USTelecom: OMB Should Ease Permitting and Relax BEAD Rules
USTelecom urged OMB to ease permitting for broadband deployment on federal lands and loosen requirements for the BEAD program, in comments filed Monday in response to OMB’s April request for information on deregulation opportunities. Permitting processes “are the single most time-consuming aspect of a broadband build and create unnecessary delays,” USTelecom said. OMB should work with other federal agencies to create uniform categories, so such permits would be deemed granted if they satisfy consistent conditions, such as when permits are sought for previously disturbed land. “Requiring further review for previously disturbed or analyzed areas simply squanders the resources of government and businesses, while needlessly driving up costs and delaying broadband deployment."
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OMB should also work with other agencies on creating uniform shot clocks for permitting requests on federal land and have agencies adopt the FCC’s environmental review process, which delegates the assessment to providers. Fragmentation of procedures across agencies “is wholly unnecessary, inefficient, and drives up costs on broadband providers,” the filing said.
On BEAD, OMB should direct NTIA to “right the ship” by removing requirements from the program that weren’t included by Congress, USTelecom said. NTIA should eliminate National Environmental Policy Act requirements, restrict states from imposing wage and affordability requirements on BEAD projects, and eliminate mandated rates for low-cost broadband.