Challenge mounts for FCC’s 5G cell tower rules

US regulator, the FCC, has forced local governments to charge a flat fee for 5G cell towers, which has been opposed by everyone except the mobile operators, and has been challenged by new legislation, reports The Register. California Congresswoman Anna Eshoo has introduced HR 530, arguing that the regulator had forced the legislative branch to act because it had “failed to listen to reasonable input from communities across the country, cowered to industry interests, and failed to put the public interests first”. She went on: “5G must be deployed responsibly and equitably [but] the FCC let industry write these regulations without sufficient input from local leaders.” Eshoo is backed up by the mayor of San Jose, Sam Liccardo, who has been a vocal opponent to the rules. “This legislation will preserve the ability of local communities to negotiate fair, market-based broadband deployment agreements and close the digital divide that exists for 34 million low-income and rural Americans,” he argued. The legislation is also backed by the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties and the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors. Other high-profile opponents to the rules include the cities of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Las Vegas, San Diego and Seattle. And there are currently no fewer than six lawsuits challenging the legality of the rules. Read more

• Wednesday, 23 January 2019