Adopt Friendly Bill or Verizon May Build 5G Elsewhere First, Maryland Panel Hears
ANNAPOLIS -- The Maryland Senate Finance Committee took up the Senate version of small-cell legislation considered by the House Economic Matters Committee. The Senate panel heard testimony Tuesday evening on industry-supported SB-937 and local government-backed SB-713, after a lengthy hearing on other bills. A Verizon official warned that absent industry-friendly legislation, the state might not see 5G anytime soon.
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No one is deploying 5G there, said Joseph Askew, Verizon vice president-government and external relations. “We have to have a streamlined process so we can invest the way we would like to.” Without SB-937, Verizon is likely to build out 5G first in states like Virginia and Delaware, which have small-cell legislation laws.
Sen. Katherine Klausmeier (D), who sponsored SB-937, said it would mean better wireless connections statewide. More than 20 other states have acted, she said: “The installation of small cells will allow the connection of resources like street lights, water pipes, parking spaces and public transportation … and allow governments to better connect with their constituencies.” Klausmeier said local governments retain some control under the industry-backed bill.
“We’re not opposed to 5G, we just want to be careful about the aesthetics and the placement of the actual small cells and the antennas,” said SB-713 sponsor Sen. Pamela Beidle (D). Some people don’t want any 5G deployment, they don’t want the poles or the antennas, she said: “That’s now what my bill is about. We’re concerned about the appearance, the location, the height and design and aesthetic requirements that seek to preserve the visual character of a neighborhood.”
“If we do nothing, if neither of these bills pass, this stuff is coming anyway,” Sen. Edward Reilly (R) said of 5G. “There’s nothing we can do to slow it down or stop it.” Reilly supports the Beidle bill “because local jurisdictions know best what their neighborhoods should be involved with.”
SB-713 would “drive away wireless investment,” especially because it includes a fee to pay for a digital exclusion fund, Askew said. Without SB-937 and streamlined siting, rural areas in particular will get less investment, he said.
SB-937 “gives industry what it couldn’t get from the FCC -- almost free permitting and use of public property,” said Mitsuko Herrera, Montgomery County cable communications administrator. The bill “incentivizes submitting incomplete applications to get automatic approvals,” she said. The county already recommended approval of 109 small cells with another 44 pending, she said: “SB-937 creates a gigantic loophole if pretty costs more than ugly.”
Herrera said only 6 percent of the county will likely need small cells and 0.1 percent “will need a lot of small cells in the next year.” Herrera noted that in buildings, most calls are routed over Wi-Fi. “It doesn’t guarantee 5G,” she said. While many states have small-cell bills, “there’s only a handful of cities with 5G,” she said: “If you don’t get good cell service now, you will not get 5G.”
CTIA supports SB-937 and opposes SB-713, said Bethanne Cooley, senior director-state legislative affairs. “There are more wireless devices in Maryland than there are people, and over one-third of Maryland households are wireless only.” The bill creates a permitted use system that ensures applications and permits are submitted to local government and quick decisions for small cells, she said. As in 20 other states, if local governments don’t act, a project will be “deemed granted,” she said.
SB-713 doesn’t differentiate between macro and small cells and collocations “which is conflict with federal law,” Cooley said: The bill is “anticompetitive” and would slow deployment in Maryland, she said.
Next-generation 911, the topic of a bill discussed at the start of the hearing (see 1902260058), won’t work without 5G, said Michelle Painter, counsel to Sprint. “The world is changing,” she said. “Over the next three years, you’re going to have as much [infrastructure] deployed as you’ve had over the last 30.”
“Local governments support the best technology for their communities,” countered Natasha Mehu, Maryland Association of Counties legislative director. She supports SB-713 and opposes SB 937. Six hundred small cells have been deployed in Baltimore, she said: “You do not need a bill for this.” The FCC has acted to speed deployment, she said. SB-937 means industry could file hundreds of applications with local government at the same time and they could be “deemed granted” before municipalities can fully investigate, she said.