To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Administrative Office
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
title
Approve Sending Letters In Support of HR 530 (Eshoo) and S 2012 (Feinstein) Regarding 5G Installation Rule
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RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Approve the letters in Attachments 1 and 2, and direct staff to distribute to the addressees.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
General Fund
DISCUSSION:
Both Congress and the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have taken steps to enact policies aimed at accelerating 5G deployment nationwide. However, the measures target local governments by restricting local authority. In June 2019, the STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act (STREAMLINE Act) was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate, which limits fees local governments can charge providers and narrows the review process for counties to adequately assess 5G deployment applications. Prior to the bill's reintroduction, the FCC approved a controversial rule in September 2018 setting national standards on the local permitting process when siting 5G small cell locations, which went into effect Jan. 14, 2019.
5G describes the next generation of mobile networks which builds on today's 4G wireless broadband infrastructure. This next generation of wireless service uses higher-frequency wavelengths transmitted through a network of "small cell" devices - roughly the size of a backpack - scattered throughout communities. To build 5G networks, telecommunications providers place small cells on public rights-of-way to construct their own communications networks.
Analysts expect the full buildout of the 5G network will require nearly one million small cell installations over the next decade. In general, counties are strongly committed to the timely and successful deployment of 5G facilities and services throughout the nation, just as counties led and supported public and private partnerships that resulted in the successful introduc...
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