5G

Sioux Falls Chamber Advocate publishes Thune’s comments on 5G

l3wis February 16, 2019 3Comments

Well you know why I call him ‘Ironic Johnny Thune-Bag;

Sen. John Thune, chairman of the Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, was a featured speaker at an Axios-hosted event about innovation in America’s cities. Thune discussed South Dakota’s role in helping America win the race to 5G mobile broadband technology and his efforts to spur technology, spectrum availability, and innovation by way of legislative initiatives like his MOBILE NOW Act, which became law in 2018, STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act, and AV START Act.

Who are we ‘racing’ against? All I see is the telecoms battling it out to see who can produce this technology the fastest, but the benefits to consumers is questionable. We already know that ethernet is 100x faster than any wi-fi connection (as well as safer, health, data security, etc.). So why the rush? Thune tries to explain that;

South Dakota Leadership:

“What I hope to do is to be able to see rural areas benefit from [5G] as well,” said Thune. “I think a lot of it will have to do with the individual communities … We have a new, young mayor in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who is very aggressively working to make sure that Sioux Falls and that South Dakota is on the map when it comes to fifth generation technology, looking at ways to lower barriers and impediments to that type of investment, and seeking partners who will help join in that effort.”

Mayor TenHaken hasn’t worked ‘aggressively’ – he was forced into this through the new FCC rules that now are being challenged in Federal court. Our own city attorney has confessed that the city had NO CHOICE but to go along with Federal guidelines. That can be done with little effort. The mayor, his administration and the city council rolled over like a dog.

“I think the companies that are going to invest in this are going to be looking for those cities and states that have a progressive view of how we get there and make it easier, not harder to develop that. Like I said, the city of Sioux Falls is really leading on that. Our municipal league in South Dakota has come up with a sort of a standard ordinance that municipalities can adopt that again would enable investment and build-out. I think we have to make it easier, not harder when it comes to the role that governments play if we want to see this really develop quickly.”

The National League of Cities has come out against the 5G rollout, not because they are opposed to the new technology but because the Feds are overstepping their authority of local control and what cities can do to regulate 5G and what fees they can charge.

“In a state like South Dakota, we have a lot of rural telephone cooperatives and smaller companies that are making investments, and there are programs that are available that provide incentives for them to do that. We have a company called Golden West Telecom in western South Dakota, which is where I’m from, and they’ve done a great job – have figured out how to leverage some of the federal opportunities that are available, and they’ve built out a lot and are continuing to build out, and we want to incentivize that.”

When Thune talks about ‘leveraging’ federal opportunities, what he is saying is TAKING ADVANTAGE. One of the reasons rural communities have poor cell service is because many of those towns asked to be fairly compensated for using taxpayer properties (like water towers) for antenna usage, and many of the telecoms refused to pay fair compensation.

Innovation’s effect on industries:

“I mean, the productivity gains are going to be enormous in so many sectors of the economy – agriculture of course being one that’s important in our state, but telemedicine, telehealth, I mean, that has life-saving opportunities. You heard about ‘smart cities’ and reducing congestion – you know, the amount of pollutants we’re putting into the environment. There are some enormous gains that are out there for us, but it is going to take a competitive, free market approach to this where everybody is in there trying to do their best to win the race.”

Isn’t it IRONIC that Thune talks about the ‘health benefits’ of employing 5G while the telecoms asked the FCC to take out the health effects of 5G when it comes to regulation. So which is it John? 5G will make us safer and healthier? We don’t know because the industry refuses to do either extensive studies or chooses to hide them. If you want to argue about the health benefits of 5G, require health studies in the regulation of this technology, or better yet, STFU.