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Adapted from an article by Dan Schere ; November 15, 2018; Original Bethesda magazin here

The Montgomery County Council and County Executive Ike Leggett are planning to sue the Federal Communications Commission with the goal of forcing the agency to update its radio frequency emissions guidelines for small cell antennas. The council has hired attorney Albert Catalano of the Washington, D.C., firm Keller and Heckman LLP, according to a Nov. 6 memo from County Attorney Marc Hansen to council President Hans Riemer.

For the last two years, the council has been deliberating a bill that would require the antennas to be installed on existing utility poles and allow new poles housing the antennas to be installed in residential neighborhoods in order to bring high-speed 5G wireless service to the county. The “small cell” bill has been met with fierce opposition from residents’ groups who are aware of the hazards of microwave radiation transmitting from utility poles into neighborhoods. To mitigate these hazards, the small cell anteanns could be installed no closer than 2,500 feet from residential zones. The bill is expected to be discussed further during the next council term, which begins Dec. 4.

According to the FCC’s website, the radio frequency exposure limit is “many times greater” than radio frequency levels that are typically found at the base of cell towers. In a Thursday press release, Riemer wrote that almost a year ago he, Leggett and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), asked the FCC to update its radiofrequency emissions guidelines, but the agency declined. “So we are taking them to court to ensure that they fulfill their responsibility to keep our residents safe,” Riemer wrote.

Riemer also noted the FCC prohibits local governments from enacting legislation regarding such based on environmental effects of RF-EMR exposures.

Reimer wrote:

“we need the FCC to embrace this issue [of adverse health effects from RF-EMR exposures that occur far below the current RF-EMR exposure guidelines] in an open and transparent manner in order to address [substantial evidence of harms to the] public . . . The FCC must work with other federal agencies to examine the science carefully and weigh the costs and benefits of this new technology and share the results publicly,”

Separately, Montgomery County is one of 40 jurisdictions across the country that is involved in a lawsuit challenging the FCC’s preemption order concerning cell antennas, which limits the amount of time local jurisdictions have to install the devices.

Potomac resident Theodora Scarato said Friday that she has concerns about the fact that Keller and Heckman has frequently represented a number of telecommunications companies according to the law firm’s website. She said she isn’t assigning blame to the council, but wants to know more about what motivated the lawsuit.

“I want to know more. Are there conflicts of interest that need to be looked into?” she said.

Nov 14, 2018; Telecompaper Article here

The Federal Communications Commission confirmed the start of its first high-band 5G spectrum auction. Bidding starts with the 28 GHz band and then will go to the 24 GHz band, with a total of 1.55 GHz of spectrum available for operators. These are expected to be among the first frequencies used for commercial 5G mobile services and are already being tested by the US’s largest mobile operator, Verizon.

The US regulator confirmed that another auction of high spectrum is planned for 2019, covering the 37 GHz, 39 GHz and 47 GHz mmWave bands. In total, the FCC aims to release almost 5 GHz of spectrum to the market in the next 15 months – equal to more than all the spectrum currently used by mobile operators today.

The auction of the licenses in the 28 GHz band will employ the standard simultaneous multiple round auction format. The 28 GHz licenses will be offered in two 425 MHz blocks by county.

The auction of the 24 GHz band will employ a clock auction format, beginning with a clock phase that will allow bidding on generic blocks in each Partial Economic Area in successive bidding rounds. There will then be an assignment phase to allow winners of the generic blocks to bid for frequency-specific license assignments. The 24 GHz licenses will be offered in seven 100 MHz blocks.

By Kieren McCarthy in San Francisco 7 Nov 2018; Original The Register article here

Six lawsuits against FCC's 5G idiocy – that $2 billion windfall for telcos – is bundled into one appeals court suit

Six lawsuits filed against controversial new 5G rules drawn up by America's communications watchdog have been bundled into one, and will be heard at the Tenth Circuit of Appeals.

A lottery held late last week selected the appeals court that covers the middle of the country – Oklahoma, Utah, Colorado, etc – and the appellants, who range from West Coast cities to East Coast telco operators – have been told this week to migrate their cases accordingly.

At the heart of the mass challenge is the FCC's recent decision to override state and local governments and insist there be a single flat-fee for installing new 5G cell nodes, as well as standardized national processes and contracts for approving new sites.

Due to its design, 5G will need many more cell sites packed closer together in order to offer greater speeds.

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S4WT Comment: This often repeated statement, in red above, however is clearly contradicted by by Verizon CEO, Lowell McAdam, in the following video:

Continue reading “Tenth Circuit Wins Lawsuit Lottery Over FCC WT-Docket 17-79”

• Environmental Health Trust: Clear Evidence of Cancer from Cell Phone Radiation: U.S. National Toxicology Program Releases Final Report on Animal Study
• US Brain Tumor Association Press Release: $30 Million NIH Study Proves Wireless Technology Causes Cancer and DNA Damage
• National Toxicology Program Page on Cell Phone Radio Frequency Radiation Exposures
• NTP Press Release: Exposure to Radio Frequency Radiation Associated With Cancer in Rats
• NTP Links to Final Reports

What did $30 million NTP studies find?

NTP studies found that exposure to high levels of Radio-frequency Electromagnetic Microwave Radiation (RF-EMR), like that used in 2G and 3G service for calls and texts, was associated with:

• Clear evidence of tumors in the hearts of male rats. The tumors were malignant schwannomas.
• Some evidence of tumors in the brains of male rats. The tumors were malignant gliomas.
• Some evidence of tumors in the adrenal glands of male rats.

The tumors were pheochromocytomas. For female rats, and male and female mice, it was unclear, also known as equivocal, whether cancers observed in the studies were associated with exposure to RFR. The conclusions were based on the NTP four categories.

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Laboratory rats were exposed to 900 MHz, a frequency used by cellphones for cellular calls and texts

Nov. 1, 2018; Adapted from the Original New York Times article here.

For decades, health experts have struggled to determine whether or not cellphones cause cancer. On Thursday, the National Institute of Health and Envionmental Sciences (NIEHS) released the final results of what experts call the world’s largest and most costly experiment to look into the question. The study originated in 1999, cost $30 million and involved some 3,000 rodents. The experiment, by the NIEHS’ National Toxicology Program, found positive evidence that Radio-frequency Electromagnetic Microwave Radiation (RF-EMR) from cellphones is linked to heart cancer, brain cancer and DNA damage in male rats.

John Bucher, a senior scientist at the National Toxicology Program, said in a statement

“We believe that the link between radio-frequency radiation and tumors in male rats is real,”.

Continue reading “US Govt Study of Wireless Radiation Exposure Proves Clear Evidence of Link to Heart Cancer”

November 1, 2018; the original SF Gate article is here.

Marin County officials announced Wednesday they are joining other local governments in challenging a Federal Communications Commission order aimed at accelerating the antenna-densification of both fourth and fifth generation of wireless service, known as 4G and 5G.

Marin County Counsel Brian Washington said the Board of Supervisors reported that it reached the decision in a closed meeting on Tuesday to file a challenge in a federal appeals court. The county and other cities and counties claim a Sept. 26 FCC order on the deployment of the new technology illegally intrudes on their power to regulate the aesthetic and safety aspects of the placement of new antennas and structures for 4G and 5G services.

Washington said Marin County will join a coalition of public entities represented by a Washington, D.C., law firm, Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP, and that the petition will be filed soon.

Twenty-five other West Coast cities and counties, including a group led by the city of San Jose, previously filed similar challenges in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Oct. 24.

The upcoming 5G networks use a different technology, including higher frequencies, and are expected to provide faster service than the previous wireless generations.

5G uses smaller antenna devices, typically no larger than a small backpack, according to the FCC, but have shorter ranges and must be more closely spaced. The new antennas would be placed on existing publicly owned utility poles, new poles or other structures.

Continue reading “Marin County Joining Law Suit re: FCC 4G and 5G Expansion Scheme”

By Colin Lecher, Nov 1, 2018; Original Verge article here. Full bill text here.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) released an early draft of legislation today that would create substantially stiffer guidelines for the misuse of consumers’ data. Among other provisions, the bill suggests creating a penalty of 10 to 20 years imprisonment for senior executives who fail to follow new rules around data use.

Wyden said in a statement:

“It’s time for some sunshine on this shadowy network of information sharing. My bill creates radical transparency for consumers, gives them new tools to control their information and backs it up with tough rules with real teeth to punish companies that abuse Americans’ most private information.”

The tech industry has faced enormous scrutiny over the past two years, as companies like Facebook and Google have been roiled by scandals, including Cambridge Analytica’s use of Facebook data. Lawmakers have suggested possible new standards around the use of data, but so far, no major federal legislation has been passed. Still, Wyden suggested in an interview with The Verge this year that a bill was forthcoming.

Continue reading “Senator Wyden Introduces the Consumer Data Protection Act”

November 1, 2018

Original Environmental Health Trust link here

Statement by Ronald Melnick, PhD on the National Toxicology Program Final Reports on Radio-frequency Electromagnetic Microwave Radiation (RF-EMR) Exposures

Ronald Melnick PhD, the National Institutes of Health Senior Scientist who led the design of the National Toxicology Program (NTP) studies on cell phone radiation released this statement after the NTP released their final reports on rats and mice exposed to long term Radio-frequency Electromagnetic Microwave Radiation (RF-EMR).

Melnick recently published an article in the Journal Environmental Research debunking widely circulated criticisms of the NTP study and also released a scientific criticism of the way the NTP study was treated by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

Ronald L Melnick, PhD presenting at the National Institutes of Health National Toxicology Program Cell Phone Radiation Study Peer Review

Continue reading “Retired NIEHS Senior Scientist Statement on NTP Final Report”

Bay City News Service Nov 1, 2018 | Original Marin SF Chronicle article here.

Tim Lay, an attorney in the Spiegel & McDiarmid law firm, said he expects that the challenges filed in different circuit courts in the nation will be sent to a single circuit court, which will set a schedule for filings of briefs and a hearing. In one of Oct. 24 petitions in the 9th Circuit, San Jose led a coalition of 19 other West Coast cities and counties, including the town of Fairfax and the cities of Piedmont, Burlingame, Monterey and Los Angeles. Another petition was filed by Seattle, Tacoma and Kings County of Washington state and the third was filed by Huntington Beach.

The FCC said its Sept. 26 orde, scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 14, is the next step in the FCC's ongoing efforts to remove regulatory barriers that would inhibit the deployment of infrastructure necessary to support these new services.

Continue reading “Marin County Joining Law Suit Against FCC Rules for Densified 4G and 5G Infrastructure”

by Karl Bode Oct 29, 2018; Original Motherboard article here.

In reality, the real threat posed by community broadband is to big telecom’s monopoly revenues.

The Trump FCC has declared towns and cities that vote to build their own broadband networks an “ominous threat to the First Amendment.” The claims were made last week during a speech given at the telecom-funded Media Institute by FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. In his speech, O’Rielly insinuated, without evidence, that community owned and operated broadband networks would naturally result in local governments aggressively limiting American free speech rights.

O’Rielly claimed:

“I would be remiss if my address omitted a discussion of a lesser-known, but particularly ominous, threat to the First Amendment in the age of the Internet: state-owned and operated broadband networks.”

More than 750 such networks have been built in the United States in direct response to a lack of meaningful broadband competition and availability plaguing America. Studies have routinely shown that these networks provide cheaper and better broadband service, in large part because these ISPs have a vested interest in the communities they serve.

In his speech, O’Rielly highlighted efforts by the last FCC, led by former boss Tom Wheeler, to encourage such community-run broadband networks as a creative solution to private sector failure. O’Rielly subsequently tried to claim — without evidence — that encouraging such networks would somehow result in government attempts to censor public opinion.

Continue reading “FCC Falsely Claims Community Broadband is Ominous Threat to The First Amendment”

President Trump wants the US to be a leader in 5G.

by Mallory Locklear Oct 25, 2018; Original Engadget article here.

Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum today that described his administration's push for a national spectrum strategy, one that it says should help promote spectrum access and efficiency. In his memo, the president noted the ever-growing importance of adequate wireless communication technology as well as his desire for the US to be a leader in 5G deployment. The memo said:

It is imperative that America be first in fifth-generation (5G) wireless technologies — wireless technologies capable of meeting the high-capacity, low-latency and high-speed requirements that can unleash innovation broadly across diverse sectors of the economy and the public sector.

The president called for government agencies to notify the Secretary of Commerce about their future spectrum requirements and directed the Office of Science and Technology Policy to submit a report on emerging technologies and how they might impact spectrum demand. The OSTP will also issue a set of recommendations for research and development priorities focused on spectrum access and efficiency.

Continue reading “Trump Lays Out National 5G Strategy”