The digital divide: Salt Lake City's west side overlooked for 5G expansion; city doesn't have a say

SALT LAKE CITY — It appears the west side of Salt Lake City is once again on the wrong side of the digital divide, as almost all permitted 5G antennas are being concentrated downtown and in eastern neighborhoods of the city.

It's a multifaceted issue the city has little to no control over, and one that Turner Bitton, vice chair for the Westside Coalition in Salt Lake, said needs to be addressed by the telecommunication companies behind the installations.

As the world continues to shift online, a process accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, it's crucial that residents across the city have equal access to investment technology, Bitton said. When it comes to 5G specifically, those living on the west side could benefit greatly from access considering many in the area use a cell phone as a primary device.

"Many families rely on a cellphone connection to do what many of us do on a computer, and so 5G — the better the speed, the more people we can get connected, the quicker we can close that digital divide, the better it will be for our communities," Bitton said.

It's not just an issue of geographical access for residents but also an issue of not having a voice in the matter — something those living on the east side of Salt Lake also experience as cell companies call the shots on antenna locations.

Thanks to state and federal regulations that favor the tech companies, cities have almost no say in where the antennas are installed, and residents have even less of a say. There is no public engagement process when it comes to installing 5G antennas, leading to confusion and outrage among residents.

Last year, a man chained himself to a Salt Lake City pole in the middle of construction as a protest against the technology. Other residents have also voiced opposition to the location of the poles, according to city council members who cite constituent concerns.

"I think this falls on the technology companies at some level. The community engagement process needs to be much better, and then we can all celebrate the increase in access to technology," Bitton said.

According to a map of proposed and constructed 5G poles compiled and reported by The Salt Lake Tribune, the 5G antennas are heavily concentrated on the east side of the city with very few on the west side.

Deputy City Engineer Mark Stephens explained the providers' decision on location is market-driven.

"The 5G antennas broadcast the higher frequency for faster connection speeds and higher bandwidth, but the frequency doesn't reach as far, so 5G makes more financial sense to these providers in areas with higher user density," he said. "So, one of the main reasons why you see the cluster locations within the city is that there's a higher density and that's where the market need is, and that's where they go."

So far in Salt Lake City, 182 5G antennas have been built already and another 47 are permitted and under construction. Verizon holds the most permits by far, according to Kimberly Chytraus, senior city attorney. Of the permits for AT&T, most are scattered across the west side.

"We continually look for ways to improve our network, and this includes building the critical infrastructure to provide enhanced service and coverage," an AT&T spokesperson said in a statement. "We work, in part, with the city and local officials when selecting locations for cell sites, and there are a variety of factors that affect location such as terrain, engineering, zoning restrictions and more. We look forward to working with the City of Salt Lake to bring improved coverage to residents, guests and first responders."

Basically, 5G technology is the next step in wireless mobile technology and data services aimed at making connectivity faster. The benefits that providers say come with 5G are greater bandwidth and increased download speeds. The network is being built with small cell technology, meaning the 5G antennas will transmit data over short distances. Because of this, building a 5G network means there needs to be a lot of poles fairly close together.

The regulations

In 2018, the Utah Legislature passed a bill giving wireless providers almost complete control oveer where they construct the small wireless antennas so long as the location doesn't pose a hazard and meets certain safety requirements from the city.

Federal Communications Commission regulations also limit the amount of control cities and local municipalities have against communication companies installing the small cell infrastructure. The city doesn't even have the power to limit small cell facilities in residential, historic or special design districts.

If it were up to the city, most officials would prefer the poles are retrofitted to street lamps or other existing structures rather than building new poles, several city council members said at a recent work session. Additionally, some city officials would like to see multiple providers using the same pole for the 5G antennas, but there's not much the city can do at this point to incentivize the providers to double up, aside from asking nicely.

Distance requirements between 5G antennas would also likely make a pole hosting multiple small cells more complicated as it would need to be taller, in order to make sure each device is far away enough from another device.

However, the city does have the power to adopt design standards and create certain requirements the companies must meet to install the structures in the public right-of-way, but they are mainly aesthetic-based. The cells can be built on private property and pretty much anywhere else that's in the public right-of-way — in other words on streets, highways, pathways, etc.

But when it comes to denying a permit, the city is limited as well. Under state law, the city can pretty much only deny a permit if it interferes with traffic or ADA compliance, city attorney Chytraus explained at the work session.

Residents have asked the city for more notice of installations in their neighborhoods or by their homes, but it's against regulations for the city to consider resident concerns in the permitting process, according to a March memo from the city's attorney's office to the city council. An engineering policy requires permit holders to provide 48-72 hours notice to nearby property owners before construction begins, and the city council is looking into creating an ordinance to address this process.

"When these developments come into a neighborhood, the place where conflict generally comes is when the neighborhood doesn't feel that they had input on site selection," Bitton said. "Ultimately, I think that responsibility rests with the technology companies; they have an opportunity to come out and engage the community before they make decisions."

Some residents and council members are concerned about radiofrequency exposure, but the city has no control over the location and therefore cannot regulate the 5G placements based on radio frequency standards. However, as part of the application process, the companies are required to show evidence the poles are in compliance with federal standards to radio exposure limits.

Closing the divide

The mayor's office agrees access to new and innovative technology, like 5G, should be made available throughout the city and not just downtown and in surrounding neighborhoods.

Mayor Erin Mendenhall has been committed to digital equity between different zip codes, especially in the age of COVID-19, where areas have been disproportionately impacted by a myriad of resulting issues. A statement from the mayor's office said it is aware of the east-side concentration and hopes service providers expand installations to western areas of the city soon.

"Salt Lake City is committed to ensuring that each of our neighborhoods has equal access to the critical Wi-Fi services that are fundamental to modern life," the statement reads. "That need for digital equity is particularly urgent in our City's west side neighborhoods."

In an effort to address such issues, the city previously helped create the Rose Park Connect initiative, a program that helps provide internet services to those without access. The city also has plans to install a Wi-Fi backhaul on Ensign Peak to "increase connection areas in underserved neighborhoods," the statement says.

"5G service is an important addition to the digital infrastructure of any city. The demand for connection grows every day," the mayor's office statement says. "The decisions about 5G tower installations (are) in the hands of the service provider and … the current focus is on neighborhoods east of downtown. ... We look forward to the day that their efforts shift west to align with our goal of expanding digital access for communities in west Salt Lake City."

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