By Jonathan LaRowe SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Last Monday the Syracuse Common Council approved a plan that will allow Verizon to build a 5G wireless network all across the city. The plan passed with a 5-3 vote by the council.
The agreement with Verizon will allow the company to install 600 miniature cell towers with 5G capability all throughout the city. This partnership with Verizon will make Syracuse one of the first cities in the country to have a 5G wireless network in the city.
Tim Rudd, a member of the Syracuse Common Council, voted to approve the deal. Rudd said that he believes a 5G network will help to bring more businesses to the area.
“The way you move forward is to adopt to technology early,” Rudd said. “It is our hope that the 5G network will be able to attract more businesses, which aligns with Mayor Walsh’s Syracuse Surge plan.”
Although Rudd said he believes that in the long run, the partnership with Verizon will benefit the city, he did acknowledge that there are certain unknowns that come with 5G.
“We don’t know the ramifications of having this every place and we don’t know that every population will be totally unaffected because it’s never been rolled out in this way,” Rudd said.
Verizon has been slowly recruiting cities to employ its 5G network. Last month, Minneapolis and Chicago became the first two cities to install 5G cell towers in select areas of each city.
Reporter:
When the Syracuse Common Council met last Monday, the primary issue at hand was a vote on Verizon’s plan to install 5G cell towers all across the city. The vote was controversial, narrowly passing 5-3, but Councilor Joe Driscoll said the decision was crucial for the future of the city.
Councilor Driscoll:
“I’m also very concerned about poverty in this city and this is an economic development plan that really put as at the forefront of the incoming technological revolution.”
Reporter:
Councilor Tim Rudd voted to approve the motion as well. Rudd says that partnering with Verizon is a progressive move for Syracuse.
Councilor Rudd:
“I think the way you move forward is to adopt to technology early and you hope that you get some spillover economic development, people coming here saying, ‘Oh wow, they have this technology, my company could benefit from it.’ That’s happened to other cities over and over and that’s what’s going to fix the economics of the region, which are poor.”
Reporter:
Although he voted in favor of the bill, Rudd says he understands why some people were hesitant to support the plan.
Councilor Rudd:
“I think many people would say there are unknown unknowns, and I acknowledge there are unknown unknowns. We don’t know the ramifications of having this every place. We don’t know that every population will be totally unaffected because it’s never been rolled out in this way.”
