Telecommunications providers are examining a draft ordinance that would regulate the placement of 5G cell towers in Baton Rouge, with one provider beginning to offer revisions.
Besides AT&T—which has long been front and center of the 5G issue locally—city-parish attorneys also sent the document to Cox and Verizon. So far, Verizon has responded with some comments, according to Courtney Humphrey, legislative section chief at the parish attorney’s office. She declined to elaborate on the nature of the comments, citing the fact that it’s still “an attorney work product and hasn’t been vetted yet.”
Verizon’s attorneys could not be reached for further details before this morning’s deadline.
Regardless, Chief Administrative Officer Darryl Gissel says the city-parish has not yet received requests from any other carriers to deploy small cell towers in Baton Rouge.
Generally, the draft ordinance—written by members of the parish attorney’s office and its outside counsel, with heavy input from the Federation of Greater Baton Rouge Civic Associations—places more stringent requirements on telecommunications firms, including:
• Providing advance notice of proposed structures to nearby property owners through mailers and signage;
• Providing significantly more information in their permit applications than previous ordinances, lifting the burden off the city-parish permitting office;
• Constructing small cell towers in residential areas only as an option of last resort, with a provision allowing for subdivisions and property owners to suggest preferred locations for the placement of the towers;
• Prioritizing placing the 5G technology on existing utility poles or support structures.
Other wireless providers are also expected to respond in the coming days.
While Cox is not directly involved in the cellular business, public affairs manager David D’Aquin says the company has been providing cellular infrastructure mainly through wireless backhaul since 1998.
“Because of our robust infrastructure in Baton Rouge we require less equipment in the right of way to service our customers,” D’Aquin says in an emailed statement. “Our small cell solutions are designed to be unobtrusive to meet our customers’ needs and are about the size of a football. They can be mounted virtually anywhere: on cable strands, street lights and or structures at the 35 feet height range.”
David Aubrey of AT&T Louisiana could not be reached for comment prior to publication.
Gary Patureau, who is leading the 5G cell tower task force created last summer, says the draft ordinance is unique in that it includes a provision for a preferred location plan, where each neighborhood would come up with its own plan.
“Hopefully, that’s something we’d contribute nationally,” he says, noting the task force reviewed hundreds of ordinances across the U.S. “I think the Metro Council will say this is absolutely the right thing to do.”
Patureau says the goal is to present a consensus document to the Metro Council in February.
Baton Rouge is among many U.S. cities fighting with telecom carriers and federal regulators over how new small cells will be scattered throughout downtowns and neighborhoods. Across the country, wireless companies say one of the biggest hurdles to deploying 5G networks is the need to negotiate with city officials for permission to install small cells, and that some cities were charging excessive fees for access to city property. City leaders, however, say the one-size-fits-all rule undermines their authority to charge market rates for property access.
A decision in a U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals lawsuit over 5G infrastructure placement is expected later this year. Until then, the litigation creates uncertainty for cities and carriers, though Patureau says the task force is monitoring the suit.
