5G Rollout Gets Streamlined With FCC Upgrade Order

In a contentious vote today, the FCC approved the so-called “5G Upgrade Order,” the agency’s latest initiative, headed by Commissioner Brendan Carr, to accelerate wireless infrastructure builds.

The order:

• Sets a clear demarcation as to when the 60-day shot clock for local approval begins
• Clarifies which new equipment qualifies for streamlined approval
• Ensures local governments cannot misuse concealment and aesthetic conditions to limit the ability to quickly upgrade concealed infrastructure
• Asks for public comment on what activity related to a modification can occur outside of a wireless site
• Accelerates wireless network builds by clarifying rules for upgrading equipment on existing infrastructure

Co-location is “the process of putting new equipment on old towers. It’s less intensive and requires less regulatory review than new tower construction,” explained Carr during the vote. Clarifying the Section 6409 rules benefits communities “by reducing the potential for redundant towers, creating less costly and disruptive infrastructure,” he said. Continue Reading