Tower Siting Order Would Clear Applications Pending Before Sept.
The FCC is expected as soon as today (Wed.) to release an order that would clear all tower siting applications pending before early Sept., an FCC source said: “The commissioners found the common ground on how to more completely address the backlog.”
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Many applications have been forwarded to the FCC after carriers wishing to build towers couldn’t get responses from Indian tribes on whether the projects would affect historic preservation lands. Carriers can file notifications with the FCC after 2 failed attempts to contact a tribe, and hundreds of applications are pending at the agency, slowing siting of new antennas.
“The internal deliberation process on how the item will look has been wrapped up” on the 8th floor, the source said: “We need to finalize the item and get it ready to be released.” At the center of debates were: (1) How to ensure the item clears as many tower siting applications as possible. (2) How the FCC consultation process would look.
“The item reflects in large part the CTIA’s 3-strike proposal with some changes,” the source said. Under the CTIA’s proposal, a notification would be deemed granted after 2 failed attempts by a tower applicant and one by the FCC to contact a tribe. A carrier would be able to refer a case to the FCC if it didn’t get a response 40 days after first notifying a tribe. The FCC would then have 20 days to reach out to the tribe. United South & Eastern Tribes (USET), which represents 24 tribes, backed the proposal.
“We were trying to figure out how the FCC consultation process would look and we committed to 20 days,” the source said: “We took the same time frames as in the 3-strike proposal.” Under the order, the FCC would first contact a tribe by e-mail or letter, starting the 20-day clock for a tribe to respond. The Commission would then contact the tribe by phone, and if it didn’t respond within the 20 days, the applications would be considered granted.
“There are thousands of antenna applications for Indian territory. It really has become a big issue that we hope to resolve soon,” FCC Comr. Abernathy said at a Media Institute lunch Tues.
The order clarifies a Nationwide Programmatic Agreement (NPA) provision barring a carrier from proceeding with a tower siting until it gets permission from a tribe. The NPA was signed last year by the FCC, the National Conference os State Historic Preservation Officers and the Advisory Council of Historic Preservation.