Wireless Industry Asks FCC to Streamline Environmental Reviews

CTIA filed a petition Thursday at the FCC asking the commission to launch a rulemaking aimed at updating its rules implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has promised to focus on streamlining regulation and cutting red tape but has yet to outline a specific agenda (see 2503030040). Carr led the FCC work on cutting wireless infrastructure red tape during the first Trump administration.

The U.S. wireless industry had 432,000 operational cellsites as of 2023, “nearly 20% of which have been deployed since the advent of 5G in 2018,” and “ongoing infrastructure investment is necessary to meet growing consumer and business demand,” CTIA said. FCC actions streamlining wireless deployment during Donald Trump's first presidency “helped accelerate 5G’s rollout, but outdated environmental reviews continue to hinder progress.”

The petition asks the commission “to clarify that NEPA reviews are not required when providers are building out networks under broad geographic area licenses that don’t require reviews for the placement of individual facilities within the license area.” The FCC should also “ensure that any remaining NEPA reviews follow clear timelines and predictable standards and limit unnecessary costs in line with these recent mandates.”