Telecom’s false narrative about the digital divide

Fire safety expert and honorary San Diego firefighter Susan Foster has this to say: “The unfettered buildout of cell towers promoted by the telecom industry is based upon a false narrative of ‘stream lining’ wireless expressly for internet connectivity and closing the digital divide. This is dishonest messaging. We have a cyber-secure, reliable, future-proof alternative with unmatched speed and capacity — and that is fiber optic cable to finally solve the digital divide. Fiber does not present the same fire risks as wireless because fiber optic cables are made of materials that do not easily ignite and create a flame. Telecom has a dark and deceptive secret. We already paid for fiber. Telecom has cross-subsidized a wired-to-wireless bait and switch that took place throughout the last decades. Congress has never investigated telecom’s cross-subsidies resulting in more fraud and waste, more cell towers, greater fire risk, and increased radiation. Telecom greed fuels industry’s betrayal of a commitment to a promised buildout to bring fiber optic to our schools, businesses and homes. These profits then reward and drive telecom’s agenda via a false narrative that more wireless will solve a digital divide.”

Many wealthier communities, such as Calabasas (where Kardashians live) restrict residential neighborhoods from small cell facilities. Are the Kardashians also on the other side of the “digital divide?”

Irena Mavridis

San Mateo