{"id":49712,"date":"2021-01-25T06:35:08","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T10:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=49712"},"modified":"2021-01-25T07:03:04","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T11:03:04","slug":"beware-heres-how-theyre-installing-5g-equipment-on-homeowner-properties-without-any-notice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=49712","title":{"rendered":"BEWARE! Here’s how they’re installing 5G equipment on homeowner properties without any notice."},"content":{"rendered":"

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BUSINESS<\/div>\n
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‘It’s ugly’: Verizon 5G data boxes appear without notice on Houston front lawns<\/h1>\n

Dwight Silverman
\nHouston Chronicle<\/p>\n

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Dirk Wijnands and Adeline Wijnands-Pang pose for a photograph a 5G junction box in their front yard Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Houston. The couple moved into the house about 18 months ago and thought it was the perfect American house with a porch. A few months later, the box was installed without their notice and became an eye sore. But they Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle \/ Staff photographer<\/p><\/div>\n

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5G junction box in Dirk Wijnands and Adeline Wijnands-Pang’s front yard is photographed Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Houston. The couple moved into the house about 18 months ago and thought it was the perfect American house with a porch. A few months later, the box was installed without their notice and became an eye sore. But they have Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle \/ Staff photographer<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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Construction crew disconnect the old transmitters from the tower to be updated with new 5g technology during 5G Infrastructure Installation at Mac Gregor Park area, Tuesday, September 8, 2020, in Houston.Photo: Juan DeLeon\/Contributor<\/p><\/div>\n

Dirk Wijnands and Adeline Pang hadn\u2019t paid much attention to the coming 5G wireless data revolution until its building blocks were installed without warning on the couple\u2019s Montrose-area lawn.<\/p>\n

In September 2019, work began on the street near their home on Elmen near Westheimer as contractors dug trenches to install fiber optic cable. Shortly afterward, a box resembling an oversized dorm room refrigerator appeared on their lawn, next to a wooden utility pole that had been placed earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree weeks after the work began, they hung a little tag on our doorknob that said something like, \u2018Oh we are doing some work on your lawn,\u2019\u201d Wijnands said. \u201cThey\u2019d work on it for two or three days in a row, then I wouldn\u2019t see them for five days, and then they\u2019d be back.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the jargon of telecommunications, the box is known as \u201cground furniture.\u201d The beige metal cabinets, with an electrical meter affixed, supply power and a high-speed fiber connection to a transmitter on Verizon\u2019s wireless data network. They are popping up on lawns all over Houston, and in other cities around the United States, often without notice to homeowners.<\/p>\n

It is part of the rush to build out the next-generation wireless network called 5G\u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/strong>even if it means ticking off residents. Norman Ewart, a retired lawyer who lives in the Rice Memorial area, said one of the boxes was placed outside his front gate. He complained to Verizon- but the box remains in place.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt hasn\u2019t been turned on yet, it\u2019s just sitting there,\u201d Ewart said. \u201cI want it gone. It\u2019s ugly, and it devalues my property.\u201d<\/p>\n

5G is touted as another disruptive technology, and, as Houston residents like Wijnands, Pang and Ewart have found, it\u2019s not coming without disruptions. Telecommunications companies, device manufacturers, lawmakers and industry associations have promised much faster wireless data speeds, less latency or lag and transformation of the 21st century economy on scale of 4G wireless, which\u00a0<\/strong>enabled mobile apps that created new services from ride-hailing to video streaming.<\/p>\n

To fulfill 5G\u2019s promise, federal and state governments streamlined regulations for permitting and building telecommunications infrastructure such as towers, the transmitters atop them and the fiber optic cables that feed them data. Cities have less control over these networks, resulting in puzzled and unhappy landowners.<\/p>\n

The amount of money being spent is mind-boggling. The CTIA, the trade group for the wireless telecommunications industry, estimates the 5G buildout in the United States alone will cost $275 billion; some estimates put the cost as high $300 billion.<\/p>\n

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5G Primer<\/h2>\n
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5G in the United States works primarily with three types of spectrum, and the way each work determines what kind of equipment is needed to transmit it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Low-band spectrum<\/strong>, which operates below 1 GHz, is used by all three of the major carriers. These frequencies are also used for 4G LTE, and it has a range of miles but typically has speeds 20 percent to 40 percent better than LTE.<\/p>\n

Mid-band spectrum,<\/strong>\u00a0which operates between 1 GHz and 6 GHz (sometimes called \u201csub-6\u201d), and has less range than low band but can move data faster. For the moment, only T-Mobile offers 5G in this spectrum, and it acquired it when it merged with Sprint. Mid-band speeds can approach 1 gigabit per second, but typically run in the 200 Mbps to 500 Mbps range.<\/p>\n

High-frequency spectrum,<\/strong>\u00a0called millimeter wave or mmWave, operates between 24 GHz and 39 GHz. It provides the fastest speeds, but also has the shortest range – in some instances, its signal drops at just 1,000 feet from the transmitter. In addition, it can\u2019t penetrate through buildings, glass or even foliage. Verizon and AT&T use mmWave; T-Mobile has it in a few cities, but not yet in Houston. Theoretically, mmWave can carry data up to 6 gigabits per second, or about six times the fastest speed offered by AT&T\u2019s fiber-optic home internet service. Currently, mmWave from Verizon can deliver speeds up to about 2 Gbps.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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That doesn\u2019t include the spending to acquire spectrum – the radio frequencies over which wireless services travel. Telecom companies recently bid almost $81 billion for a chunk of spectrum known as C-Band in auctions run by the Federal Communications Commission.<\/p>\n

Speed vs. distance<\/h2>\n

To understand why the 5G buildout is complicated and expensive \u2014 and possibly coming to lawn near you \u2014 it\u2019s important to know that 5G is not just one technology. Rather, it\u2019s an amalgam of many different ones. It\u2019s how they are assembled and interact that give 5G its promise.<\/p>\n

Wireless networks use radio waves, collectively known as the radio spectrum, for transmission and reception. The radio waves operate at different frequencies. Higher frequencies can carry more data faster but don\u2019t travel as far. Lower frequencies have greater range but can\u2019t transmit as much information as fast.<\/p>\n

The C-Band spectrum auctioned by the FCC falls in the middle, which is considered the \u201csweet spot\u201d for 5G as it delivers higher speeds than low frequencies, but its signals can travel further than high frequencies.<\/p>\n

As wireless companies build 5G networks, they are using low, middle and high frequencies to optimize speed and range The process of rolling out 5G in the United States involves changes to cellular towers, on-the-ground equipment that provides power and internet connectivity, and the data and network centers used to manage wireless communications.<\/p>\n

While low- and mid-band 5G transmitters are often installed on the same kind of towers as the predecessor technology4G LTE, high-frequency transmitters must be lower to the ground and close together.<\/p>\n

High-frequency transmission over a large area requires many small cells, a strategy known as densification. Because of its distance and penetration limitations, high frequency transmission has been confined to urban areas, and locations where people gather en masse, such as stadiums or airports.<\/p>\n

But that is changing.<\/p>\n

Loss of control<\/h2>\n

Houston was the first city where Verizon sold a version of its 5G service aimed at home users, designed to compete with cable and fiber-optic residential broadband internet access. The service was launched in 2018, when Verizon began installing the \u201cground furniture\u201d cabinets and putting small-cell transmitters atop utility poles.<\/p>\n

Those transmitters deliver Verizon\u2019s high frequency, 5G service, which it markets as Ultrawideband. The service, first offered to areas in or near downtown, has been extended to other neighborhoods near downtown, Midtown and out to the Energy Corridor \u2014 almost to Beltway 8.<\/p>\n

In the past, cities had greater latitude in controlling where telecommunications equipment was placed in their jurisdictions. But changes made both by the Federal Communications Commission and the Texas Legislature designed to streamline the permitting process has limited what cities can do.<\/p>\n

The FCC rules prevented communities, such as Houston,<\/strong>\u00a0that require utilities to be buried from blocking the construction of above-ground infrastructure and small-cell towers. That\u2019s why Verizon\u2019s boxes pop up in Houston neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

A 2017 state law allows telecommunications companies to install the 5G equipment without seeking approval of homeowners or notifying them. That law, along with a subsequent ruling by the FCC, also cut the fees the city could charge for\u00a0<\/strong>installing\u00a0<\/strong>a wireless node to $300 from $2,700, hampering the city\u2019s ability to maintain rights-of-way and infrastructure such as utility poles, said Bill Kelly, director of Government Relations for the city of Houston.<\/p>\n

\u201cCities can absolutely be partners in this process\u201d of building out 5G infrastructure, he said. \u201cWe can\u2019t continually be on the menu for cuts and seen as an obstacle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Houston City Councilman David Robinson, chair of the city\u2019s Transportation, Technology & Infrastructure Committee that oversees telecommunications projects, put it more bluntly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s another instance of Houston getting the shaft as a municipality,\u201d Robinson said<\/p>\n

Waiting for answers<\/h2>\n

Robinson, who just happens to live near Wijnands\u2019 and Pang\u2019s home, said his main concern is Verizon is not alerting residents before the boxes are placed.<\/p>\n

The permits don\u2019t require individuals to be notified, Verizon spokesperson Kate Jay said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are required to work with design districts and historical commissions, but not with individual homeowners,\u201d Jay said via email. \u201cWe take all complaints very seriously. Each case is assessed on an individual basis, with many factors going into that assessment. In limited instances, we have determined that there is sufficient reason to move it, and have done so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verizon declined to make executives available for interviews. In a statement, the company said, \u201cWe comply fully with all zoning and permitting requirements, and potential antenna locations must meet all local, state and federal regulations. These are placed in the right of way and are properly permitted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Kantner, who lives in the Rice Memorial area near Washington Ave., said crews affixed one of the boxes last September in front her home, but not on the ground. Instead, it was mounted on a utility pole, about three feet off the ground. Crews dug up sod underneath it, and then left. An earlier dig broke water mains in the area, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they started digging to put in cables, there were two water main breaks that flooded our street,\u201d Kantner said.<\/p>\n

After Kantner met with the head of the construction crew, the box was removed and the sod replaced. Looking at her front yard, it\u2019s hard to tell anything was ever there.<\/p>\n

But she said the matter is not resolved. Kantner said the contractor told her the box could reappear at any time and would check to see whether it would return or to move to another property.<\/p>\n

So far, she said, there\u2019s still no word.<\/p>\n

Dwight Silverman is the technology editor for the Houston Chronicle. He manages the TechBurger website, writes about personal technology for HoustonChronicle.com and the print edition. He also writes a weekly tech column, also called TechBurger, and a weekly newsletter, Release Notes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n