CTIA Seeks Faster Wireless Deployment on Federal Lands
Streamlined procedures for telecom projects should apply to all federal lands and properties, CTIA commented to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The association mostly supported ACHP proposals from a draft program comment issued Jan. 13, saying many of the…
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proposals would speed wireless deployment on federal lands while protecting religious, historic and cultural areas. The proposals don’t cover all federal lands and properties, CTIA said. The ACHP should clarify that the National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 individual site review process won’t be required for undertakings determined not to have adverse effect, it said. ACHP should add exclusions for tower/structure removal and road maintenance projects that won’t have adverse impact on historic properties, it said. “Wireless providers have often faced delays in seeking to deploy network infrastructure on federal lands and properties,” CTIA said. “Those delays can be substantial, impairing service even when the agencies and their employees would directly benefit from more robust and reliable broadband. The delays are not caused by the effect of new wireless facilities on historic properties; indeed many times, there are no historic properties that are even potentially affected. Instead, the delays often result from different agencies having different procedures for reviewing those facilities, or from lacking clearly defined procedures.”