Bucks, Verizon, city in cellphone fight
Deer District network needs embattled upgrade
The Milwaukee Bucks and Verizon Wireless are fighting over competing Deer District cellphone networks that need improvements before July’s Republican National Convention — with millions of dollars at stake and City Hall playing a role.
Verizon wants to add more small cell towers to downtown Milwaukee’s Deer District to improve service there and at the adjacent Fiserv Forum, which will host the RNC.
The Milwaukee Department of Public Works initially denied Verizon permission to build those towers — which would force the company to instead use a system the Bucks are developing.
Verizon sued the city, and won a federal court judgment ordering the city to allow the towers. A Bucks affiliate, Deer District LLC, intervened in the lawsuit and is appealing that judgment.
Meanwhile, Verizon is proceeding with plans to build new cell towers. That would allow the company to avoid paying a $10 million upfront fee to the Bucks as well as additional fees — which a judge said city officials tried to force Verizon to do.
The dispute has its roots in the Bucks’ 2021 NBA championship run. Large Deer District crowds strained Verizon’s network, according to court records.
Verizon’s need to improve its service became more urgent with the announcement that Milwaukee would host the RNC − drawing an estimated 50,000 people.
Verizon found locations in and around Deer District’s plaza to install so-called “small cells” to boost its network.
The Department of Public Works rejected Verizon’s initial approach to colocate them on plaza poles because the city doesn’t own them.
The poles are instead owned by Deer District LLC, which leases the plaza from Wisconsin Center District − the state-created agency that owns Fiserv
Forum and leases the arena to the Bucks.
Plaza built after street was closed
The city leased the plaza to the district after agreeing in 2016 to create it by closing one block of North Phillips Avenue between West Highland and West Juneau avenues.
After that initial rejection, Verizon turned to an alternate plan of building its own small cell poles. In October, the DPW approved permit applications for a Juneau Avenue pole but denied applications for three plaza poles.
Those applications were denied because the poles would be too close to existing poles and aren’t allowed to obstruct travel, and because they would be “unsightly or out-of-character deployments,” according to the department.
Meanwhile, city officials were talking with Deer District LLC representatives about justifying the permit denials, according to court records.
Deer District’s attorneys wrote to Assistant City Attorney Thomas Miller saying its lease of the plaza gave it a private property right that prohibited commercial activities by others. The city told Verizon it lacked the authority to approve the plaza pole applications.
So, Verizon in November sued the city in U.S. District Court.
Bucks creating alternate system
Testimony at a Jan. 24 hearing showed the Bucks are working with a contractor to develop a new antenna system that would be an alternative to Verizon’s requested small cells.
Verizon could access that system for a $10 million upfront fee and an additional $10,000 monthly fee that increases 3.5% annually, according to court records.
Deer District Chief Legal Officer Michael T. Sneathern also testified about concerns of having too many poles in the plaza.
Verizon attorney Tanya Rosin said the company had concerns about compatibility issues between its network and what the Bucks are developing − as well as the fees Verizon would pay.
U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig ruled the city’s actual reason for denying the permits to Verizon was to help Deer District LLC, a Bucks affiliate. He said the city’s conduct “suggests gamesmanship and backroom dealing.”
“The City has not provided any evidence showing that the permit applications failed to meet any of the applicable codes or ordinance standards,” Ludwig wrote in the Jan. 29 ruling.
“The City’s professed justifications for denying the permits were pretextual, not supported by substantial evidence, and in violation of both (federal) and state law,” he wrote.
Ludwig also ruled the plaza remains a public right of way despite its lease to Deer District − giving the city authority to issue cell pole permits.
Deer District, which declined the Journal Sentinel’s request for comment, has appealed Ludwig’s ruling to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works has issued the cell pole permits to Verizon, said Tiffany Shepherd, the department’s marketing and communications officer.
“We are pleased by the court’s decision, which allows us to focus on our commitment to deliver coverage and capacity enhancements to our customers in the area,” said Andy Choi, Verizon Consumer Group’s head of communications for the Great Lakes market.