DEWEY BEACH, Del. - 5G continues to be a point of contention in Dewey Beach, as more poles have been erected along the dunes, and the town fears there is little they can do to stop it.
It's hard to miss the massive poles popping up on Dewey's beach block, and the town has a straightforward stance on them.
"We don't want them," said Mayor Dale Cooke, "We don't have a lot of choice in the matter, we found out, because of federal law and state law, but they sure are a nuisance and an eyesore in the town."
Rick Dryer's house is steps away from one of the poles, and he doesn't like it either.
"Why right there? I mean I don't understand! Why couldn't it have been out on Rt. 1, where there's poles everywhere??" Dryer said.
According to Columbia University's Earth Institute, the poles need a clear line of sight to people on the beach. Because of this, they must be close to the sand to be effective, as their signal can be blocked by buildings and sand dunes.
The Dewey Commissioners unanimously passed an ordinance to dictate the spacing around the poles and what they must look like.
Mayor Cooke said, "They'll have to be 100 feet apart from each other, they cant be right on top of each other, and they have to be certain standard equipment that will be on the poles, and certain sizes of the boxes of equipment."
But Dryer says nothing will change the helplessness residents feel to stop more poles from coming.
"They can pass all the ordinances they want, but just reading the DelDOT response, everybody's response is just... It's kinda the way it is," he said.
Mayor Cooke says around ten poles are already up, and more are looming on the horizon.
Verizon's communications manager told WBOC that the company has worked with the town over a significant period of time, and is following all laws and local requirements in their construction of the poles.