Consultant Promotes Local 5G Legislation Before State Weighs In

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As the wireless industry narrows its sights on a 5G future, many states are adopting legislation to speed up the permitting process, allowing carriers to easily construct small cell facilities on existing structures. Some cities, however, are pushing back against those measures, adopting bylaws to control the aesthetic impact of wireless infrastructure.

Attorney Anthony Lepore, director of government regulations with Cityscape Consultants, encouraged the city of Pittsfield, MA, among other cities, to pass legislation placing limitations on carriers before Massachusetts passes a bill to streamline small cell, microcell, and DAS installations, reported iBerkshires.com. “Where there is a subscriber base that wants to use the service, they will build infrastructure,” Lepore said of the inevitability of 5G technology’s expansion into Massachusetts.  

Lepore wants Pittsfield to adopt a bill that allows the city to dictate the location and appearance of future small cell sites, including a preference for placing small cells on public instead of private land. With local requirements and stipulations in place, the carrier must either meet those local standards or provide evidence that the locally-preferred design or location is not feasible, Lepore explained. “The industry is going to do it as cheaply as possible. It is up to you to force them to spend a little more money,” Lepore told iBerkshires.com. Lepore recalled that a Connecticut town recently failed to push through a similar bill, which led a local homeowner to lease his own backyard for construction of a tower, which was ultimately built with no neighbor input.

March 1, 2018

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