nextcentury

Thirty-six local elected officials sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in defense of local decision-making around 5G investments, small cell deployment, and the use of public rights-of-way. The letter pushes back on the narrative that local leaders are a barrier to small cell deployment, instead calling for collaboration between industry and municipalities.

Mayors and local officials from over 35 cities are pressing the FCC to include more local input as it develops plans to expand broadband deployment and establish 5G infrastructure.

Thirty-six mayors and elected local leaders representing Next Century Cities, a bipartisan organization, today sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that defended local decision-making around 5G infrastructure investments, small cell deployment, and the use of public rights-of-way.

Next Century Cities is pushing back on FCC efforts to exempt some wireless deployments from local historic or environmental reviews, saying they are being scapegoated unfairly as impediments to broadband deployment.

As the FCC moves closer to a vote next week on streamlining 5G network deployments, dozens of mayors and local elected officials called on the commission today to preserve local decision-making in the infrastructure approval process.

A group of 36 local elected officials, mostly mayors, sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday criticizing its efforts to undercut their jurisdictions’ oversight of 5G deployment.