Today the Federal Communications Commission adopted an order that has been described as the “Super Bowl of regulatory proceedings for those in the wireless infrastructure industry.”
The specific provisions of the order include:
·Defining the terms of Section 6409(a) of the Spectrum Act and developing rules for its implementation at the state and local level, including a new shot clock during which an application must be addressed or it is deemed granted. This will facilitate upgrades and colocations by reducing the shot clock from 90 days to 60 days for site modifications.
·Excluding certain distributed antenna systems, small cells and other discrete wireless facilities from environmental and historic preservation review, particularly for those deployments leveraging utility poles in rights-of-way and building rooftops.
“Local authorities can really use this when they’re getting pounded by the [not-in-my-backyard’s],” said PCIA President Jonathan Adelstein. “Now local governments can say ‘look, it’s federal law.'”
Other key provisions of today’s order include:
·Shot clock for small cells and DAS. For new installations, the shot clock period will be 90 days, and for those that are part of existing sites the shot clock will be 60 days.
·Removing barriers to the deployment of temporary towers to boost coverage for large gatherings like festivals and rallies.
“The FCC has set clear rules of the road that favor build-out over red tape,” said Adelstein. “This infuses greater certainty into overall processes, which will spur greater investment in wireless broadband.”
“We won on every point with strong bipartisan support,” Adelstein added. “The commission bent over backwards to foster deployment. It’s going to make a big difference in the marketplace. Our members are going to find it easer and cheaper to deploy. Every dime they don’t have to spend on compliance they can plow into infrastructure.”
See more from Jonathan Adelstein below. The former FCC commissioner delivered the opening remarks at this week’s HetNet Expo.
