Year: 2018

The Wet Blanket of 4G and 5G Wireless Densification

By CRISTIANO LIMA, Oct 15 2018; Original Politco article here.

Mayor Paul Tenhaken
City of Sioux Falls
224 W. Ninth St.
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
605-367-8085 LM
605-367-8800

TJ Nelson tnelson@siouxfalls.org
Communications Director

Jill Franken JillFranken@siouxfalls.org
https://www.siouxfalls.org/council

https://www.facebook.com/TenHakenForMayor/videos/vb.1954505561455608/312118226246434/?type=2&theater

He mentions Senate Commerce Field hearing at around 1 min 30 secs in the video.

During Senate Commerce’s Friday, October 12 field hearing in South Dakota on 5G wireless technology, Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken raised what he called “the wet blanket” of the coming wide-scale deployment:

TenHaken told Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune (R-SD):

"I feel we also need to address . . . what health impacts micro millimeter waves have because it’s so new. I’m going to get asked this 20 times yet this evening about the health ramifications of 5G . . . I’m hearing this more and more.”

Continue reading “The Wet Blanket of 4G and 5G Wireless Densification”

by Jon Brodkin, Oct 3, 2018; Original ARS Technica here

Top broadband lobby groups sue California; Claim Net Neutrality Law is Illegal

Four lobby groups representing the broadband industry today sued California to stop the state's new net neutrality law. The lawsuit was filed in US District Court for the Eastern District of California by the following parties:

1. Mobile industry lobby CTIA
2. Cable industry lobby NCTA
3. Telco lobby USTelecom
4. American Cable Association, which represents small and mid-size cable companies.

Continue reading “ISPs Sue California to Stop CA Net Neutrality Law”

By Adrian Rodriguez | arodriguez@marinij.com | Oct 4, 2018 | Original Marin Independent Journal article here.

Amid a countywide public outcry, Fairfax officials have vowed to explore broadband options that do not include the installation of “small cell” antennas, which protesters say are a health and safety hazard. On Wednesday, the Town Council unanimously appointed an ad-hoc committee to study the viability of a town-wide fiber-optic cable network as an alternative to 5G antennas. The move comes a week after the council voted 5-0 at a special meeting to adopt an urgency ordinance that

1. prohibits small cell antennas in residential zones and
2. requires 1,500 feet of separation between the devices.

Mayor Peter Lacques said:

Most residents feel that they are being poorly served by the cable and DSL service that is available now. And yes, many are concerned about the health and other risks associated with 5G. Fiber optic is far superior. It’s much faster, much more reliable. So if we can get fiber optic in as an alternative, we can avoid that impact on health.

Large groups of people also have turned out recently at the county Board of Supervisors' meetings and City Council meetings in San Rafael, Mill Valley and San Anselmo to call for stricter regulation of the new technology. Opponents of 5G say there are adverse health and environmental effects that are caused by exposure to microwave radiation emitted by the 4G and 5G infrastructure.

Continue reading “Fairfax to Study Fiber-Optic Broadband Instead of 5G”

After FCC vote, cities try to restore local control over 5G fees and equipment.

By Jon Brodkin, Oct 3, 2018 | Original ARS Technica article here.

Cities are already suing the Federal Communications Commission over its decision to preempt local rules on deployment of 5G wireless equipment.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and City Attorney Pete Holmes yesterday said their city intends to appeal the FCC order in federal court. Seattle will be coordinating with other cities on a lawsuit, they said in a press release:

In coordination with the overwhelming majority of local jurisdictions that oppose this unprecedented federal intrusion by the FCC, we will be appealing this order, challenging the FCC's authority and its misguided interpretations of federal law.

The FCC says its order will save carriers $2 billion, less than one percent of the estimated $275 billion it will take to deploy 5G across the country.

UPDATE: Portland filed a lawsuit against the FCC.

 

The Ruling [Third Report and Order and Declaratory Ruling, In the Matter of Accelerating Wireless Broadband Deployment By Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment, FCC 18-111, WT Docket No. 17-79] exceeds the FCC’s statutory authority; is arbitrary and capricious and an abuse of discretion; and is otherwise contrary to law, including the Constitution of the United States. The City respectfully requests that this Court hold unlawful, vacate, enjoin, and set aside the Declaratory Ruling; and grant such
other relief as it may deem appropriate.

Respectfully submitted,, Joseph Van Eaton, Best Best & Krieger LLP

Continue reading “Cities Sue FCC to Stop $2 Billion Gift to Wireless Carriers”

. . . Because It Makes The Telcos More Money

by Bruce Kushnick, Oct 2, 2018; Original Medium article here.

What AT&T & Verizon Tell Investors But Are Hiding from the Public.

• Link to Full Report

• Link to Part 2: Verizon

• Link to Part 3: AT&T

Introduction

Let's be very clear. Verizon and AT&T have one goal:

Goal: To make more profits for their investors by removing all regulations and public utility obligations.

Continue reading “5G is Wireline to Wireless Bait and Switch”

By Project Censored, October 2, 2018 | Original article here.

A Kaiser Permanente study (published December 2017 in Scientific Reports) conducted controlled research testing on hundreds of pregnant women in the San Francisco Bay area and found that those who had been exposed to magnetic field (MF) non-ionizing radiation associated with cell phones and wireless devices had 2.72 times more risk of miscarriage than those with lower MF exposure. Furthermore, the study reported that the association was “much stronger” when MF was measured “on a typical day of participants’ pregnancies.”

According to lead investigator De-Kun Li, the possible effects of MF exposure have been controversial because, “from a public health point of view, everybody is exposed. If there is any health effect, the potential impact is huge.” [For previous Project Censored coverage of this topic, see Julian Klein and Casey Lewis, with Kenn Burrows and Peter Phillips, “Accumulating Evidence of Ongoing Wireless Technology Health Hazards,” in Censored 2015: Inspiring We the People.]

A March 2018 investigation for The Nation by Mark Hertsgaard and Mark Dowie showed how the scope of this public health issue has been inadequately reported by the press and underappreciated by the public. Hertsgaard and Dowie reported that the Telecom industry has employed public relations tactics, first pioneered by Big Tobacco in the 1960s and developed by fossil-fuel companies in the 1980s, to influence both the public’s understanding of wireless technologies and regulatory debates.

The wireless industry has “war-gamed” science by playing offense as well as defense, actively sponsoring studies that result in published findings supportive of the industry while aiming to discredit competing research that raises questions about the safety of cellular devices and other wireless technologies. [On “war-gaming,” see, for example, a 1994 Motorola memo, now published online.] When studies have linked wireless radiation to cancer or genetic damage, industry spokespeople have pointed out that the findings are disputed by other researchers. This strategy has proven effective, Hertsgaard and Dowie reported, because “the apparent lack of certainty helps to reassure customers, even as it fends off government regulations and lawsuits that might pinch profits,” as Hertsgaard and Dowie concluded.

Continue reading “How Big Wireless Convinced Us Cell Phones and Wi-Fi are Safe”

by Robbie McBeath Round-Up for the Week of September 17-21, 2018; Original post here.

The September 26, 2018 FCC vote to approve WT Dockets 17-79 and 17-84 means local governments need to start planning immediately on zoning, application processing cost recovery, antenna design, location and spacing, additional pole and equipment aesthetic requirements, and other issues.

On September 26, 2018 at the Federal Communications Commission’s open meeting, commissioners voted through an order that will limit the roles of local policymakers in the desnsified deployment of 4G and 5G wireless infrastructure. So one might ask, why doesn’t my town get a say in this?

In a fact sheet introducing the order, the FCC promises it will:

Continue reading “Your Town’s Role in 4G/5G Expansion”

We’ll be picking up the tab, say city officials.

Federal price cap will undercut existing agreements, says just about every big city in America.

By Kieren McCarthy in San Francisco, Sept 22, 2018 | Original The Register article here .

A plan to impose a federal price cap and one-size-fits-all model for the roll out of next-generation mobile networks has been met with fury by US cities. New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Las Vegas, San Diego, Seattle and dozens of other cities have responded in anger to a public comment period on two proposals from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Those proposals would override the cities’ ability to charge mobile operators for positioning 5G cell towers on their property and instead impose a single, federal fee. The FCC claims that the proposal will remove $2 billlion in "unnecessary fees" and lead to $2.5 billion in additional network investment. The plans – which the FCC intends to vote on next week – would also oblige local governments to make a decision on applications for new cell sites within three months and would remove several common reasons for denying such applications.

While the FCC claims this would be a great development, the local and state governments whose authority would be undermined by the proposal are notably less excited.

The city of Chicago states [pdf] :

"We disagree with the Commission’s flawed and overreaching effort to mandate how cities manage small cell deployments. We respectfully request that the Commission delay consideration… until the document reflects a balanced approach respectful not just of industry demands but also of cities’ obligations to fairly, safely, and efficiently manage the public way and other public assets."

Continue reading “US Cities React in Fury to FCC’s $2 Billion Dollar Gift to Telecoms”

by John C. Dvorak, formerly of PC Magazine | Read the Original “No Agenda” post here.

As you all know, I was unceremoniously fired from PC Magazine on Sept. 20th, 2018. I just figured it was the new people coming in and I was an unneeded throwback to the old regime. This sort of thing happens a lot. Then one of the No Agenda producers noticed a recent column of mine was pulled from the magazine and redirected to someone else’s column about the same subject.

---

S4WT Comment: Dvorak’s original PC Magazine article, The Problem With 5G, is preserved here:

Here’s how Dvorak tweeted the news:

Yesterday I was fired from PC Magazine under the bogus notion that the columns were put on hiatus and I could call next year. So after 36 years of loyalty I get no phone calls from “friends” Vivek Shah or Dan @dancosta but a curt email telling me I’m out. It’s rude.

— John C. Dvorak (@THErealDVORAK) September 21, 2018

Continue reading “John Dvorak: 5G Got Me Fired”

By Susan Crawford, Sept 27, 2018; Original Wired article here

. . . and the FCC Is mad about it . . .

This is a story that defies two strongly held beliefs. The first — embraced fervently by today’s FCC—is that the private marketplace is delivering world-class internet access infrastructure at low prices to all Americans, particularly in urban areas. The second is that cities are so busy competing that they are incapable of cooperating with one another, particularly when they have little in common save proximity.

These two beliefs aren’t necessarily true. Right now, the 16 very different cities that make up the South Bay region of Southern California have gotten fed up with their internet access situation: They’re paying too much for too little. So they are working together to collectively lower the amounts they pay for city communications by at least a third. It’s the first step along a path that, ultimately, will bring far cheaper internet access services to the 1.1 million people who live in the region.

You might think this is impossible. It’s true that many city officials have argued that regional collaborations are resource-intensive and bound to fail. That’s the case in the Boston area, where a city official in Malden (7 miles from Boston City Hall) bluntly told researchers, "I couldn’t support regional government at all. Each community has its own unique set of circumstances and facts and issues."

The South Bay partnership suggests a promising alternative: Maybe cities can cooperate and save money without compromising their local autonomy.

At this same moment, though, the FCC is on a march to

• Smother local authority by blocking states from regulating any aspect of broadband service,
• Support barriers to municipal networks,
• Deregulate prices for lines running between cities, and
• Remove local control over rights-of-way that could be used to bring cheaper access into town.

The FCC would like to bar other regions from acting in just this kind of sensible way.

Continue reading “Cities Are Teaming Up to Offer Broadband”