Congress shouldn’t give more to telecom industry
In May the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Communications and Technology was presented with a number of bills authored by the telecommunications industry, all with two things in common: granting far broader powers to an industry that already wields so much authority over local zoning that municipal governments hesitate to protect their communities when telecom wants to place cell towers close to homes, schools and other public facilities; stripping communities of any last vestiges of local control.
On May 24, 2023, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to advance the most egregious and encompassing of these bills, HR 3557, The American Broadband Act of 2023, to the full House, to expedite wireless broadband deployment by streamlining permitting reviews.
This bill represents an unprecedented usurpation of the authority of local governments to manage public rights-of-way and land use, favoring wireless, telecommunications and cable providers over local governments and private landowners.
It preempts local rightsof-way and franchise authority in a giveaway to cable and telecommunications providers.
H.R. 3557 was reported out of Committee with no public input or opportunity to hear from local leaders why this legislation is not needed and will result in preemptions and unconstitutional takings. This federal overreach into community rights and decision-making was opposed by the National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors and National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors in a letter to the House committees.
Communities need the right of their own decisions to prevent the uncontrolled deployment of wireless antennas by the private telecommunications industry, whose primary interest is profit for their shareholders.
Please consider taking a stand against this dangerous undemocratic legislation and contact your city, county, state and federal lawmakers to voice opposition.
— Marty Feffer, Boulder