New Jersey water towers could host wireless gear

In New Jersey, a water tower is more than utility hardware. It can also be the kind of high ground wireless carriers need if they want to push stronger service into neighborhoods, along road corridors and across places where new infrastructure is slow and expensive to build.

A bill from Sen. Angela V. McKnight would tell investor-owned water companies regulated by the Board of Public Utilities, or BPU, to give wireless communications providers non-discriminatory access to available space on water towers they own or control. The pitch is simple: use structures that already exist to help people reach newer wireless technologies and services sooner.

A new use for old towers

The measure, called the Smart Planning Wireless and Water Public Utility Facilities Act, does not read like a sweeping rewrite of telecom policy. It is narrower than that. It focuses on one asset class, water towers, and one question, whether wireless equipment can be placed there without the utility picking winners and losers.

That matters because tower space is scarce. If a provider can mount equipment on an existing water tower instead of building something from scratch, the path to better coverage can be shorter and less disruptive.

The rent split

The bill also tries to make the financial side of that arrangement work for the people already tied to the utility. Its findings say legislation that promotes wireless equipment on water towers, while allowing revenues to be shared between ratepayers and investors, would provide a benefit to both groups.

The proposal does not spell out a full pricing formula. It does, however, tell the BPU to treat half of any rental income from a tower lease as above-the-line income and the other half as below-the-line income when it reviews tariffs. In plain terms, the money would not just sit with the utility and disappear into the background of the rate-setting process.

Safety still sets the limits

The access rule is not unlimited. A utility could deny space on a non-discriminatory basis if there is not enough room or if safety and structural integrity would be at risk under generally accepted engineering principles.

That leaves the bill trying to open a door without forcing every tower to carry every antenna. For wireless carriers, it could mean a simpler route to existing infrastructure. For customers, the promise is less flashy than a new network plan and more practical: a better shot at modern service where building from the ground up would take longer.