- President Trump’s new executive order calls for federal permitting reform
- It doesn’t mention broadband, nor does it bring up issues with pole attachments
- But it could be a stepping stone for bigger permitting reform in the future
The Trump administration just unleashed a new executive order geared toward updating the permitting process, for which the telecom industry has long desired reform. But whether it can actually speed up broadband infrastructure projects is tough to say.
The order directs federal agencies to “make maximum use of technology in environmental review and permitting processes for infrastructure projects of all kinds, such as roads, bridges, mines, factories, power plants, and others.”
The order doesn't specifically mention broadband, but the White House lays out goals for permitting reform, such as eliminating the use of paper-based applications, improving agency coordination and the “transparency and predictability” of project permitting schedules. Plus, the order calls for establishing an interagency “Permitting Innovation Center.”
However, the order neglects to mention the issues most relevant to telecom, said New Street Research Policy Analyst Blair Levin — pole attachments.
“The biggest concern we have heard about network expansion from the ISPs concerns access to utility poles,” he said in a note Friday. “Nothing in the EO is relevant to accelerating access to such poles.”
Indeed, discourse around pole attachment reform has spanned years. The FCC made some moves on that front last July when it established an intra-agency rapid response team that’s responsible for “prioritizing and expediting the resolution of pole attachment disputes that impede or delay broadband deployment.”
The FCC’s team would also inform service providers about the status of the utility poles they plan to use as they map out their broadband builds.
However, many states follow their own pole attachment playbook. According to Pew, 23 states and Washington D.C. have opted to manage their pole attachment processes without deferring to federal policy. That can lead to complications around the cost to rent and maintain poles.
“Some owners are regulated under FCC or state rules that define how pole attachment rates are calculated, while others are free to develop their own calculations,” Pew’s Jake Varn wrote. “Variance in fee structures or a lack of transparency in how fees are calculated can lead to disputes and delays.”
Federal permitting is only half the battle, as Levin noted Trump’s EO also doesn’t cover state and local permitting, which ISPs have been most concerned about.
Still a step forward on permitting
Levin doubts the order will significantly reduce the time and cost of broadband deployments, but he does think it’s possible “that it leads to technological developments and other innovations that do have that impact.”
Moving from paper to IT solutions is beneficial and could lay the foundation for similar improvements on the state and local level. It’s also likely FCC chief Brendan Carr and ISPs will have a chance to weigh in with the agencies implementing the EO and “seek outcomes that would improve permitting for broadband in some situations,” Levin added.
It's worth noting Carr in February axed an FCC proposal that would have required broadband providers to follow stricter environmental guidelines to build new cell towers. But so far, he hasn’t teed up anything else on the permitting front.
All told, the EO left telecom trade groups optimistic that the U.S. is finally making headway on cutting regulatory red tape.
“Certainly, it’s important to make sure our environment is not harmed by new infrastructure,” a WISPA spokesperson told Fierce. “Consistent with that, anything that boosts the efficiency, ease and speed of the permitting process on Federal, state or Tribal lands we’re for.”
Looking at the bigger picture, Incompas CEO Chip Pickering stated the EO “directly addresses America's urgent need to outpace global competitors in the critical AI race.”
He thinks the reforms will not only accelerate high-speed broadband deployments but also the deployment of robust energy grids and data centers, “all of which are fundamental requirements for developing and deploying cutting-edge AI systems at scale.”