Industry, Municipalities Support Revising Tenn. 5G Law
Tennessee bills to modify the 2018 small-cells state law could soon get floor votes. Localities and the wireless industry support the proposal, advanced Tuesday in the Senate, that would increase locality fees allowed for 5G deployments. At other Tuesday hearings, Tennessee legislators advanced broadband and telehealth bills.
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The Tennessee Senate Finance Committee voted 10-0 Tuesday to clear SB-149, which modifies the state’s 2018 small-cells law to align application fees and annual rate maximums with FCC limits. The House version (HB-170) is on Thursday's floor calendar.
The 2018 small-cells law “immediately caused an uproar,” said SB-149 sponsor Sen. Richard Briggs (R) at the livestreamed hearing. “Many of the utilities already in the neighborhood were underground and they were coming up and putting these poles up in the easements between homes, even on small lots.” Briggs said it “took several years of compromise between the citizens and AT&T, and everybody agrees that this is the best that we can do with the federal regulations that we're working under.”
The Tennessee Municipal League supports proposed changes to the state small-cells law. “We went to work with two of the major players in the 5G wireless industry,” Executive Director Anthony Haynes emailed Tuesday. “After about a year and a half of collaboration, we arrived at where we believe is a good outcome.” SB-149 aligns Tennessee law with the FCC order and 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals small-cells decision, he said. “We’re confident that if some unforeseen issue arises, we can work with our state’s industry officials to address such issues thanks to the collaborative relationship we enjoy.”
AT&T was "pleased to work with county and city governments to ensure that Tennessee welcomes new technology policy that benefits our consumers, businesses and first responders," emailed the carrier's spokesperson.
The Wireless Infrastructure Association also supported the bill. “SB-149 is intended to update certain provisions of” Tennessee’s 2018 small-cells law “to be more consistent with” FCC small-cell orders, said WIA Senior Vice President-Government and Public Affairs Matt Mandel in a statement: “The wireless industry and local stakeholders have worked together on these changes.”
At another Tennessee hearing Tuesday, the House Commerce Committee voted unanimously by voice to clear an amended HB-2608, which now would exempt broadband equipment leases and purchases from sales and use taxes for five years. Chairman Kevin Vaughan (R) said his bill would ensure industry gets a “net value of the dollars that we’re receiving.” HB-2608 goes to the Finance Committee. The Senate version (SB-2480) is in that chamber’s Finance committee.
The Senate Commerce Committee later voted 8-0 for SB-2034 to allow a rural electric cooperative to expand outside its service area if it gets consent from the municipal electric or cooperative in that area. The panel also voted 8-0 for SB-1846 to expand provider-based telemedicine to include audio-only conversations when other means are unavailable for healthcare services.