Dirk Wijnands and Adeline Wijnands-Pang put up a photo of a 5G junction box in Houston's front yard on Friday, September 25, 2020. The couple moved into this house about 18 months ago and thought it was a perfect American house with a porch. A few months later, the box was installed without them noticing, and the eyes were sore. But they are used to it.
The 5G junction box in the front yard of Dirk Wijnands and Adeline Wijnands-Pang was photographed in Houston on Friday, September 25, 2020. The couple moved into this house about 18 months ago and thought it was a perfect American house with a porch. A few months later, the box was installed without them noticing, and the eyes were sore. But they are used to it.
On Tuesday, September 8, 2020, during the 5G infrastructure installation in the Mac Gregor Park area of Houston, the construction crew disconnected the old transmitter from the tower to update it with the new 5g technology.
On Tuesday, September 8, 2020, during the installation of the 5G infrastructure in the Mac Gregor Park area of Houston, the construction crew disconnected the old transmitter from the existing structural support in order to update it with the new 5g technology.
On Tuesday, September 8, 2020, in Houston, during the installation of the 5G infrastructure in the Mac Gregor Park area, the construction foreman installed new wiring and new structural support for the transmitter, which will be updated with the new 5g technology.
The 5G junction box in the front yard of Dirk Wijnands and Adeline Wijnands-Pang was photographed in Houston on Friday, September 25, 2020. The couple moved into this house about 18 months ago and thought it was a perfect American house with a porch. A few months later, the box was installed without them noticing, and the eyes were sore. But they are used to it.
On Tuesday, September 8, 2020, in Houston, during the installation of the 5G infrastructure in the Mac Gregor Park area, the construction foreman watched the new structural fixture installed on the transmitter with the updated new 5g technology.
Dirk Wijnands and Adeline Pang did not pay much attention to the upcoming 5G wireless data revolution until their building blocks were installed without warning on the couple's Montrose area lawn.
In September 2019, they started construction on the street near Elmen's home near Westheimer, and the contractor dug trenches to install optical cables. Soon after, a box similar to an oversized dormitory refrigerator appeared on their lawn, next to a wooden telephone pole placed earlier.
"Three weeks after work started, they hung a small tag on our door handle that said,'Oh, we are doing some work on your lawn,'" Wijnands said. "They will work for two or three days in a row, and then I will not see them for five days, and then they will come back."
In telecommunications jargon, the box is called "floor furniture". A beige metal cabinet with an electric meter powers the transmitters on the Verizon wireless data network and high-speed fiber optic connections. They suddenly appear on lawns in Houston and other cities in the United States, usually without notice to the homeowner.
5G in the United States mainly uses three types of spectrum, and the way each works determines what kind of equipment is needed to transmit it.
All three major operators use low-band spectrum operating below 1 GHz. These frequencies are also used in 4G LTE, which has a wide range, but the speed is usually 20% to 40% better than LTE.
The mid-band spectrum, which operates between 1 GHz and 6 GHz (sometimes called "sub-6"), has a smaller range than the low-band, but can move data faster. Currently, only T-Mobile offers 5G in this spectrum and acquired it when it merged with Sprint. IF speeds can approach 1 Gb/s, but they usually operate in the range of 200 Mbps to 500 Mbps.
The high frequency spectrum called millimeter wave or millimeter wave runs between 24 GHz and 39 GHz. It offers the fastest speed, but also the shortest range—in some cases, its signal drops only 1,000 feet from the transmitter. In addition, it cannot penetrate buildings, glass or even leaves. Verizon and AT&T use millimeter waves; T-Mobile has it in several cities, but not yet in Houston. In theory, millimeter waves can transmit data up to 6 gigabits per second, which is about six times the fastest speed provided by AT&T's fiber-optic home Internet service. Currently, Verizon's millimeter wave can provide speeds up to about 2 Gbps.
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This is part of the rush to build a next-generation wireless network called 5G-even if it means attracting residents' attention. Norman Ewart, a retired lawyer who lives in the Rice Memorial District, said one of the boxes was placed outside his front door. He complained to Verizon-but the box was still there.
"It hasn't opened yet, it's just sitting there," Yult said. "I want it to disappear. It's ugly, and it devalues my property."
5G is touted as another disruptive technology, and, as Houston residents such as Wijnands, Pang, and Ewart have discovered, it is not without interruption. Telecom companies, equipment manufacturers, legislators, and industry associations promise that 4G wireless technology will bring faster wireless data transmission speeds, less delay or delay, and the transformation of the 21st century economy, which enables mobile applications to be created from A new service for calling a car to video streaming.
In order to fulfill the 5G promise, the federal and state governments have simplified regulations for permitting and building telecommunications infrastructure, such as towers, transmitters on top of towers, and fiber optic cables that provide them with data. Cities have less control over these networks, leading to confusion and dissatisfaction among landowners.
The amount spent is incredible. CTIA, a trade organization in the wireless telecommunications industry, estimates that 5G construction in the United States alone will cost US$275 billion; some estimate that the cost is as high as US$300 billion.
This does not include expenditures to acquire spectrum-the radio frequencies that wireless services are propagating. The telecommunications company recently bid nearly $81 billion for a piece of spectrum called C-band in an auction conducted by the Federal Communications Commission.
To understand why 5G construction is complex and expensive-and may appear on the lawn near you-it is important to know that 5G is more than just a technology. Rather, it is a mixture of many different. It is their way of assembly and interaction that gives the promise of 5G.
Wireless networks use radio waves (collectively called the radio spectrum) for transmission and reception. Radio waves work at different frequencies. Higher frequencies can transmit more data faster, but not that far. Lower frequencies have greater range, but cannot transmit as much information as quickly as possible.
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The C-band spectrum auctioned by the FCC is in the middle, which is considered the "sweet spot" of 5G because it offers higher speeds than low frequencies, but its signals can travel farther than high frequencies.
As wireless companies build 5G networks, they are using low, mid, and high frequencies to optimize speed and range. The rollout of 5G in the United States involves changes to cellular towers, ground equipment that provides power and Internet connectivity, and to manage wireless communications Data and network center.
Although low- and mid-band 5G transmitters are usually installed on the same type of tower as the predecessor technology 4G LTE, high-frequency transmitters must be below the ground and close together.
Large-area high-frequency transmission requires many small cells. This strategy is called densification. Due to its distance and penetration limitations, high-frequency transmission is limited to urban areas and places where people gather, such as stadiums or airports.
Houston is the first city where Verizon sells a version of its 5G service for home users, designed to compete with wired and fiber-optic residential broadband Internet access. The service was launched in 2018, when Verizon began installing "floor furniture" cabinets and placing small cellular transmitters on utility poles.
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These transmitters provide Verizon's high-frequency 5G service, which is sold in the form of ultra-wideband. The service was first provided to the city center or nearby areas, and has now been extended to other communities near the city center, Midtown and Energy Corridor-almost to Ring Road 8.
In the past, cities had greater freedom in controlling where to place telecommunications equipment within their jurisdiction. But changes made by the Federal Communications Commission and the Texas state legislature to simplify licensing procedures limit what cities can do.
FCC rules prevent communities that need to bury utilities such as Houston to prevent the construction of ground infrastructure and small base stations. This is why the Verizon box appeared in the Houston community.
The 2017 state law allowed telecommunications companies to install 5G equipment without having to obtain the approval of the homeowner or notify them. Bill said that the law and subsequent decisions by the Federal Communications Commission also reduced the cost of installing wireless nodes in the city from $2,700 to $300, hindering the city's ability to maintain the right of way and infrastructure such as telephone poles. Kelly, Houston City Government Relations Director.
He said, "Cities can definitely become partners in the process of building 5G infrastructure." "We can't keep on cutting the menu and be seen as an obstacle."
Houston City Councilman David Robinson is the chairman of the city’s Transportation, Technology, and Infrastructure Committee overseeing telecommunications projects, and he put it more bluntly.
"This is another example of Houston using the shaft as a municipality," Robinson said
Robinson happened to live near the homes of Wijnands and Pang, and he said his main concern was that Verizon did not alert residents before placing the box.
Verizon spokesperson Kate Jay said that the license does not require individual notification.
"We need to work with the design district and the historical committee, not with individual homeowners," Jay said via email. "We take all complaints very seriously. Each case is evaluated on an individual basis, and the evaluation involves many factors. In limited circumstances, we have determined that there are enough reasons to move it, and we have done so."
Verizon declined to allow executives to be interviewed. The company said in a statement: "We fully comply with all zoning and licensing requirements, and potential antenna locations must comply with all local, state, and federal regulations. These are placed on the right of way and are properly permitted."
Elizabeth Kantner, who lives in the Rice Memorial District near Washington Avenue, said that in September last year, the staff posted one of the boxes in front of her house, but did not put it on the floor. Instead, it was installed on a utility pole about three feet above the ground. The staff dug turf under it and left. She said an earlier excavation damaged water pipes in the area.
"When they started digging to lay the cables, two water pipes broke in our street," Kantner said.
After Condner met with the person in charge of the construction team, he removed the box and replaced the turf. Looking at her front yard, it was hard to tell what was there.
But she said that the matter has not been resolved. Kantner said the contractor told her that the box might reappear at any time and would check whether it would return or move to another property.
She said that so far, there is no news.
Dwight Silverman has worked for the Houston Chronicle for more than 30 years, in various roles, as a technical reporter and columnist; manager of HoustonChronicle.com; social media manager; online news Editor; and Assistant State Office Editor.
He returned as a freelancer to continue his long-running technical column. You can email him at dsilverman@outlook.com and follow him on Twitter twitter.com/dsilverman.
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