Here’s The Deal With ‘Those Darn 5G Poles’: Hoboken Councilwoman

HOBOKEN, NJ — Are you fed up with all the new utility poles sprouting up in Hoboken? It may be best to make peace with a tough situation, a city council member says.

Earlier this week, Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher sent an email about what she termed “those darn 5G poles.” According to Fisher, the council was first presented with a contract for Verizon to install more than 70 new poles more than a year ago.

The poles are going up as part of an overall effort from Verizon to improve its wireless service within the City of Hoboken. (Learn more about the project and see FAQs)

“What our legal counsel advised us, and has since re-confirmed, is that the federal law – the Telecommunications Act of 1996 - effectively states that utility companies have the right to provide wireless services and that local law cannot stop them from installing them in public right of ways,” Fisher wrote.

Here are the relevant FCC regulatory standards, according to Fisher:

“No state or local government or instrumentality thereof may regulate the placement, construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions.”

“Yes, the language is that direct, and probably reflects the impact of lobbyists for the wireless industry,” Fisher stated. “So in a nutshell, our hands were completely tied in terms of our ability to stop Verizon (in this instance) from installing cell towers.”

However, that doesn’t mean there was no action from local officials, she added. According to Fisher:

“What the administration and my subcommittee (Councilmembers Giattino, Russo and Jabbour) did was work with Verizon to make sure that (a) we understood the health considerations, (b) they used as many poles as possible that were already installed and collocated with PSEG poles (not a lot), (c) they locate the poles in places that were least intrusive and most equitable to residents (property lines vs. in front of windows, on corners, near commercial properties, etc.), (d) they notice (now) residents within 200ft of a proposed installation, and (e) they establish a central point of information where people could go to find out information about the project.”

Fisher offered a final caveat in her statement, which can be seen in full here:

“As it relates to these darn 5G poles, I personally wish I could say that we could remove all the poles but we can’t. As of right now I think the best we can do is ensure a good relationship with the wireless companies so that we can get the best possible outcome given the circumstances. Effectively this is a real estate grab and the federal laws support it. ATT are already in Hoboken looking to find their own new locations.”

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Hoboken Facebook page. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com