By Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD- The 5G, or small cell, technology is expected to substantially boost cell phone data capacity.
Earlier this year, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill to bring about uniform standards for the deals local governments can make with telecommunications companies.
Local governments may charge a one-time fee of $1,000, but they can’t charge annual recurring rates, the law states.
Stakeholders in Peoria, Naperville, Mount Prospect and Forest Park reportedly are some of the areas investigating the technology, and how to best regulate it locally under the new state law.
“The City of Rockford recently adopted an ordinance governing the installation of small cell wireless facilities in anticipation of the expansion of 5G technology,” Rockford Legal Director Nick Meyer said. “The City has not been contacted by any telecom companies at this time.”
Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder said he didn’t like the bill because it took away local control, but the city will follow the law. However, with its publicly owned electric generation utility, he said Springfield is a bit unique.
“You can put [small cell sites] on our poles but we still provide the infrastructure to provide the electricity for usage, so that’s the other piece of it where we’d be able to offset our costs where other municipalities don’t have the added cost that we do.”
He said a deal between Springfield and AT&T could come together as early as next month.
“Everybody wants 5G because of faster internet usage and things of that nature,” Langfelder said. “We’ve had discussions with AT&T and their implementation, and I think they’ve identified 50 sites within Springfield.”
“We’re planning on deploying mobile 5G in a dozen U.S. cities this year. We’ll update you when we’re ready to announce our 5G plans for cities in Illinois,” AT&T spokesman Phil Hayes said. “The new small cell law in Illinois will help pave the way for 5G technology in the state.”
A July 20 statement online from the telecommunications company doesn’t list anywhere in Illinois as a possible spot. That statement names Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, Dallas and Waco, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia.
“We’re deliberately launching with a mix of big and mid-sized cities,” the AT&T statement said. “One competitor recently boasted ‘New York matters more than Waco’ when discussing their future plans. We politely disagree – all Americans should have access to next-gen connectivity to avoid a new digital divide.”
A spokesman for Verizon said the company announced it will launch 5G residential broadband service in four markets, none in Illinois.
“To date, we’ve announced Indianapolis, Houston, Los Angeles and Sacramento,” Verizon spokesman Andy Choi said. “We’re focused on launching those markets for the time being.
Sprint “recently announced plans to launch its 5G mobile network in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix and Washington, D.C.” in the first half of 2019, according to a statement on the company’s website. “Additional markets will be announced as Sprint continues the roll-out of its blazing-fast mobile 5G service.”
