There was a great deal of excitement about the announcement of 5G technology.  It would open up new, faster ways to connect to the Internet.  I could provide a new, reliable television delivery system capable of handling 4K picture quality technology.  It could even be utilized for autonomous vehicles at some point in the future.

Then, news stories started appearing about bad health impacts and birds falling from the sky.  Those stories blamed 5G signals.  It turned out, based on reporting from the New York Times, that most of these stories were planted by Russian trolls, in an effort to get the Russian technology ahead of American companies.

I am not saying 5G is without any health risks, there is just no credible science to back up  claims of serious health issues at this time.

The companies rolling out 5G service are starting the construction in many suburban areas.  Verizon has chosen Fishers as an area to begin installing 5G towers.

When the Indiana General Assembly wrote the rules on 5G, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness was part of a contingent wanting local governments to have some say in how these towers are constructed.  The final rules allow municipalities to have a limited involvement in where 5G towers will be located.

In Fishers, the Board of Public Works and Safety, a body consisting of the mayor and his two appointees, have been considering these 5G tower applications.  Most have been approved.  In some cases, the board has asked Verizon and the neighborhoods to work out any disagreements and that has worked most of the time.

However, there have been a few denials to Verizon by the board, usually because a tower was to be located directly in front of a picture window and no other location could be found to keep the signal solid throughout the area.

5G technology is a line of sight signal, meaning far more towers are needed compared to 4G cell service.  That means many more towers are required to keep the signal constant.

The neighborhood of Glenn Abbey Village in the Windermere area argued in a board discussion it did not want any 5G towers located there and had an attorney make a legal case that a neighborhood could simply refuse 5G towers.  The mayor ordered City Attorney Chris Greisl to meet with attorneys representing Glenn Abbey Village and Verizon to determine how to move forward.

At a subsequent Board of Works meeting, Mayor Scott Fadness said that meeting of the legal minds resulted in no change to the city’s policy in considering 5G towers.  The Glenn Abbey 5G towers are scheduled to be considered at the January 11 meeting.

Now, there has been another development on the 5G front.  An Associated Press story posted Tuesday says the activation of 5G service has been delayed by 2 weeks at the request of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.  Airline companies have raised concerns about 5G signals interfering with key airplane guidance systems.

I have no idea how this development will impact the 5G rollout in Fishers, if at all, but it is something to watch.

Fishers is part of the initial 5G rollout.  It is a story I plan to follow closely.

The City of Fishers has devoted part of its Web site to 5G.  You can find it at this link.