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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Odette Wilkens, President and General Counsel of Wired Broadband Inc, on NYC Broadband Strategy and Digital Equity
2:38:16
·
3 min
Odette Wilkens, representing Wired Broadband Inc and the NYC Alliance for Safe Technology, critiqued the proposed bills and current broadband strategy, emphasizing concerns about 5G deployment, health risks, and the need for a more comprehensive approach to digital equity.
- Highlighted community opposition to 5G towers, with 16 community boards (representing 25% of NYC residents) preferring wired broadband
- Advocated for municipal broadband ownership and fiber connectivity, citing Chattanooga, Tennessee as a successful model
- Raised concerns about potential health risks of wireless technology, especially for children, referencing recent WHO findings
Odette Wilkens
2:38:16
Thank you very much.
2:38:19
I am Odette Wilkins, president and general counsel of Wired Broadband Inc, a nonprofit advocating for safe telecommunications and am part of the New York City Alliance for Safe Technology.
2:38:32
I am also a technology transactional attorney and recently served on the Federal Communications Commission's Communications Equity and Diversity Council along with Chair Gutierrez.
2:38:43
We at Wired Broadband are keenly interested in digital equity and inclusion, but the bills do not adequately address these issues, neither does the master plan.
2:38:55
The bills say nothing on of how to make Internet affordable, how to identify where the access gaps are, or how to safely deploy telecom infrastructure that preserves the health of the communities.
2:39:08
It also leads to the discretion of unelected administrators at OTI who work in partnership with the telecom industry but not in partnership with the communities.
2:39:18
I have witnessed OTI's participation at community boards, and OTI's track record has been abysmal with a complete disregard for community input on the irresponsible deployment of wireless telecom infrastructure, especially the five g towers, in our communities threatening our health, especially our children, and property values.
2:39:40
What OTI has not told this committee is that 16 community boards representing 25% of New York City residents, over 2,000,000 people, oppose the five g cell towers in their districts.
2:39:52
It is in writing.
2:39:54
It has been sent to the mayor.
2:39:55
It has been sent to OTI.
2:39:57
They want wired broadband.
2:39:59
The message is clear.
2:40:00
They don't want the five g towers, and they don't need them.
2:40:04
Residents also don't want the pole top antennas or pods or utility poles outside their windows or rooftop antennas directly above their apartments.
2:40:13
I know of the stories that people have suffered from this.
2:40:16
Studies have shown that children are more susceptible to wireless' adverse biological effects, including cancer.
2:40:23
The World Health Organization just published a review citing wireless' high cancer risk.
2:40:30
Five g has never been tested for safety.
2:40:33
No federal agency is testing wireless for safety.
2:40:36
Five g is likely to exacerbate the digital divide according to the US Government Accountability Office.
2:40:43
New York City should have a cohesive and sustainable plan, not patchwork.
2:40:48
New York City should have municipal broadband where it owns the telecom infrastructure and then leases it out to providers.
2:40:56
May I conclude?
2:40:57
Yes, please.
2:40:58
Thank you.
2:40:58
Thank you.
2:40:59
That means connecting everyone with fiber, for which Verizon got ratepayers subsidies to do but didn't.
2:41:05
That will provide affordable broadband now in the future.
2:41:09
That would provide what Intro four eighty six seeks to achieve, providing Internet to students and families.
2:41:16
Chattanooga, Tennessee is a model with 600 square miles of fiber connected to every home, business, and school.
2:41:24
It has the fastest Internet in The United States, offering symmetrical one gigabit download and upload speeds at affordable prices and one of in the world.
2:41:34
Odette, can you conclude, please?
2:41:35
Yeah.
2:41:36
Just just one
Jennifer Gutiérrez
2:41:36
more thing.
Odette Wilkens
2:41:37
With with the windfall of profits, they are providing free Internet to every household that has a school aged child, and that is, I think, what the bill is trying to
Jennifer Gutiérrez
2:41:46
Thank you.