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Slifer Property, City of Decatur Project Summary Corporate Structure of Petitioner Amica Wireless Phone Service,Inc. (Amica) is an Illinois Corporarion whose facilities and operations are licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Their main business is providing wireless communication services to the public in regional markets across the Mid West. Amica has been awarded a license to provide Personal Communication Service (PCS) to the Decatur area in competition with existing cellular telephone providers. Amica is headquartered in Iowa City,Iowa. Personal Communications Services Personal Communications Services or "PCS" is a family of wireless services that includes voice, advanced messaging and data communications. The FCC uses the term "broadband PCS"to describe portable telephones and high speed data services (such as wireless modems in personal computers), and the term "narrowband PCS" to describe advanced two-way messaging and lower speed data services. Amica has been awarded a federal license to provide these services to the area. The convenience and personal safety benefits of cellular phones and pagers have created a tremendous demand throughout the states for wireless communication services. The consensus forecast for wireless services in the United States is that within the next decade 40-50 percent of the population will own a portable phone or pager. In response to this demand, the FCC has designated and auctioned radio spectrums across the country for PCS providers to deliver voice, advanced messaging and data communications services. PCS licensees will increasingly compete with existing cellular and paging services, giving consumers more choices and lower prices. Forecasters predict that PCS systems will be build over the next decade in virivally every area of the United States. Indeed the FCC has mandated that all PCS licensees substantially complete construction of their respective communications systems in an expeditious and timely manner. Like the cellular telephone systems currently in place, PCS technology requires a series of low power antennas, each serving a limited geographic area. Statement of Necessity As part of its initial deployment in the Decatur area, engineers at Amica have identified the need for four (4) PCS facilities to serve the City of Decatur. Based on computerized engineering studies considering population density, topography, and proposed surrounding sites, engineers have issued "Search Rings" identifying the necessary location for PCS sites. These search rings represent the areas in which a facility must be located to allow it to function as an integral unit in the PCS system in the Decatur metropolitan area. PCS facilities are laid out in a grid pattern and the spacing, height and location of this component site is critical for the successful operation of the system. The Slifer property on South Side Drive meets the engineering criteria for the necessary site in this area.