William J. Kemble reports in The Daily Freeman that officials in Saugerties are considering making formal objections to the Federal Communications Commission about proposed wireless communications rules that limits local municipalities' home-rule authority. The cellular industry is about to move to new 5G equipment, with many small transmitters rather than a few large cell towers providing much faster speeds. So the FCC has created new rules to keep municipalities from imposing “regulatory obstacles that have threatened the widespread deployment” of the 5G technology. “Can Washington, D.C., say that Saugerties Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board rules have to change?” he said. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat in the minority at the FCC, disagrees with the new rules. “Instead of working with our state and local partners to speed the way to 5G deployment, we cut them out,” she wrote. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.