come?  If you recall, voters approved  $4.5 million from SPLOST IV to be dedicated to "provide wireless Internet access to every classroom to support future technologies and allow students the ability to roam with their hand-held devices." 

Could the school system really have tricked us into approving the funding to put a cell phone in every child's hand?  Or perhaps an I-pad, such as the ones that the Briarlake Foundataion has been saving its donations to purchase.  Or the ones that reportedly are already in existance at Flat Rock?  Or the ones that were approved at this month's board meeting for two of the county's lowest achieving middle schools with "Race to the Top" dollars? 


And another $2.5 million  from SPLOST IV that is slated for "modifications and upgrades to security ... for existing buildings and facilities, including but not limited to, camera installation, lighting, ... closed circuit television, and video recorder installation."  See the website:  http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/splost-iv for more details. 

We tried to warn the public about the specifics in SPLOST IV before it was approved, but the highly-financed campaign for its passage and support from the Fernbank community overshadowed any progress we made.

Now we have to just "wait and see" like everyone else.  While we're all waiting, please take time to at a minimum, bring this subject up in your conversations to help spread the word about the dangers of cell towers in case the voters are asked about it on the July election.

What's Next?

If you live near Briarlake Elementary School or any of the other schools expected to be receiving cell phone towers this Summer, check back with us on this website frequently as we hope to soon have specific construction timelines (a.k.a. "The Plans" as mentioned in the T-moblie contracts).  We will provide the timelines and other details once Walter Woods, Spokesman for DCSS, responds to our Open Records Request (also on this site for your review).

If you receive any information that might help the other schools as well, such as emails or letters from those in leadership who may have insight on this topic, please email us with the okay to put on this website.  We will remove your name before posting to protect your privacy.

Direct your news to share or any questions about what you see here to sayno2celltowers@yahoo.com.

*****

1. http://web.archive.org/web/20010417190834/http://www.powertel.com/htm/abo/abo_com_chr.asp
2. http://web.archive.org/web/20000229170845/www.powertel.com/investor/investor_main.asp
3. Forbes.com
4. The New York Times
5. Dw-world.de (German)
6. a b Spiegel Online May 29, 2008