Do you want your tax money used to deploy 5G?
Because of ONE word in the new infrastructure bill, all taxpayer-funded broadband projects must support the deployment of 5G! That needs to change!
Section 60102 (a) (2) I (ii) (II) of the new infrastructure bill requires all new broadband projects to “support the deployment of 5G” to qualify for federal funding.
We’ve uncovered an outrageous provision of the new infrastructure bill -– one that needs to be fixed, and the sooner the better.
The intent of Congress was to help close the digital divide by providing billions of dollars for broadband projects, including both wired and wireless projects. Wired broadband is faster, cheaper, safer, more reliable, less susceptible to hacking and much more energy efficient than wireless.
But lobbyists for the wireless industry snuck a phrase into the 1036 page bill that requires any federally-funded broadband project to support the deployment of 5G. Wait, what?
It’s a naked demonstration of telecom influence in Congress and an insult to every family in underserved communities who desperately need cost-effective broadband, not slow, expensive, unreliable, hackable, energy-guzzling wireless broadband.
So, we need a one-word fix:
Bad law: “…Support the deployment of 5G, successor wireless technologies, and other advanced services.”
Better law: “…Support the deployment of 5G, successor wireless technologies or other advanced services.”
There is only one way to fix this: Congress needs to act! Today, please take a minute to email your representatives in Washington and ask them to “Fix the 5G Mistake.”
And why not forward this message to a few friends?
