Streamline Small-Cell Deployment Act Gets Support From Senate Commerce Hearing Panel
Supporters of the Streamlining the Rapid Evolution and Modernization of Leading-Edge Infrastructure Necessary to Enhance (Streamline) Small Cell Deployment Act took center stage at a Friday Senate Commerce Committee 5G deployment field hearing in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to extol the bill's virtues. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and other national and state stakeholders endorsed the bill in written testimony, as expected (see 1810090049). S-3157, filed in June by Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, aims to implement a “reasonable process and timeframe guidelines” for state and local small-cell consideration (see 1806290063). The friendly panel was in contrast to opposition S-3157 faces from other state and local governments (see 1810040055).
S-3157 “reflects more than a year of hard work with stakeholders ... to eliminate needless barriers to deploying 5G,” Thune wrote. “Our legislation will allow Americans across the country, no matter where they live, the ability to reap the benefits of 5G leadership while at the same time respecting the important role State and local governments play in deployment decisions.” Thune acknowledged earlier it will be “hard to advance” S-3157 without support of state and local governments that remain concerned about language on timeline guidelines for state and local consideration of small-cell applications (see 1810040055).
“The common-sense ideas ... would solidify the progress we’ve made while further simplifying the process governing the construction of next-gen networks,” Carr said. “It would represent another solid win for the U.S. in the race to 5G.” He also touted the FCC's order aimed at speeding 5G wireless buildout by targeting state and local hurdles to small-cell deployment, which the commission passed (see 1809260029). Seattle and other local governments promised legal challenges to the order (see 1810020041).
Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken (R) praised Thune for his “vision for streamlined 5G deployment. S-3157 and the FCC order seek “to standardize negotiations for cities and carriers, and in many cases is aligned with my philosophy of rapid deployment in Sioux Falls,” TenHaken said. “It is critical that federal regulations protect local governments and allow them to set reasonable fees that cover costs. Giving carriers authority to set fees that are unfair to local governments is in essence an unfunded federal mandate that will cost local governments tens of millions of dollars.”
Verizon Senior Vice President-Federal Government Affairs Robert Fisher and executives from two regional telecoms also backed S-3157. “This bipartisan legislation is an important and thoughtful kickoff to a conversation about how best to modernize small-cell deployment policy,” Fisher said. The bill “would add significant provisions to the national policy framework that the FCC’s recent decision just could not cover.” Midcontinent Communications Senior Director-Government Relations Justin Forde said that as broadband providers “develop new ways to deliver connectivity to their customers, it is appropriate to examine the regulatory landscape to ensure that obligations placed on providers ... are reasonable, lawful, competitively neutral and not unduly burdensome, while respecting legitimate interests of local communities."
SDN Communications CEO Mark Shlanta also backed S-3157 because of its “lighter regulatory touch, especially shot clocks encouraging local governments to act.” Although “I encourage continued” streamlining, “the federal and state governments should find balance for local control,” Shlanta said. “We worked cooperatively with governments in Aberdeen, Brookings, and Sioux Falls to make positive local ordinance changes. I’m pleased to say South Dakota Municipal League is aggressively working to create model ordinances for cities, large and small, to attract 5G services to South Dakota.”
Dakota State University President Jose-Marie Griffiths said it's “exceedingly important to do what we can to remove the existing barriers to broadband deployment on the horizon of next generation wireless technology deployment.” There's “a need once again for the federal government to step forward and take the lead in investment and organizational support for the development and deployment of 5G and the Cyberverse,” Griffiths said.