Wireless carriers, lawmakers divided on small cell tower bills
Dueling bills on how local governments can control the placement of small wireless facilities—as telecommunication companies prepare to build a 5G network nationwide—had those gathered in Annapolis, MD, to testify on Tuesday switching between offense and defense as the Senate Finance Committee heard both bills simultaneously. The pair of competing bills arrived in Annapolis this session despite months of negotiations between elected officials and wireless telecom companies in an attempt to reach a consensus on rules for deploying small cell technology.