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Please Help Fund Lobbyist To Preserve Local Control Of Potentially Harmful 5G Small Cell Towers

Posted by: Sharon Rushton - October 28, 2018 - 9:30 AM PDT

Please click HERE and help fund a professional lobbyist in Washington D.C. to oppose Federal legislation that would preempt local control of potentially harmful 5G Small Cell Towers. In addition, please spread the news! Send a link to this article to all your email contacts and post the link on Facebook, Twitter, NextDoor and other social media.

Broadband - Our Town, Our Choice is raising money to fund a professional lobbyist based in Washington D.C. to oppose Federal legislation (S.3157 and other bills) that would preempt local authority over the siting of Small Cell Wireless Telecommunications Facilities. Such legislation would allow the Telecom companies to deploy powerful and potentially harmful Small Cell Towers and additional equipment (as large as a refrigerator) on or next to utility poles and light poles - 15 to 50 feet from homes. The legislation would allow this to happen, even if your town does not want this intrusion. (Scroll down to "CONSEQUENCES OF 5G SMALL CELL TOWERS - Cancer and Health Effects" to understand the serious risks of 5G Small Cell Towers.)

A six-month lobbying effort is planned from October 1st, 2018 through March 31st, 2019.

**Please note that Broadband - Our Town, Our Choice is a lobby-funding group and not a 501(c)(3) organization, therefore, your donation will not be tax deductible.

BACKGROUND

On September 26, 2018, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Declaratory Ruling and Third Report and Order pertaining to Sections 253 and 332(c)(7) of the Communications Act, which establishes shot clocks (time limits) for state and local approvals for the deployment of small wireless facilities, significantly limits associated fees for use of state and local rights of way, and provides for streamlining state and local requirements on wireless infrastructure deployment ("Accelerating Wireless Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment", WT Docket No. 17-79; "Accelerating Wireline Broadband deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment", WC Docket No. 17-84). The measure removes state and local regulatory barriers that inhibit the deployment of infrastructure necessary for 5G and other advanced wireless services.

Please click HERE to read the summary and text of the new FCC Wireless Infrastructure Declaratory Ruling and Third Report and Order.

However, the new FCC Wireless Infrastructure Order exceeds the authority provided to the FCC in the 1996 Telecommunications Act. The new ruling is not enforceable because it conflicts with existing Federal law. Thus, states, counties, cities and others have a legal basis to sue the federal government over the power grab by the FCC.

In order for the new FCC Order to have legal standing, the Telecommunications Industry is lobbying to change Federal law and push through S.3157 (introduced June 28, 2018), the "STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act". If S.3157 passes, then States, Cities and Counties would lose significant control of regulating Wireless Telecommunications Facilities (WTF). If S.3157 does not pass or is significantly amended, then States, Cities, and Counties could maintain their current control of WTF regulations and the FCC Wireless Infrastructure Order would remain unenforceable due to being inconsistent with Federal law. Therefore, to preserve local control, we need a professional Washington D.C. lobbyist to oppose S.3157 and similar bills.

Please click HERE to read the proposed bill S.3157, the "STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act".

CONSEQUENCES OF 5G SMALL CELL TOWERS

Cancer & Health Effects: Serious adverse health effects may result from the round-the-clock millimeter microwave radiation of these small cell antennae. Such millimeter microwave radiation is far more potent than anything previously experienced from the electromagnetic spectrum. Numerous peer-reviewed scientific studies show that radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF), generated by wireless devices, affect living organisms at levels well below most international and national guidelines. Effects include increased cancer risk, DNA damages, neurological disorders, learning and memory deficits, sleeping disorders, headaches, and impaired fertility. The World Health Organization classified microwave radiation from wireless devices as a possible human carcinogen in 2011. In 2016, the US National Toxicology Program released results of the world’s largest study on wireless health risks, finding a significant increase in the incidence of brain and heart cancer in animals exposed to EMF.

For more detailed information:

Degradation Of The Traditional Residential Character Of Marin Neighborhoods: Wireless carriers have the right, under Section 6409(a) of the “Middle-Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act”, to expand their equipment and expand it an unlimited number of times, thereby potentially creating a huge unattractive industrial mess.

Decreased Property Values: A peer-reviewed study published in the 2005 Appraisal Journal, found that homes near cell towers were devalued by 20% to 25%.

Increased Fire Risk: The heavy and bulky “Small Cell Facilities” could overload telephone poles, leading to increased fire hazards. For example, Edison and four telecommunication companies were fined for overloading utility poles with antennas and equipment, which caused the poles to collapse and spark the 2007 Malibu Canyon wildfire.

TAKE ACTION: Please do the following...

1. Donate - Please click HERE to help fund a professional lobbyist in Washington D.C. to oppose Federal legislation that would preempt local control of potentially harmful 5G Small Cell Towers.

2. Spread the news - Send a link to this article to all your email contacts and post the link on Facebook, Twitter, Nextdoor and other social media.

Thank you in advance for your kind contribution. Together we can make a difference and protect our communities from harmful radiation!