U.S. regulators limited fees that wireless companies can be charged for permission to install 5G wireless network antennas, saying lowered costs will spur deployment.
The Federal Communications Commission on a 4-0 vote also tightened deadlines for localities to consider applications to put antennas on publicly owned poles, or install new gear beside sidewalks and in medians. Cities said the change will undermine efforts to spread the technology to poor, unserved areas.
The change affects procedures around so-called small cells that will be spaced every few blocks and carry signals for 5G, or fifth-generation wireless service that will perform as much as 100 times faster than the current 4G standard.
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