​Tommy Battle is Mayor of the City of Huntsville

The City of Huntsville works to protect neighborhoods.

Imagine a large utility box or antenna every 1,000 feet in your residential neighborhood. The small cell initiative in front of the Alabama Legislature this session is an attempt to give private industry the right to put whatever infrastructure they want in your front yard without any oversight from your local government.

Wireless companies could trench in power and fiber, install junction boxes that connect to antenna in every neighborhood in Alabama with no rules, input or guidance by any local authority. I can assure you that when the trenching starts and unsightly antennas are installed you will call us in City Hall.

Cities throughout Alabama see this as a bad precedent. We control these types of activities through local codes, zoning ordinances and laws that reflect our intent to protect citizens’ rights and their property. Our efforts on your behalf are now under attack.

Recently, a federal agency, the Federal Communications Commission, at the behest of the wireless industry, blocked local laws on the use of right-of-way in the guise of speeding up the nationwide rollout of 5G wireless technology. This next generation of wireless service could require hundreds of thousands of “small cells,” consisting of densely spaced towers and ground equipment, to be installed in neighborhoods and on commercial highways and byways throughout the country. This includes the right of way in your front yard.

We are concerned. So concerned that on our citizens behalf we have joined a host of other cities throughout the country in challenging the dictates of the FCC.

The favorable treatment the FCC gave to the wireless industry has emboldened its lobbyists to go from state to state to try to grab even more control from local governments over what happens in your front yard. The wireless industry worked the halls of the Alabama state capitol last year but was unsuccessful in convincing legislators to pass laws to preclude local governments from making their own decisions. Instead, state lawmakers appointed a task force to study the issue.

The task force heard from a wireless industry that claimed it needed statewide standards in place of local standards before it could offer service to cities. They want to make the decision as to what will appear in your yard and on the roads in your neighborhood with no local government involvement.

Small cell deployment is already happening in Huntsville through communication companies willing to work within our city’s rules and regulations. The City has successfully negotiated agreements with reputable companies willing to balance the demands of new technology with the protection of our residential homes and public right of ways. Every wireless company has the opportunity to provide service to our citizens - just follow our rules.

We want Huntsville to have the best wireless technology available, but we want it in conjunction with a quality neighborhood. That is why we are working at the federal level and now at the state level to keep local control. Please help us to do so by telling your state representatives that we do not need a state wireless law.