# Plain Language Summary: Wireless Broadband Competition and Efficient Deployment Act

This bill speeds up the process for wireless companies to add new cell phone antennas and equipment to existing cell towers and other wireless facilities. Right now, when a company wants to mount new equipment on an existing tower or upgrade an existing antenna, the federal government requires them to conduct environmental reviews and check whether the project might damage historic sites. This bill eliminates those requirements for these specific types of projects, allowing companies to skip those review processes and get their projects approved faster.

The bill applies to "collocation" projects, which is the technical term for adding wireless equipment to a location where wireless equipment already exists. So if a cell tower already has antennas on it, a company can add more antennas without going through the environmental and historic preservation reviews. The same applies if a company wants to modify or upgrade equipment that's already in place. The bill only covers projects that need approval from the Federal Communications Commission, which oversees wireless communications.

The practical effect is that wireless companies will be able to expand cell phone coverage and data service more quickly in areas where infrastructure already exists. This could mean faster 5G rollout and better cell service in some communities. However, the trade-off is that environmental and historic preservation reviews won't happen for these projects. Some people might be concerned that skipping these reviews could mean less oversight of how wireless facilities affect local environments or historic properties, though the bill's supporters argue that adding equipment to existing sites poses minimal new environmental or historic risks compared to building entirely new facilities from scratch.

Wireless Broadband Competition and Efficient Deployment Act

Rulli, Michael A.

Wireless Broadband Competition and Efficient Deployment ActThis bill exempts&nbsp;projects that involve the installation or modification of certain wireless communications facilities&nbsp;from specified federal environmental and historic preservation review requirements.&nbsp;Specifically, the bill exempts from review projects that involve&nbsp;(1) the mounting or installation of an eligible personal wireless service facility with an eligible personal wireless service facility that exists when an authorization request for the mounting or installation is filed with a state or local government or an Indian tribe; or (2) the modification of an eligible personal wireless service facility.&nbsp;To be exempt, the projects must also require a permit or other authorization from, or are otherwise subject to the jurisdiction of, the Federal Communications Commission.&nbsp;Under the bill, an eligible personal wireless service facility means an antenna, apparatus, or transmitting device and associated equipment for the provision of personal wireless communications service.&nbsp;The bill specifies that these projects are not considered major federal actions under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 or undertakings under the National Historic Preservation Act, thus exempting such projects from the review procedures required under those acts.