NTCA Executive Vice President Mike Romano today testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands on H.R. 3283, the Facilitating the Deployment of Infrastructure with Greater Internet Transactions and Legacy (DIGITAL) Applications Act and H.R. 3299, the Deploying Infrastructure with Greater Internet Transactions and Legacy (DIGITAL) Applications Act.
H.R. 3283 would require the Department of Commerce to report to Congress on the progress by the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture in creating an online portal for submission of Forms 299, which are used to apply for a right-of-way, permit, license, lease, or certificate on federal lands. H.R. 3299 would then mandate the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture to create the online portals within one year.
In the hearing, Romano testified that advancing these bipartisan bills would help improve the effectiveness of Form 299 and make it easier for providers and property-managing agencies alike to process broadband deployment applications, ultimately expediting such broadband deployments.
Citing several examples of NTCA member permitting issues, he also highlighted the need to ensure any improvements to permitting processes will apply with equal force to wireline and wireless deployments alike, raised concerns about the time and expense involved in obtaining permission to upgrade networks in previously disturbed rights of way and under railroad crossings and noted the importance of sufficient staffing and training within agencies to process applications in a timely manner.