Carr Says FCC Did All Necessary Tribal Consultation on Infrastructure Order
Commissioner Brendan Carr defended the FCC Tuesday against claims the agency hasn’t done enough outreach to tribes as it prepared the wireless infrastructure proposal, set for a vote Thursday. Carr spoke at an event sponsored by the U.S. Black Chambers, Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) and the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership (HTTP), which support the draft order, though with some concerns.
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“The tribal consultation process has been … a tremendously productive and beneficial process,” Carr said. “Our engagement with the tribes on these issues spans three years.” The FCC failed to do legally required consultations before acting on revised wireless infrastructure rules, tribal interests said in recent filings (see 1803150058). Major tribal groups didn't comment.
House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Reps. Anna Eshoo and Raul Ruiz, both D-Calif., jointly urged the FCC Tuesday to "reconsider" the wireless infrastructure order. "Your proposal would undermine the foundations of tribal protection and consultation set forth by Congress in the NHPA, while doing nothing to secure a single enforceable commitment that broadband providers will actually build more infrastructure," the House Commerce Democrats said in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. "Above all, we are dismayed that this most recent Order more broadly reflects the culture of this Commission’s majority to act always at the behest of industry again and again at the expense of consumers, localities, and otherwise marginalized and disenfranchised communities who are in the most need of their government to look out for them." The FCC didn't immediately comment.
The FCC met with the tribes in at least nine states, with individual and in group consultations, Carr said. “The work product, the document that we’re voting on, has benefited tremendously from the tribal consultation process,” he said. The draft order maintains the “status quo” for review of deployments on tribal lands, he said. “We heard [the tribes] about not limiting what is described as a geographic area of interest,” which means tribes don’t have to justify their connection to an area, he said. The FCC also requires reviews for larger deployments, he said. Carr noted many tribal areas would benefit from better deployment of wireless broadband. He also wrote a Tuesday op-ed for The Baltimore Sun.
Rosa Mendoza, executive director of the HTTP, said the FCC needs to address all issues affecting minorities. “There’s still some concerns, especially in tribal communities.” More generally, “HTTP is encouraged to see that Commissioner Carr is addressing a barrier to efficient 5G deployment,” she said. “We want to make sure that every person is able to access broadband, 5G or otherwise.” Mendoza encouraged the FCC to pay special attention to redlining and job displacement. If deployment isn’t done correctly, “a lot of people are going to be left behind,” she said.
The Asian-American community is largely centered in bigger, more urban communities, said John Yang, AAJC president. “Small-cell deployment and 5G deployment could affect our community in a very impactful way." Yang also expressed concerns about how cutting environmental and historic preservation reviews will affect communities. “I have to wait and see what that actually looks like before I’ll be completely comfortable,” he said.
“It’s great to be ahead of the conversation,” said Rob Busby, president of the Black Chambers. “Too often our communities find out about issues after the fact. … This isn’t a Republican or a Democratic conversation. This is about deployment of an opportunity that is here to stay.”