5G wireless is coming — and the battle has already begun over where to allow the antennas in Maryland

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Wireless companies say the devices are an integral part of the promising new wireless technology known as fifth generation, or 5G. The smaller antennas are necessary to carry signals that will deliver data and video even faster to consumers’ phones — and power the technology behind self-driving vehicles, improved communications between ambulances and hospitals, and smarter timing of traffic lights….

Proposal to allow 5G antennas deferred until June

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Montgomery County Council Member Hans Riemer will defer a zoning amendment to allow 5G antennas in residential areas — the latest delay in an ongoing effort to accommodate what’s been billed as the “next generation” in cellular technology.

Riemer, the committee chair, argued that Montgomery County has fallen behind nearby jurisdictions by failing to adapt more permissive zoning codes toward 5G antennas. The technology employs streamlined radio equipment — often placed on existing utility poles — to boost cellular connectivity….