Cities Beat Back Senate 5G Play

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) plugged his STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act, S. 3157, which would override local rules and limit fees for installing 5G infrastructure. But despite Chairman Thune talking it up, local officials seem to have succeeded at beating back the legislation through steady opposition — although they failed to stop the Federal Communications Commission's vote approving a similar regulatory measure. Opponents of the bill may have run out the clock. No hearing is scheduled, and there's scant time before this current session of Congress ends. Chairman Thune once hoped to mark up the legislation as long as 10 months ago but faced delays amid pushback from municipal, state, public power and utility groups. They negotiated with staff for months before the bill’s introduction in June and offered broad objections afterward (Chairman Thune had circulated a draft version back in October 2017).