Wireless Collocation NPA Amended to Address Inconsistency

"agreed to amend the Collocation NPA to eliminate … inconsistency between the Wireless Facilities NPA and the Collocation NPA,” the bureau said. Collocation is excluded from review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act if it doesn’t “expand the boundaries of the current tower site by more than 30 feet in any direction or involve excavation outside these expanded boundaries” provided “the collocation complies with other criteria for exclusion specified in the Collocation NPA,” the bureau said. “Previously, a collocation project that involved any excavation outside of the current tower site would not qualify for the streamlined review process,” said Commissioner Brendan Carr. “That conflicted with the streamlined review process that applies when providers are taking down and replacing a wireless structure -- a process that allows for deployment and excavation up to 30 feet outside of the existing site,” Carr said: “Providers increasingly are adding mobile edge computing capability and backup power to tower sites, which often require small site expansions.” The Wireless Infrastructure Association always said the same rules should apply to collocations, but getting the change took years of work, said WIA President Jonathan Adelstein in an interview. “If you want to add 5G equipment, you want to put a backup generator in, you want to put in a mobile edge computing center, you ought to be able to do that under the same 30-feet exemption that you have for drop and swaps,” he said. WIA hopes for quick action on the wireless infrastructure NPRM, approved 3-2 in June (see 2006090060), which seeks comment on amended rules saying a modification doesn’t cause a “substantial change” if it entails excavation or deployments at up to 30 feet outside macro tower compound boundaries, he said. “We’d be able to expand any tower complex in the country … making it immediately ready for quick deployment of 5G,” he said: “It’s not a major, complicated NPRM. It’s pretty straightforward.” The rule changes “all fit together,” he said. The agreement also bodes well for progress on twilight towers, Adelstein said. The FCC sought comment in 2017 on ways 5,000 towers could be made available for collocation of wireless facilities without additional historic review (see 1712140049). Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said in June he’s working with Carr on twilight towers (see 2006090060). “The agreement accounts for the realities of next-generation site activities and encourages facilitating collocation on existing structures,” said Todd Schlekeway, president of the National Association of Tower Erectors: “It is essential that we as a nation commit to facilitating tower modification without excessive regulatory mandates as a critical means of closing the digital divide and enhancing communications capabilities throughout the country.” The action "will enable industry to optimize deployments and make way for advancements that can enhance the consumer experience and benefit our new 5G economy,” said CTIA Senior Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Scott Bergmann. “Streamlined infrastructure policies are critical for competitive carriers to be able to enhance and build out their networks,” said Steve Berry, president of the Competitive Carriers Association: “Consumers stand to benefit most from clear, efficient policies, and today’s announcement certainly is a step in the right direction toward achieving this important goal.”