Two industry groups that support wireless infrastructure are asking the Federal Communications Commission to  “categorically exclude” distributed antenna systems and small cell deployments from environmental and historic review processes.
PCIA–The Wireless Infrastructure Association and the HetNet Forum have submitted comments in the FCC’s’s proposed rulemaking on infrastructure siting.
“DAS and small cell installations have limited visual impacts, involve minimal ground disturbance and generally occur in existing public rights-of-way where some ground disturbance is to be expected,” the two groups stated in their filing. “Because the environmental and historic preservation effects of such construction will be nonexistent or de minimis, a categorical exclusion is warranted.”
Alternatively, the groups suggested that the FCC could instead ask the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) “to invoke the ‘exempted category’ provision of its rules, or determine that deployment of DAS and small cells meeting specified criteria is neither a ‘major federal action’ nor a ‘federal undertaking.'”
PCIA and the HetNet Forum said that at minimum, the FCC should update and clarify additional rules for co-location that would provide greater freedom for DAS and small cell installations.
“By removing barriers to the deployment of newer technologies like DAS and small cells, and refining its rules for collocations, the FCC can facilitate greater coverage and capacity of wireless broadband networks,” they concluded.
Other requests in the filing included:
- Asking the FCC to adopt rules implementing and enforcing section 6409(a) of the Spectrum Act in order to prevent patchwork interpretation by local jurisdictions, and set baseline limits on application processes, times for review and unreasonable fees.
- Take steps to implement section 332(c)(7) regarding when the “shot clock” for a new siting application is triggered.
- Requesting that the FCC make permanent its environmental notification waiver for temporary towers.
The executive summary of the filing can be read here (pdf).
