Cell towers and 📉 property values
Finding refuge | Insurance | Fifth Generation Warfare
Here’s what we’ll learn in this article:
1. What is technological violence?
2. How to discover cell tower triangulation
3. How do cell towers affect residential property values?
4. How do cell towers affect commercial property values?
5. Why is non-ionizing radiation not covered by insurance?
6. Reports of cell tower fires and catastrophe: safety considerations
7. Do fiber optics improve property values?
“Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood.
Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.”
~ Sun Tzu
Our genetics carry the key to the code of our human past, our toil, our ecstasy, our love, fear, and our transcendence. Shields of legendary fallen heroes that once shone under a blazing sun in glorious defeat now reflect back in our eye’s glimmering refusal of retreat. Our ancestors were superior warriors not only because they were physically fit or were trained in the art of war. They didn’t only know how to fight; they knew who to fight.
Wars today are fought on invisible fronts that neither friend nor foe understand. Our technological horizon hangs its metal hammer over our sun’s fields of gold while children play in ignorance of a dystopian future never foretold. Classrooms have become prisons of indoctrination while once-innocent bedrooms are morphed into sacrilegious palaces of antisocial media incantation.
Towers rise out of the ground like steel dragons waiting to embroil us with our own consumption of digital venom, as we fall in line - browbeaten electronic prisoners of war. Those of us who can feel the flames of artificially-intelligent progress try to run for the hills, only to find our enemy has surrounded us on all sides. Today we live and die in a Fifth-Generation War,1 which has enlisted us all. How does 5th generation warfare differ from the rest?
1️⃣st generation - the tactics of line and column, developed in the era of the smoothbore musket.
2️⃣nd generation - the tactics of indirect fire and mass movement, developed in the era of the rifled musket, barbed wire and the machine gun.
3️⃣rd generation - the tactics of nonlinear movement, including maneuver and infiltration, developed in response to the increase in battlefield firepower in WWI.
4️⃣th generation - the lines between "civilian" and "military" become blurred, armies tend to engage in counter-insurgency operations rather than military battles, and enemies are often motivated by ideology and religion, making psychological operations more important than ever.
5️⃣th generation - “a relative reduction in military violence" has led to "an increase in political, economic, and technological violence.”2
What is technological violence?
While some of us may think of Robocop or cyborg dogs knocking on our door, this type of violence can be even more subtle. The artificial blue light to which we’re exposed daily, the radio frequency that emits throughout our homes, and the dirty electrical currents that flow through Earth are a silent assault that if undefended for too long - makes us surrender to chronic disease. Yet many aspects of modern warfare can be wrested back under our control when we understand how our foe asserts their power.
An invading force always seeks the high ground for military superiority, as this terrain is not only harder to attack, but easiest to defend. Cell towers are mounted over us, planted in strong formation like wood, as satellites broadcast through the airwaves with currents that light fire to the night.
What trenches can we seek to muster our forces? Is any place truly safe?
Run for the hills and hide from triangles
Before we consider what locations are ideal, we first need to take the target off our back. In the words of Sun Tzu, “to know our enemy, we must become our enemy.” After an enemy takes control of a town and attains the high ground, the next thing they normally do is take control of communications. The first priority once we “invade” our new home should be to set up and secure our communication network. Most work in our current digital world can be accomplished with a hardwired connection. If you must use a cell phone consider sharing one with your partner, as wireless networks are less secure and more easily hacked.3
Before choosing a home, you’ll want to know the position of any cell towers in the area. Sites like cellmapper.net are your friend. This site shows you the triangulation and direction of each tower, and allows you to filter by service provider and network type (4G, 5G, etc):
Depending on where you live, you can hire a professional to come out and take measurements, or you can take readings yourself. While it’s difficult to completely avoid cell towers, it is not impossible. Another factor to consider is the elevation of your property. Even if there aren’t any cell towers within sight, if your property is lower and the tower has the higher ground, you’ll be more easily affected and could pick up a plethora of radio frequency. If you need to live in the valley, consider living by trees or areas of water, as these elements tend to absorb electromagnetic radiation.4 There are also harmful electrical ground currents to consider, which require advanced measurements to be taken.
How do cell towers affect residential property values?
Trees can’t move from an unfavorable area in protest, but humans can and are doing so. Towns and cities all over the world are fighting back, producing roadblocks for the wireless industry, which tries to install their technology the quickest and cheapest way possible, anywhere they can. Residents of municipalities are banding together and arguing that property values will be reduced as a result of “small cell” 5G antennas, which are not that small. The equipment that runs the 5G transmitters and receivers must be housed in a box that is the size of a small refrigerator. As small cells need to be placed within 500 feet of each other, there is a lot of visual real estate that is eaten up, raising concerns about aesthetics and property values. These concerns are nothing new, but are now becoming increasingly relevant.
Even before the rollout of 5G, the decrease in property values as a result of cell tower installations was known. A 2005 study5 published in The Appraisal Journal found that 38 percent of survey respondents felt that a cell tower being built in close proximity to their house would reduce their property value by 20 percent or more. In 2011, the Palo Alto, CA community successfully stopped a proposed AT&T cell tower at a Catholic church.6 They cited a 20 percent drop in property values in other communities. Considering many entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley live in Palo Alto, this should give us all pause. Why would those creating the technology not want it in their very own neighborhood?
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A 2014 survey7 by the National Institute for Science, Law, and Public Policy found that 94% of its respondents said cell towers and antennas in a neighborhood or on a building would impact how interested they would be in a property and how much they would pay for it. Of those respondents, 79% stated they would not buy or rent a property within a few blocks of a cell tower under any circumstances, while 88% said they would never buy or rent a place that had a cell tower or group of antennas attached to it.
In early 2025, Benzie County Michigan became a flashpoint8 in the national conversation when residents rallied against the construction of a 195-foot cell tower near Bellows Park. Locals were outraged that a beloved public space could be repurposed for private commercial gain.
In New York City, community boards are increasingly rising in opposition to Link5G cell towers.9 Sixteen community boards to date have either disapproved or called for moratoria on these towers. This represents 40% of the 40 community board districts currently being considered for Link5G installations, up to 800 community board members, and an average of about 2 million residents, which is more than one-quarter of the NYC population. Protestors cited risks to children, declining property values, and aesthetic blight.
A 2015 study10 published in the Pacific Rim Property Research Journal found that New Zealanders would pay 10% - 19% less for a property close to a cell tower. Half of Australians surveyed in 2020 would not want to live near a cell tower.11
A 2018 study12 published in the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics found for properties located within 0.72 kilometers [2362 feet] of the closest cell tower, property values declined 2.46% on average, and up to 9.78% for homes within tower visibility range compared to homes outside tower visibility range. Properties within the 0.72-kilometer band lose over $24 million dollars in total. The authors conclude, “given the apparent social costs associated with negative price effects, local zoning and regulatory authorities should consider granting approvals that include impact-minimizing conditions.”
A 2019 study on home prices in Savannah, Georgia13 found that “homes close to towers sell for a discount of up to 7.6% and that any noticeable effect disappears at 1500 feet. The study also found that the effect of a cell tower on residential property values during a declining market can drastically decrease the value while in an increasing market it could have little effect.14
How do cell towers affect commercial property values?
One exception to decreasing property values are commercial properties. When a cell tower is installed on a hotel, sports complex, office, industrial or medical building, the property value will likely increase due to the additional revenue and mass perceived benefits from visitors. Unlike someone’s home, having a full signal at work or while shopping tends to be more favorable with the masses.
As a result, adding a cell tower to a commercial property will likely increase the value relative to the lease rate/income received with almost no negative impact to the value of the property.15
Insurance companies run for the hills
Insurance companies are also making like a tree and leaving the scene of the electromagnetic battlefield. One of the world’s largest insurance companies, Swiss Re, has recommended16 that other insurance companies write in exclusion clauses against paying compensation for illnesses caused by continuous long-term non-ionizing radiation exposure. A 2016 report by Austrian insurance company AUVA confirmed DNA-breaks caused from non-ionizing radiation.17
Lloyd’s of London, the most well-known insurance company in the world excludes any liability coverage for claims, “directly or indirectly arising out of, resulting from or contributed to by electromagnetic fields, electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetism, radio waves or noise.” (Exclusion 32, page 7)18
The world’s first credit agency, AM Best, who assesses the creditworthiness of over 16,000 insurance companies worldwide, identifies “radio frequency radiation as a risk for insurers.”19
“In 2013, well before 5G, the underwriter A.M. Best Company estimated that two hundred and fifty thousand workers come into close contact with cellular antennas every year. It warned other insurers that at close range, cellular antennas act ‘essentially as open microwave ovens,’ and that health effects in exposed workers ‘can include eye damage, sterility and cognitive impairments.’
The president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Edwin Hill, wrote in a September 11, 2013 comment to the FCC, ‘We believe that many of our members have been exposed to levels of RF radiation in excess of the FCC limits.’
Hill further stated, ‘When there is a hazard, the hazard creator has a duty to warn others against the hazard.’ He suggested that telecom corporations that are licensed to deploy transmitting antennas should be responsible for ensuring that IBEW members ‘know the unique physical boundaries at every work location so as not to exceed the referenced RF exposure limits.’
~ Katie Singer , Getting Informed About 5G20
The Fallen Tower of Babylon
Cell towers are industrial machinery and have serious risks, especially when constructed near schools and neighborhoods. Cellular phone gear (antennas) has snapped and is known to cause severe electrical fires. Towers have also collapsed due to construction errors (31%), ice (29%), wind (19%), aircraft (11%) and anchor failure (10%).21 Here is a report of 80 catastrophic incidents involving cell towers.
The National Fire Protection Association recognizes five hazards associated with using electricity: electrical contact, thermal effects, overcurrent, fault current and overvoltage. Cellular base stations have an enormous array of electrical equipment. To ensure that the new project will not imperil life, health or property, a state-licensed professional electrical engineer must evaluate each hazard and certify that it has been mitigated. A state-licensed professional structural engineer must certify the structural integrity of each pole that holds telecom equipment. To honor their professional obligations, city councilors and county commissioners should not issue a building permit until they have PE-certified documents that prove that each proposed cellular site is safe.22
Smart meters are also a massive fire risk. Learn more here:
Do fiber optic networks improve property values?
Two American cities, Chattanooga, Tennessee and Longmont, Colorado, decided to make the most of it when broadband (fiber) networks became available in 2009. Chattanooga's electric company the Electric Power Board even built its system with assistance from federal grant money.
During the first three years of the broadband network's existence (2009-2012), home values in Chattanooga increased 14 percent and median household income rose 13.5 percent, even as the state government cut almost 3,000 jobs.5 In 2014, Longmont rolled out NextLight, a municipal broadband system that allows residents to download data at a rate of one gigabit per second (gbps) for about $50 a month.
Fiber optic networks may also introduce more wireless networks, as newer technologies like 5G require higher rates of data transfer. Fiber optic networks like those from AT&T require Wi-Fi 7 modems to be permanently installed in the home. Wi-Fi 7 uses beamforming (a high-powered laser) to ensure coverage in your area. The increased data speed often leads to more dirty electricity pulsed throughout the home.
Before accepting a fiber connection to one’s home (FTTP), it may be a good idea to check the website of your town’s planning division to see if any cell towers or small cells are slated to be installed in your area. Fiber is becoming the backbone of the smart grid in many towns. You can read more about the rollout of fiber and the electromagnetic fields associated with its installation here.
Where do we go from here?
First - we need to know what does not work, which is complaining to the town about health effects when trying to stop a cell tower. While this may buffer your argument, money comes first. The 1996 Telecommunications Act includes Section 704—a law that has since been used to block local communities from rejecting cell tower placements based on health concerns. This law effectively gave the telecom industry legal immunity as long as they followed the outdated FCC safety guidelines.
However in 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in the historic case EHT et al. v. the FCC that the December 2019 decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to retain its 1996 safety limits for human exposure to wireless radiation was “arbitrary and capricious.”
Source - EHT Trust:
“The court held that the FCC failed to respond to “record evidence that exposure to RF radiation at levels below the Commission’s current limits may cause negative health effects unrelated to cancer.” Further, the agency demonstrated “a complete failure to respond to comments concerning environmental harm caused by RF radiation.” The court found the FCC ignored numerous organizations, scientists and medical doctors who called on them to update limits and the court found the FCC failed to address these issues:
❌ impacts of long term wireless exposure
❌ impacts on children’s health
❌ the testimony of people injured by wireless radiation,
❌ impacts on wildlife and the environment
❌ impacts on the developing brain and reproduction.”
The court ordered the agency to update its standards to reflect modern research on RF radiation’s non-thermal effects—biological harm that occurs even when heating doesn’t happen.
Currently, Section 704 only protects cell towers that comply with existing FCC guidelines. Once those guidelines change to reflect the science behind non-thermal effects, millions of existing towers — especially those near schools, homes, and hospitals — could be legally challenged.
Any winning military force requires organization and intelligence. While the technocratic surveillance grid seems highly organized and artificially-intelligent, our tribe has the wisdom. The only way we can learn how to combat an enemy that remains unseen is by leveraging our collective intelligence, and becoming organized around long-term solutions that work.
We need to look no further than the wisdom of the ancient armies of families that built their homes with common sense. When constructed properly, natural buildings can be a refuge. To learn more about this resurging art form, reach out to Kyle Young who has been making homes from the ground up since the 1980s. If you feel as if you have nowhere to turn, there are many others who understand, like Shannon Rowan, who wrote Wi-Fi Refugee.
Many of us feel like nomads lost in a place and time that is not for us. Our past is the future we seek. We don’t want faster internet speeds or higher resolution, we want stronger connection. Ultimately it is up to us to sow new fields of gold, and set the bricks that reset a timeless future of health and prosperity. The time to march toward destiny is now. Not all of us will make it but we will live trying. Let us lift our hearts to the sky, and carry the shield of our soul into battle - raising the fallen lives we once knew from the dead.
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Additional resources:
Join the National Call for Safe Technology and Odette Wilkens and Charles D. Frohman of the National Health Federation
Cell Tower Map: https://airestech.com/pages/cell-towers-near-me-emf-map
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https://archive.org/details/unrestricted-warfare-by-qiao-liang-and-wang-xiangsui/mode/2up?view=theater&q=economic
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-secure-your-home-wi-fi-network
https://wirelessenviroimpacts.science/trees/
Bond, Sandy G. and Ko-Kang Wang. “The Impact of Cell Phone Towers on House Prices in Residential Neighborhoods.” (2005).
https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2011/04/19/att-drops-plan-for-cell-tower-at-palo-alto-church/
https://electromagnetichealth.org/electromagnetic-health-blog/survey-property-desirability/
https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/community-in-benzie-county-voices-concerns-over-cell-tower-construction
https://www.prres.org/uploads/1350/1028/14445921.2005.11104181.pdf
https://www.emfanalysis.com/property-values-declining-cell-towers/
Affuso, E., Reid Cummings, J. & Le, H. Wireless Towers and Home Values: An Alternative Valuation Approach Using a Spatial Econometric Analysis. J Real Estate Finan Econ 56, 653–676 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11146-017-9600-9
Beck, Jason. (2019). The Disamenity Value of Cellular Phone Towers on Home Prices in Savannah, Georgia. The Empirical Economics Letters. 17.
https://wirelessequity.com/investing/cell-towers-effect-on-property-value/#Cell_Towers_effect_on_Commercial_Property_Values
https://wirelessequity.com/investing/cell-towers-effect-on-property-value
https://www.jrseco.com/insurer-swiss-re-electromagnetic-radiation-highest-risk-category/
https://www.jrseco.com/major-austrian-insurer-auva-finds-effects-of-cell-phones-on-dna-eeg-and-human-proteins/
https://www.jrseco.com/wp-content/uploads/Insurance-AE-CFC-Underwriting-Limited-Lloyds-Latest-Version-February-7th-2015.pdf
https://www.emfacts.com/2013/03/top-liability-expert-a-m-best-identifies-radofrequency-radiation-as-a-risk-for-insurers/
https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/environmental-toxins/getting-informed-about-5g/#gsc.tab=0
https://www.electronicsilentspring.com/primers/cell-towers-cell-phones/
https://www.ourwebofinconvenienttruths.com/fires-and-collapses/
Timely, Aires just launched an EMF map last week https://airestech.com/pages/cell-towers-near-me-emf-map
As I was researching data sources for the map (yes, I work at Aires), I discovered that while the FCC claims all cell tower locations are publicly available, that isn't true. I can see towers and infrastructure with my own eyes, but the info isn't on any public map. While I realize they may be offline or have some other reasonable reason they aren't on any map, they are relatively new, so that doesn't make much sense. I read that some telecom companies and tower owners lock things up in court so they aren't on any public map, which makes you wonder if everything is as safe and chill as they claim, why would they do that?