Twenty-two years ago Congress passed the Telecommunications Act. This put the United States as the world leader in wireless infrastructure, eventually resulting in over 99% of Americans having access to 4G connections. However, the rules implemented in 1996 must be modernized for the United States to win the global race to 5G. 5G is up to 100x faster than 4G, and response-time on devices would be in real-time, effectively eliminating latency. In turn, 5G would bring significant improvements to the development of self-driving cars, along with improved efficiency across all industries (education, healthcare, etc.). Finally, 5G would connect millions of consumers in rural areas of the country that do not have strong internet connections. Through a bipartisan effort between Senator Thune (R-SD) and Senator Schatz (D-HI), the STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act that was recently introduced, puts the U.S. on this path. 

The era of large cell towers is coming to an end. Small antennas, otherwise known as small cells, are required for 5G wireless connections. Small cells can be set up in an under an hour, but due to regulations implemented decades ago, it can take over a year to receive government authorization. The STREAMLINE Act deals with this problem by setting a 90-day limit for localities to act on new siting applications, and a 60-day limit for add-ons to current sites. This new proposal also states that fees charged by local governments for siting applications must be unbiased, competitively balanced, based upon real costs, and made known to the public. The STREAMLINE Act is key to bringing high speed internet connections to rural communities, and creates new opportunities for technological advancements that would greatly benefit consumers. In addition, 5G networks by some estimates could generate hundreds of billions of dollars in economic growth and millions of new jobs for Americans. 

You can access the new Senate bill here.