Syracuse is set to be part of the first batch of U.S. cities to adopt a citywide 5G network from Verizon.

For months, lawmakers have juggled the unknowns of the plan, such as health concerns regarding the wireless connection, with its potential to spark the city’s growing tech sector. The proposed 5G network is expected to expand connectivity throughout Syracuse, fitting into Mayor Ben Walsh’s Syracuse Surge plan to modernize the city’s economy.

“We are actively working to prepare our city to be competitive in the new economy,” Walsh told The Daily Orange. “We’re entering into what most are considering the fourth industrial revolution, which is based on connectivity and the internet of things, the idea that everything that we’re using from our phones to our cars to our computers is all connected.”

Verizon pitched the plan in front of Syracuse’s Common Council. The vote was delayed due to a lack of information in early May, but passed later that month, Syracuse.com reported. Verizon selected Syracuse because the 5G plan paired well with Syracuse Surge, Walsh said. The Surge is a $200 million combination of public and private investment that emphasizes technological advancements.

Verizon will install 600 cellphone towers over the next several years. Phase one of the plan, which involves the first 115 towers, may start by the end of the year, said Jen Tifft, deputy commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development. Each tower will be about the size of a mini refrigerator.

Several cities across the country have weighed in on the 5G debate. More than 30 cities will have Verizon 5G networks, including Washington D.C. and San Francisco, CNN reported. Some cities and towns in northern California, as well as Portland have pushed to ban 5G, The Wall Street Journal reported.

A 5G network would noticeably increase connectivity between wireless devices, relay faster internet speeds and pave the way for smoother drone usage. It could also spread the use of artificial intelligence, per The New York Times.

“This is something that has the potential to be an economic booster for the city,” said Councilor Joe Driscoll of the 5th District. “And also on a level to show that we’re a place that’s receptive to new technology a place that’s eager to get ahead of the curb, eager to be at the forefront of movements of new technology.”

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Both the Federal Communications Commission and Verizon said the new technology should not affect residents’ health. The American Cancer Society said there is “very little evidence” that the cellphone towers cause cancer.

“As with any new technology, there’s always going to be incomplete science and incomplete information,” Walsh told The D.O. “We made our decisions based on the existing available information and research and worked into the agreement to continually test and ensure that if the research changed, that we would be able to adapt accordingly.”

Still, Walsh said that many residents were concerned with the plan, a sentiment echoed by councilors Driscoll and Bryn Lovejoy-Grinnell.

Three councilors — Lovejoy-Grinnell, Khalid Bey and Latoya Allen — voted against the 5G plan. A lack of information on the new technology made Lovejoy-Grinnell skeptical of the plan.

“I don’t generally align with the distrust in technology, but again, I think everything has a risk and benefit,” she said. “Had there been a different benefit described to our city, I might have been in favor of it.”

Lovejoy-Grinnell said it wasn’t clear what “concrete benefits” 5G would have for residents or businesses. The outreach she received from her constituents was overwhelmingly against the plan, Lovejoy-Grinnell said.

Even if the council failed to pass the agreement, Driscoll said that his vote ultimately wouldn’t stop the plan from happening. FCC regulations permit Verizon to set up cell towers in any municipality.

It’s unlikely that any towers will be on SU’s campus during phase one, Tifft said, but the University Neighborhood area is part of the vision the city laid out with Verizon.

Published on August 29, 2019 at 12:24 am

Contact Gabe: gkstern@syr.edu | @gabestern326