The Office of Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont now wants to ensure that an agreement reached this week with telecommunication providers to bring 5G technology to Connecticut doesn’t separate communities in a new kind of digital divide…The service is super fast, but doesn’t reach very far.
“There are a variety of policies that we will pursue to ensure that equity is front and center with these installations. When we enter mass licensing agreements with carriers, it is critical to ensure that we are covering full towns and full cities and leaving no communities left out, and particularly in rural communities as well,” said Nick Simmons, manager of strategic initiatives.
Meanwhile, researchers say making 5G broadband available in parts of Connecticut and most of Long Island will require significant investment and space.
“These require different infrastructure. They need different nodes. You can call them cell phone towers, but they don’t have to be that tall because the reach is going to be fairly short, and therefore you are going to need several of these nodes set up close to each other,” said Professor Ramesh Subramanian, who studies computer information systems at Quinnipiac University.
Governor Ned Lamont signed an agreement with AT&T this week to improve Metro-North commuter rail with 5G cellular service on the New Haven line.
Much of Nassau and Suffolk Counties will also be included in AT&T’s map of 5G coverage.
Simmons and Subramanian spoke on WSHU’s The Full Story.
