Edmonds doesn’t have to cave to AT&T on ‘small cell’ antennas

I read in The Herald that five of six Edmonds City Council members have caved in to AT&T, aka Cingular, and voted to authorize Mayor Mike Nelson to contract with AT&T for the erection of new, refrigerator size, 5G cell towers on every block (“In Edmonds, ‘small cell’ deployment permit becomes a big deal,” The Herald, June 16.)

Council members believe that they have no choice under the law. But the law is very clear that wireless companies can sue and force a city to allow 5G towers only if there are currently significant gaps in coverage, and provided that there is no other less intrusive alternative.

There are currently no significant gaps in Edmonds cell phone coverage. New antennas on every block will be highly intrusive. If there were any gaps in coverage, an additional, conventional tower would be less intrusive.

Many cities are defying Big Wireless and refusing to allow any of these 5G towers. Cell phones work well enough as things are. The crazy reason for this 5G technology is so people can watch movies and TV on their cell phones. 5G offers no significant advantages to users. It is a technology that has lost its way.

These 5G towers will cause many people to move and many people not to choose Edmonds as a place to live. Property values will be reduced.

We can only hope that the mayor vetoes this contract.

James Robert Deal

Lynnwood