The state Senate recently advanced a bipartisan bill regulating 5G wireless infrastructure deployment, a move applauded by state Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Lehigh/Northampton counties).
“This new infrastructure will be the base foundation for the next generation of wireless technology communication,” Boscola said. “From telehealth on a whole new level – remote robotic surgeries – to self-driving vehicles that communicate with each other on the roadways, smart grids, smart cities – truly endless possibilities as technology development continues to expand beyond what anyone in this room thought possible going all the way back to 1981 when the very first wireless phone infrastructure was being deployed.”
Work on the bill included negotiations with wireless providers, contractors engaged in the 5G deployment, municipal government associations, and unions.
“We have seen advertisements and heard about 5G – new and faster services for our smartphones – at incredible speeds,” Boscola said. “But what most do not realize is that this deployment is an entirely different infrastructure being built literally from the ground up.”
The bill moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.
“The product of Senate Bill 769 represents true give and take from these various stakeholders, and it gets us where we need to be on what is a really important issue,” Boscola said.