# Sec. 5A-150. Definitions

Codified through Bill No. CB-018-2026, adopted May 12, 2026, effective July 24, 2026. Source: Municode, Supplement 2026 Update 2. Editorial notes and legislative history omitted.

## Sec. 5A-150. Definitions

Prince George's County, Md., Code § 5A-150 (2026)

(a) In this Division, the following words and phrases have the meanings indicated:

  (1) Administrative Recommendation means a Telecommunications Transmission Facility Coordinating Committee (TTFCC) recommendation that the TTFCC Chair or designee is authorized to grant after administrative review of an application for a Micro-wireless Facility, Minor Modification or Cell on Wheels.

  (2) Administrative Review means the examination of a TTFCC application for a Micro-wireless Facility, Minor Modification or Cell on Wheels by the TTFCC Chair or designee to assure that the application is complete and accurate.

  (3) Antenna means an apparatus designed for the purpose of emitting radiofrequency (RF) radiation, to be operated or operating from a fixed location pursuant to FCC authorization for the provision of wireless service and any commingled information services. Such apparatus include, but are not limited to, directional antennas, such as panels, microwave dishes, satellite dishes, and omnidirectional antennas, such as whips.

  (4) Antenna equipment means equipment, switches, wiring, cabling, power sources, shelters, shrouds, enclosures, or cabinets associated with an antenna, located at the same fixed location as the antenna, and, when co-located, is mounted or installed at the same time as such antenna.

  (5) Antenna facility means an antenna and associated antenna equipment.

  (6) Applicant means a person who submits an Application. The term includes the persons who will be the owners of the Facility or on whose behalf the work will be performed, as well as the person who may submit an application, which shall in any case be signed by the entity which will own the Facility or on whose behalf the work is performed.

  (7) Application means a request submitted electronically by an applicant for the TTFCC to review and evaluate a proposed new or modified Telecommunications Transmission Facility within Prince George's County, Maryland. A TTFCC Application includes all the requirements for submission of a TTFCC Application and any subsequent information to amend the application or in reply to requests for additional information.

  (8) Base Station means a structure or equipment at a fixed location used for the provision of personal wireless services and that enables Federal Communications Commission-licensed or authorized wireless communications between user equipment and a communications network. The term includes, but is not limited to, radio transceivers, antennas, coaxial or fiber-optic cable at the site, regular and backup power supplies, and comparable equipment, regardless of technological configuration. The term does not include a Tower or other support structure, as defined herein, and it does not include Facilities (other than wireless devices at the Base Station) that connect a base station at a fixed location to other elements of a communications network at other locations. The term does not include metering equipment or disconnects required to provide power to the Base Station.

  (9) Cell on Wheels (COW) means a portable self-contained cell site that can be moved to a location and set up to provide wireless telecommunications services on a temporary or emergency basis, for a period up to one hundred twenty (120) days but not more than the period permitted by the Building Code Official. A COW is normally vehicle mounted and contains a telescoping boom as the antenna support structure.

  (10) Co-location means:

    (A) the mounting or installation of an antenna facility on a preexisting structure for the purpose of transmitting and/or receiving radio frequency signals for communication purposes, whether or not there is an existing facility on the tower, building, or structure, or

    (B) the modification of a preexisting structure for the purpose of mounting or installing an antenna on that structure,

  (11) Construct means to construct, install, erect, build, affix or otherwise place any fixed structure or object.

  (12) Design Manual means the Design Manual for Small Wireless Facilities promulgated by the County. The Design Manual includes design standards including, but not limited to, the appearance, height, and size of small wireless facilities.

  (13) Director means the Director of the Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement.

  (14) Emergency means a condition that

    (A) poses a clear and immediate danger to life or health, or of a significant loss of property; or

    (B) requires immediate repair or replacement in order to restore service to a user.

  (15) Facility or Facilities means facilities, equipment and installations of any kind, including but not limited to any lines, pipes, irrigation systems, wires, cables, conduit facilities, ducts, poles, towers, vaults, pedestals, boxes, appliances, antennas, transmitters, gates, meters, appurtenances, or other equipment. A reference to a Facility refers both to the Facility considered as a whole and the individual elements of a Facility.

  (16) FCC means the Federal Communications Commission, its designee, or any successor governmental entity thereto.

  (17) Install means the placing of a Facility, whether initially or as part of the repair, modification, replacement, removal or expansion of an existing Facility, and includes any process by which a Facility is placed, including but not limited to attachment, construction, digging, excavation, placement, pulling and the like.

  (18) License shall mean a nonexclusive specific authorization granted pursuant to this Subtitle to construct, operate, and maintain a small wireless facility in the public right-of-way to provide wireless communication services within all, or a specified area of, Prince George's County, Maryland. Any such authorization, in whatever form granted, shall not mean or include any general license or permit required for the privilege of transacting and carrying on a business within the County as required by the ordinances and laws of the County, or for attaching devices to poles or other structures, whether owned by the County or a private entity, or for excavating or performing other work in public right-of-way.

  (19) Licensee shall mean a natural person, partnership, domestic or foreign corporation, association, joint venture, or organization of any kind that has been granted a license by the County, subject to this Subtitle.

  (20) Material Change shall mean a change that does not qualify as an Eligible Facilities Request as defined by the FCC.

  (21) Master License Agreement means a written agreement entered into pursuant to this Subtitle between the County and a licensee that sets forth, subject to this Subtitle, the terms and conditions under which a license will be granted and exercised.

  (22) Micro-wireless facility means a facility that:

    (A) is not larger in dimension than 24 inches in length, 15 inches in width, and 12 inches in height, including all mounting brackets, fasteners, cabling and antennas, and

    (B) has an exterior antenna, if any, not longer than 11 inches, and

    (C) is mounted on a preexisting support structure, cable, or wire.

  (23) Minor Antenna means a radio/antenna device no more than twenty (20) inches in length, ten (10) inches in width, and ten (10) inches in height (excluding mounting brackets, fasteners, cabling, and antenna), with two watts or less of transmitter output power, which is mounted on a strand, cable, or wire attached to preexisting poles, so long as:

    (A) the device is installed in a manner that does not result in line sag, and

    (B) the device is located on a strand, cable, or wire owned or controlled by the owner of the minor radio/antenna device, and

    (C) there are no more than two (2) said devices at any location or mid strand between two poles, and

    (D) the device is installed in parallel with the adjacent roadway and is not installed over the roadway, and

    (E) the device complies with all applicable Federal, State and local and regulations, including this Code.

  (24) Minor Modification means changes to an existing Telecommunications Transmission Facility that does not result in a Material Change to the existing facility or support structure.

  (25) Monopole means a Tower that is a single, self-supporting pole-type structure, tapering from base to top and supporting a fixture designed to support Telecommunications Transmission Facilities.

  (26) Permit means an official document or certificate issued by the Director or his duly authorized agent, authorizing performance of specified construction at a specified location and within a specified time, together with all supporting documents, agreements, conditions, plans, and specifications.

  (27) Permit Application means a request submitted electronically by an applicant that requests a permit. A permit application includes all the requirements for submission of a permit application and any subsequent information to amend the permit application or in reply for requests for additional information.

  (28) Person means any natural or corporate person, business association or business entity including, but not limited to, an individual, a partnership, a sole proprietorship, a political subdivision, a public or private agency of any kind, a utility, a successor or assign of any of the foregoing, or any other legal entity.

  (29) Pole means a type of structure in the public right-of-way that is used in whole or in part for wireline communications, electric distribution, lighting, traffic control, signage, or similar function, or for co-location.

  (30) Private Property means any real property owned or controlled by a single individual or by a group of individuals collectively. Private property is any property that is not public property.

  (31) Protected Area means a site that:

    (A) has undergrounded utilities, or

    (B) is proximate to a roadway in a residential zone, or

    (C) as of the date of an Application, is located in a Historic District as that term is defined in Sec. 29-102(a)(7) of this Code, or

    (D) as of the date of an Application, is located within a group of buildings properties, or on a site, that is listed in the Prince George's County Inventory of Historic Resources, or

    (E) as of the date of an Application, is located within a group of buildings properties, or on a site, that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places or formally determined eligible for listing by the Keeper of the National Register, or

    (F) as of the date of an Application, is located within a group of buildings properties, or on a site, that is listed in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties.

  (32) Proximate to roadway means the area located adjacent to or part of the public right-of- way that includes:

    (A) any public utility easement, or

    (B) privately owned and maintained road on which an easement for public access exists.

  (33) Public Property means any real property owned or controlled by the County or another public entity including buildings, and may include surplus property as defined in Section 2-111.01 of this Code. To the extent of any conflict with Section 2-111.01, this Division prevails.

  (34) Public Right-of-Way means the surface and space above, on, beside and below any public highway, avenue, street, lane, alley, boulevard, concourse, driveway, bridge, tunnel, park, parkway, waterway, dock, bulkhead, wharf, pier, building, public easement, right-of-way, or any other public ground or water within the unincorporated area of the County or belonging to the County

  (35) Small Wireless Facility means a facility that meets each of the following conditions:

    (A) the facility:

      (i) is mounted on a structure 50 feet or less in height, including the antenna, or

      (ii) is mounted on a structure no more than 10 percent taller than other adjacent structures, or

      (iii) does not extend the existing structure on which it is located to a height of more than 50 feet or by more than 10 percent, whichever is greater;

    (B) each antenna associated with the facility, excluding associated equipment, is no more than three cubic feet in volume;

    (C) all other wireless equipment associated with the structure, including the equipment associated with the antenna and any pre-existing associated equipment on the structure, is no more than 28 cubic feet in volume; and

    (D) the facility does not result in human exposure to radio frequency (RF) radiation in excess of all applicable FCC safety standards.

  (36) Support Structure means a structure, including, but not limited to, buildings, monopoles, towers, poles, base stations, and other free-standing self-supporting or guyed structures that may support telecommunications facilities, whether or not the structure has an existing telecommunication facility.

  (37) Telecommunications means the transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user's choosing without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received.

  (38) Telecommunications Services means the offering of telecommunications for a fee, by a person, which the person is authorized to provide under applicable Federal, State, and local law, regardless of the facilities used. It includes, without limitation, transmission by optical fiber, coaxial cable, wireless methods, or any other means, and includes, without limitation, voice, video, data, telephone service, cellular service, and personal communications services.

  (39) Telecommunications System means all or any part of a facility that occupies County property and/or public rights-of-way owned or controlled by the County and is used to provide one or more telecommunications services.

  (40) Telecommunications Transmission Facility means any antenna and/or support structure which is used to transmit or retransmit wireless voice, data, or image information, but shall not mean or include a Minor Antenna. A Small Wireless Facility is a Telecommunications Transmission Facility.

  (41) Telecommunications Transmission Facility Coordinating Committee (TTFCC) means the committee established in accordance with Section 5A-153 of this Division.

  (42) Telecommunications Transmission Facility Coordinator or Coordinator means the person designated by the County Executive for providing support services to the TTFCC.

  (43) Telecommunications Transmission Facility Location Plan or Plan means a plan that identifies the location of each existing telecommunication transmission facility and the proposed location of each facility to be constructed by or for a person in the succeeding two years.

  (44) Tower means any supporting structure built for the sole or primary purpose of supporting any FCC-licensed or authorized Antennas (and related Facilities), including supporting structures that are constructed for FCC-licensed or authorized wireless communications including, but not limited to, private, broadcast, and public safety services, as well as unlicensed wireless services and fixed wireless services such as microwave backhaul, and the associated site. This definition does not include a Pole. s.

  (45) Wireless Communication System means all or any part of a facility that is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission under Title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 20, 22, 24, 90, or 101, and is located in whole or in part on public property and/or public rights-of-way and is used to provide one or more telecommunications services.