I remember a churning feeling in my stomach, at a January 27, 2016 public hearing before the Archuleta County Planning Commission.
The Commission has been tasked with making a reasonable recommendation about a proposed Verizon cell tower installation… a 70-foot radio tower disguised to look something like an enormous fake Christmas tree, connected to a “faux wood” (plastic) equipment shelter, and serviced by a “primitive” gravel road running through what many residents had thought was dedicated open space in the Pagosa Lakes subdivision.
The overflow crowd was addressed by Planning Commission chair Michael Frederick:
“The second thing I want to address, regarding the presentation tonight. In matters involving cell phone towers, we often — throughout the state — run into arguments that cell phone towers may affect the health or well-being of adjacent landowners or residents nearby.
“The health effects of microwave towers is something we cannot address, or respond to, or even consider in our deliberations, simply because the Federal Communications Commission has exercised its authority to fully take charge of that particular matter and we have no ability to address that here.”
Mr. Fredrick told us the Planning Commission would refuse to listen to arguments about the health effects of microwave towers. The federal government simply won’t tolerate such talk.
As we would find out, an hour later, following the Verizon presentation and question-and-answer period, the packed Planning Commission audience had three main concerns about the proposed cell tower. More than a dozen people stepped up to the podium during the public hearing to question the placement of the proposed cell tower. One of the concerns expressed was precisely the issue of health effects, on nearby residents, from high-frequency radiation.
Here is a brief section of federal law 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7)(B)(iv), in which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) claims final authority to determine the health effects from cell towers:
No State or local government or instrumentality thereof may regulate the placement, construction, or modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions to the extent that such facilities comply with the Commission’s regulations concerning such emissions.
I mention this unsettling event because we have a federal government that sometimes oversteps its proper authority and compels ‘We the People’ to accept, without complaint, environmental risks taken by huge, for-profit corporations. Because profits often come before people.
More specifically, I mention the federal government because, at a joint Town Council-Board of County Commissioners meeting at noon yesterday, local businessman and activist Jason Cox referenced the FCC during a presentation about Broadband. Mr. Cox was presenting on behalf of the Community Development Corporation (CDC), a non-profit corporation that’s been consistently funded by the taxpayers for the past decade, without accomplishing much of anything.
Maybe 2019 will be different.
Mr. Cox:
“First of all, we can get this [Broadband] project done in three years, to increase by 18 percent over current coverage, what the FCC considers ‘sufficient Broadband.’
“25Mb per second down and 3Mb per second up.
“So that [improves service to] over 1,000 households. With 2.6 users per household. That’s 2,600 users. That’s a big ‘win.’
“Second, it doesn’t require any increase in taxes, or any bond issue. Here’s the key. We are going to leverage the money put in by the community to create an open-access network that will allow private ISPs to compete and to provide services.”
At yesterday’s meeting, Mr. Cox did not provide the Town Council or Board of County Commissioners with any details about how, exactly, this would happen. Perhaps he didn’t, himself, know how it was going to happen, because — while we were sitting in this meeting at Town Hall — the CDC board was meeting at another location and listening to the details of this exciting Broadband expansion plan from their consultants, the Lindblad Group.
But although Mr. Cox could not share the details of this ‘no-new-taxes’ plan to improve Internet service in Archuleta County, he knew exactly how much money the CDC was going to ask from the taxpayers:
$200,000.
$100,000 from the BOCC, and $100,000 from the Town Council. For 2019. (We didn’t get to hear how much more funding would be requested for 2020, and going forward.)
Mr. Cox:
“There’s a Carrier Neutral Location. I’m going to throw in another acronym: CNL. Carrier Neutral Location. What that means is, part of this project is we get a shared-access, open-access network facility that’s physically housed in the county. And essentially any provider who wants to, can co-locate equipment there. ‘Hey, I can bring my equipment in and provide service to my customers.’ Well, come on in.
“That’s another outcome of this project. The facility does not belong to CenturyLink; it does not belong to Skywerx; it does not belong to USA Communications. It’s for anyone who wants to compete on that playing field.”
Mr. Cox, here, has named our community’s three main ISPs (Internet Service Providers). Historically, CenturyLink (formerly CenturyTel) has provided Internet service through its aging network of telephone wires — wires that are seeing less and less use for telephones, as everyone switches to wireless smart phones. (And as they access the Internet through those same cell phones.)
USA Communications was originally a cable TV network, so their network of thicker cables are better suited to faster Internet connections. Meanwhile, it’s been hard for them to compete in the TV market against the satellite TV distributors and now against YouTube and Hulu and Netflix.
About 10 years ago, upstart company Skywerx began delivering Internet wirelessly in Archuleta County, via microwave towers — thus avoiding the headache of installing and maintaining a vast network of copper wires.
Due to technology limitations, all three companies struggle to provide the FCC’s recommended “25/3” Broadband to households at an affordable price. Yes, you can get “25/3.” But you will pay for it.
Apparently, the CDC believes it can help the community get access to “25/3” for a small initial investment of $200,000. Quite an ambitious goal, I’d say… for a small, non-profit, government-subsidized corporation that has accomplished very little since its formation eight years ago.