Building our mobile life

[Commentary] The infrastructure needed to support our mobile use needs to be modern and flexible, but does not get the focus it warrants in policy debates. The good news is the Federal Communications Commission is in a position to take critical steps to facilitate smarter and faster deployments.

First , the FCC should limit the ability of state and local authorities to delay the collocation and replacement of wireless infrastructure that have minimal impact on communities.

Second, the FCC should permit the speedy deployment of temporary towers used to respond to local emergencies and newsworthy events and to assist local law enforcement.

Third, the FCC should curtail unnecessary delays at the local level by imposing a 45-day limit on collocation approvals. After all, as Congress recognized, these wireless facilities already have received the necessary zoning approval, so why impose further impediments?

Fourth, the small size and flexible placement of DAS and small cells warrant streamlining the environmental and historic review processes -- the adoption of certain exclusions -- deployment of these facilities.

[Baker is president and CEO of CTIA - The Wireless Association]