Mayor TenHaken rolls out 5G

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I should probably be careful about posting about 5G, I don’t want the sheriff’s department to tear down my door and arrest me.

At first glance I was actually surprised this took so long;

Mayor Paul TenHaken today signed the first set of “small cell installation” agreements. Verizon will install “small cell technology” on city light poles and in city parks. The cells will expand bandwidth in high-volume areas and help the city to facilitate 5G in the future. No word yet on when the cells will be installed. 5G is the fifth generation of mobile broadband. It’s about 20 times faster than the current 4G.

As you may or may not know, a lawsuit was settled between the major telecoms over the false advertising of 5GE;

  Sprint and AT&T on Monday reached a settlement — characterized by both as “amicable” — over a lawsuit in which Sprint claimed its rival carrier used “numerous deceptive tactics to mislead consumers” with its “5G E” branding. 

The contention was that 5GE really isn’t ‘5G’ it’s just an upgraded version of 4G. But that is between the telecoms anyone dumb enough to believe the technology. But my other concern I have (which I had from the beginning) is if the neighborhoods will get fair warning before the antennas are installed? I have felt it should be like any other zoning issue, utility, within 500 feet of your home, a letter of notice should be sent, and their should be a public hearing. As we already know, the technology is really kind of untested on the effects it will have not just on health but visibility. It seems our mayor and city council have become patsies for John Thune and the FEDS.

UPDATE: California city has 4 public hearings on 5G before telling city council ‘Hold for now’

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UPDATE: Notice Sioux Falls isn’t on this list? Hmm?

Hey, Paul, TJ and Erica, this is what transparent government looks like when the Feds have a cattle prod up your rear;

Amid concerns that federal mandates usurp local authority, the fight for control over the hardware that transmits wireless Internet has reached an impasse in Fairfax.

After the fourth public hearing before the Town Council this week — this one lasting more than three hours — council members said they need more time before adopting new regulations for the installation of wireless antennas used for the high-speed network called 5G.

“It’s a complicated issue,” Mayor Barbara Coler said after the Tuesday special meeting. “After we released our draft ordinance last week, we received a lot of public comment [Tuesday] that we needed to consider and review.”

How many public hearings did we have (that were NOT official readings in official meetings) before we let 5G roam free in Sioux Falls? ZERO.

I will say it again, you can only have open and transparent government by actually practicing open and transparent government.

Fiber-to-Home Networks much better than 5G

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Communities across the country are doing the smart thing;

This is a list of citywide, municipal, Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) networks across the United States. Our Community Networks Map offers an interactive look at the many ways communities have improved Internet access with smart local investments. These communities have some of the best connectivity you can find in the entire country — supporting strong local economies and a high quality of life to ensure they can thrive.

As you can see, just 40 minutes North of us, Brookings, SD has invested in this kind of network. Pretty astounding considering they don’t have an innovation department at city hall 🙂

This is really what Sioux Falls should be investing in. But when you have to carry water for Ironic Johnny Thune-Bag, these things happen.