Illustration: Tetiana Lazunova
5G is coming to Milwaukee, causing worries about how and where the new cellular equipment will be installed. The installation of 5G (short for fifth generation) has come into focus in the past months, in part due to health concerns and the conspiracy theory that 5G equipment is causing coronavirus, leading to the destruction of numerous cell towers. Nonetheless, the U.S. government has been strong-arming states to ensure a rapid rollout of 5G throughout the nation.
“My board members and every citizen in Milwaukee County really want to have control over what is being approved and what is not,” says Milwaukee County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman, who has been at the forefront of concerns about the 5G rollout. “The federal government and state government have a lot of regulations and rules on the topic, and local government has very little ability to control the situation. We are being made to follow federal guidelines.”
Milwaukee residents might have already noticed some 5G equipment in their neighborhood, which has been slowly been popping up throughout the county. Instead of massive towers placed far apart, the current equipment looks like three-foot-tall antennas being added to existing infrastructure.
“We don’t have a problem with [5G on] existing structure if it doesn’t change the appearance of the poles. New poles sprouting off, that’s what our community is concerned about,” Wasserman explains. To be efficient, a 5G network requires small antennas to be as close as 500 feet apart over a large distance—and while existing poles have been used so far, telecommunications companies are looking to build new poles for their equipment. For Milwaukee residents and Board of Supervisors, there is real concern about dotting Milwaukee County, our parks and lakefront with poles, which would be an eyesore and clutter public spaces.
“You know, I am very much in favor of 5G usage. I think that 5G is essential for modern technology and for modern infrastructures,” Wasserman admits, “but it has to be done in a way that conforms to what the community wants. People are embracing 5G, but we have to do it responsibly.” However, the Trump Administration has explicitly chosen to side with companies looking to make a profit over local government.
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Undermining Local Authorities
Everything started when Ajit Pai was designated chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by President Donald Trump. Ajit Pai’s claim to fame has been his central role in destroying net neutrality in the United States, and the FCC under his direction has enabled what Milwaukee Supervisor Steven Shea called a “corporate takeover of our public spaces.”
The FCC’s 5G FAST Plan “removes uncertainty” by dictating how much local authorities can charge companies for usage of existing County property—a fee that the FCC says can be no greater than the cost of processing the application, an estimated $20 per pole. The FCC ruled that small 5G facilities don’t need to go through the usual review requirements to determine their environmental impact or potential damage to historic sites.
The Commission also created a new “shot clock,” establishing that local governments have 60 days to reject an application to use an existing public pole and 90 days to reject a permit to build new infrastructure. A local government not rejecting an application before the shot clock ends “is presumed not to have acted within a reasonable period of time,” the FCC ruling reads. “A provider would have a strong case for quickly obtaining an injunction from a court that compels the issuance of all permits in these types of cases.” This ruling also removed local governments’ ability to manage their own infrastructure by giving companies carte blanche to handle the installation of their equipment, including moving or removing preexisting equipment without requiring approval.
Then, the Wisconsin government codified this attitude into state law with the 2019 Wisconsin Act 14, going one step farther than the FCC. The act reads, “[if] a political subdivision fails to approve or deny the permit application under this section not later than 60 days after its receipt, the applicant may consider its permit application approved.” Similarly, permits to build new poles for 5G equipment are automatically granted unless local authorities actively reject them with haste.
In Milwaukee, telecommunications companies have moved quickly, requesting permits to build underground infrastructure along the Root River, Milwaukee River and the lakefront, among other locations.
“It’s one thing when [antennas] are around neighborhoods and businesses, where you can’t really tell what they are, but it’s very different where there are parks, beaches, opening in the environment. The biggest concern we have is about the aesthetics on the lakefront,” Supervisor Wasserman explains. He does not know if the permits for building equipment along our public natural assets will be granted, instead choosing to delay the applications until further notice.
“My committee [the Parks, Energy and Environment Committee] has looked at it, we've advanced to the full board, but we're not for the passage of it yet until a new 5G study group meets and comes up with recommendations that are legal and that potentially can restrict what is done. We are awaiting those results before further development,” he adds. “Hopefully, the group can provide recommendations before the end of November so we can make a decision in December, and in January and February the companies can build.”
While Wasserman and many others in county government understand the value of 5G, which can bring much faster internet and communications to an area, he believes that locals understand the needs and wants of the community better than state and federal regulators: “We, as local officials, are very upset and concerned about the nationalization of 5G installation. We have serious concerns about the fact this is happening without local control over where and what and who is allowed to make decisions. We feel very much that this is power that has been taken away from the local authorities and vested in national companies and national government to the detriment of local communities.”
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