FCC Signs Agreement to Streamline 5G Infrastructure Deployment

The Federal Communications Commission took another step to facilitate the deployment of infrastructure critical to ensuring American leadership on next-generation wireless service, or 5G.

Building on previous infrastructure reforms, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau signed an agreement to eliminate historic preservation review for small facility deployments across the U.S. that do not adversely impact historic sites and locations. The agreement was signed with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO). The new exclusions lay the groundwork for 5G service by reducing the cost, time, and burden associated with deployment, and by providing opportunities to make existing networks denser at low cost and with very little impact. The agreement, which amends an earlier agreement among the same parties, expands exclusions from the federal review process for DAS and small cell deployments, fulfilling a directive in the October 2014 Infrastructure Report & Order to further streamline review of these installations.