FCC Votes 3-0 to Move Forward on NPRM, NOI on Speeding Up Wireless Siting
The FCC voted 3-0 Thursday to launch a rulemaking and notice of inquiry on ways to speed the siting of wireless infrastructure. Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Mignon Clyburn voted for the item, saying they were able to work out changes with the office of Chairman Ajit Pai. The consensus on the item came right before the huge fight over the broadband data service order (see 1704200020).
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“I have heard time and time again how current rules and procedures impede the timely, cost-effective deployment of wireless infrastructure,” Pai said at the meeting. “This will only become a bigger problem as our wireless networks evolve. A key feature of the transition from 4G to 5G is a change in network architecture. The future of wireless will evolve from large, macro-cell towers to include thousands of densely deployed small cells, operating at lower power.”
But “as networks evolve, our rules should too,” Pai said. “Historic preservation and environmental review regulations designed for large macro-cell towers just don’t make sense for small cells that can be the size of a pizza box. And cities shouldn’t impose unreasonable demands or moratoria on wireless siting requests.”
Pai was asked during a news conference after the meeting about the concerns raised by tribal organizations on the proposal in filings at the FCC this week (see 1704190027). The FCC proposed rules, rather than mandating them, “precisely because we want to create a formal framework for engaging in conversations with tribal governments and with all other interested stakeholders to figure out the best way to square the circle, the square being the desire of millions of Americans within this country, including on tribal lands, for advanced wireless services that are the gateway to economic opportunity,” Pai said.
Clyburn said she successfully pushed for questions in the NPRM asking how industry can also expedite siting. All the pressure shouldn't be on the local governments, she said. “I have yet to come across a single community that wants to be left behind or overlooked as we embark on this new frontier,” Clyburn said. “It is noteworthy that we all support efforts to streamline infrastructure deployment. But we must do so in a way that allows all sides to come to the table with a willingness to negotiate and work together.”
The wireless industry also is responsible for delays, Clyburn said. The FCC also has heard reports of companies that submit incomplete applications, she said. “Some applicants lack engineering expertise” or “propose locations that are clearly not viable,” she said. Sometimes applications are filed by companies that lack clear, legal authority to do so, she said. “This cannot be ignored either.”
O’Rielly said the NPRM doesn’t go as far as he would like. “While conversations can be productive, the commission, in an open and transparent fashion, should obtain all the facts and ask the difficult questions to holistically consider any barriers placed before wireless infrastructure siting,” he said. “The commission cannot continuously hear accounts of deployment hurdles and sit idly by. If this generates the need for pre-emption, I have no hesitation to use authority provided by Congress to get new wireless services deployed.”
The NPRM “begins an examination of how state and local processes affect the speed and cost of infrastructure deployment, and asks for comment on improving state and local infrastructure reviews, such as zoning requests,” the FCC said in a news release. “The NPRM seeks comment on whether siting applications that are not acted on by state or local governments within a reasonable period of time should be ‘deemed granted’ by Commission rules.” The NPRM also examines the procedures for complying with the National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act, the FCC said. The NOI asks about two provisions of the Communications Act, Sections 253 and 332, which “acknowledge the importance of state and local regulation, but also protect against regulations that impose barriers to entry or are otherwise unreasonable,” the FCC said.
“CTIA is pleased that Chairman Pai and his fellow commissioners are moving forward to evaluate ways to modernize 5G wireless infrastructure deployment,” said Scott Bergmann, CTIA vice president-regulatory affairs, in a news release. “The FCC has a clear path to remove regulatory barriers to new wireless infrastructure deployment, drive significant investment and job growth, and help deliver greater wireless connectivity for consumers and businesses.”