MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – The battle over 5G coverage is intensifying in a southwest Miami-Dade neighborhood.
Residents in the Kendale Lakes area are frustrated to find more towers popping up in their communities without warning and some are taking matters into their own hands.
By the time neighbors realized what the work was for, a 32-foot concrete pole sprouted inches from Lissette Monzon’s yard.
“Nobody let us know that 5G towers were coming into our communities,” Monzon said.
If you are next to one of the sites where they’re going, there’s nothing you can do. That was learned the hard way by Monzon, who organized a protest, rented a boom lift and dove into public records.
“To my great surprise, I found that they were scouting my house since 2022,” she said.
Actually, it was May 2019 that three telecom companies contracted to install “small cell antennas” to expand 5G on rights of ways around the county.
One of the companies, Crown Castle, describes it as “inconspicuously installed.”
“I believe we should be involved in this process,” Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado said.
At a county commission meeting in June, local leaders expressed frustration that a new state law stops their or any local control of where the towers go, what they look like, or how many can be installed.
“Our hands have been tied,” Miami-Dade Commissioner Anthony Rodriguez said.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins encouraged residents “to go to every town hall” of every state representative.
“My concern is for my children and their exposure rate living this close to a 5G tower,” Monzon said.
Monzon worries about radio frequency danger, with signs describing danger at certain heights. There are also concerns about property values and birds — but no one’s addressing them.
