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Zoning Bulletin <br />September 25, 2012 I Volume 6 I Issue 18 <br />would excuse her from failing to exhaust administrative remedies. The court <br />rejected this argument, finding Piquet failed to establish that claim. <br />Telecommunications —Township <br />Denies Wireless Communications <br />Carrier's Application to Construct <br />Tower <br />Communications carrier alleges denial <br />violates the federal Telecommunications Act <br />Citation: T-Mobile Cent., LLC v. Charter Tp. of West Bloomfield, <br />2012 WL 3570666 (6th Cir. 2012) <br />The Sixth Circuit has jurisdiction over Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, <br />and Tennessee. <br />SIXTH CIRCUIT (MICHIGAN) (08/21/12)—This case addressed <br />the issues of: (1) whether a township's reasons for denying a wireless <br />communications carrier's application were not supported by substantial <br />evidence in violation of the federal Telecommunications Act; and (2) <br />whether a township's denial of a wireless communications carrier's -ap- <br />plication prohibited or had the effect of prohibiting the provision of <br />personal wireless services, in violation of the federal Telecommunica- <br />tions Act. In addressing this second issue, the case addresses, as mat- <br />ters of first impression for the Sixth Circuit (i.e., the first time the Sixth <br />Circuit has addressed these issues): (1) whether the denial of a single <br />application from a wireless communications carrier can constitute an <br />effective prohibition; and (2) whether the "significant gap" in service <br />needed to establish an effective prohibition on the provision of personal <br />wireless services focuses on the coverage of the applicant provider or <br />whether service by any other provider is sufficient. <br />The Background/Facts: T-Mobile Central, LLC CT -Mobile"), a <br />wireless communications carrier in Michigan, identified a gap in cover- <br />age in West Bloomfield Township (the "Township") that adversely af- <br />fected customers in that area. To remedy this gap, T-Mobile sought to <br />construct a new wireless facility. After initially considering several <br />possible sites —none of which T-Mobile claimed were technically <br />feasible or practically available T-Mobile decided that the best op- <br />tion would beto construct a facility at a utility site on a property owned <br />by Detroit Edison. The facility contained an existing 50-foot pole, <br />© 2012 Thomson Reuters 5 <br />