Like many residents, Nakisa relishes in the outdoor serenity our resort-like town has to offer. With unobstructed mountain views, minimal light pollution and an emphasis on natural aesthetics, Carefree offers those fortunate enough to live here an opportunity to indulge in a more peaceful way of life. Unfortunately, a short drive down Cave Creek Road reveals that this increasingly rare standard of living is under threat by industries seeking to transform small towns like ours into “smart cities” where “densely packed” 5G transmitters and “hundreds of billions of microchips” form an “Internet of everything.”
Traveling down our town’s main drag, the casual onlooker can easily spot “small wireless facilities” poorly disguised as saguaros adjacent to homes, office buildings and pristine Sonoran Desert habitat. Not only are these eyesores an affront to our community’s aesthetic standards, but they also undermine the Town’s commitment to public safety and environmental stewardship.
Sadly, under intense lobbying from the industries they are supposed to regulate, our federal and state governments have largely stripped localities of their ability to reject the deployment of small wireless facilities. Not only is the demand for 5G – a failed technology – all but non-existent, but also its “optimization” would require the installation of millimeter-wave antennae “every couple hundred feet” or less for cloud-driven applications like self-driving cars to be viable in the first place. And while the FCC has yet to comply with a 2021 court order to provide a “reasoned explanation” for its outdated radiofrequency (RF) safety standards, these wireless transmitters continue to emit microwave and millimeter wave radiation scientifically proven to pose significant health risks, not only to humans, but also to our desert flora and fauna.
According to former FCC chairman (and wireless industry lobbyist), Tom Wheeler, “America’s local governments will play an important role” in the 5G rollout, as “high-band spectrum will require a lot more small cells,” which, in turn, will require a vast number of permits to usurp public rights of way. And despite the fact that telecommunications companies like AT&T have scaled back their capital expenditures on 5G infrastructure, current FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel recently “called on the agency to…make targeted investments in the deployment of wireless broadband services in rural communities” “to expand the 5G service in rural America.”
As town councilmember, Nakisa will utilize her legal background and passion for preserving our town’s semi-rural character to maximize Carefree’s autonomy in antenna-siting decisions by our public officials. That is, she will work steadfastly to prevent our beloved town from being transformed into a “smart city” where health, privacy and nature go out the window.
Authorized by Nakisa Azizi
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