FCC Draft Order Takes 'Balanced Approach' to Small-Cell Project Reviews, Carr Says
A wireless infrastructure order set for a vote at the FCC's Sept. 26 commissioners' meeting takes a “balanced approach” by allowing local governments to retain some autonomy over their reviews of small-cell deployments in rights of way while also streamlining the process, Commissioner Brendan Carr said Tuesday in a speech at the Indiana State House. NATOA officials raised concerns about the coming action during their meeting last week, we previously reported.
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The draft order will “tailor” the shot clocks for local reviews of small-cell deployment proposals, setting a 60-day deadline for projects on existing structures and a 90-day deadline for new infrastructure construction, Carr said. The order doesn't propose a deem-granted remedy, which “many local governments opposed on the grounds that it would allow deployments without their authorization,” he said.
The draft would reaffirm local control over wireless infrastructure reviews by disturbing few of the provisions of small-cell bills that 20 state legislatures enacted, Carr said. The order would preserve local governments' right to aesthetic reviews of projects if they are reasonable, nondiscriminatory and announced in advance, he said. The draft allows localities to impose cost-based fees on deployments but requires them to “reasonably approximate” a local government's costs for the project, Carr said.
NATOA didn't comment immediately, and nor did the office of FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.