Noteworthy Women in Wireless Infrastructure – 2023

Lucia Chiocchio

Partner
Cuddy+Feder LLP

“One of my most memorable and meaningful recent achievements involved the approval of a new wireless tower facility designed as a monopine in Connecticut. The facility would remedy a long-standing coverage gap in a mostly residential neighborhood that included a private school that had virtually no wireless service. Even though the facility would allow reliable wireless service and important public-safety communications, the neighborhood launched a strong opposition campaign based on perceived health effects and unsubstantiated concerns about visual impacts. 

I was able to guide my clients and collaborate with them and their professionals to develop a strategy to debunk the opposition with a combination of scientific facts, applicable law and cross-examination that highlighted the weaknesses of the opposition’s assertions. We ultimately obtained approval for the facility and the approval was not challenged by the opposition. This is a meaningful ‘win’ because once the facility was constructed, some of the folks opposing the facility were now clamoring for it to be on-air so that they could connect wirelessly and if needed, make an emergency call.”