Sponsors (4)
The bill streamlines and clarifies how parties apply to install communications facilities on public lands—potentially speeding deployment and improving service—while raising equity concerns for digitally underserved people, fiscal costs, and environmental risks to public lands.
Broad public — Residents and businesses could see improved broadband and wireless availability because the bill makes it easier to deploy or modify communications infrastructure on public and National Forest lands.
Applicants and telecom providers — People and companies filing Form 299 can submit and track requests online via dedicated portals and find those portals faster because NTIA will publish direct links, increasing accessibility and transparency of the application process.
Applicants and permitting authorities — Standardized definitions clarify what counts as a communications facility and what land is covered, reducing ambiguity and (potentially) speed disputes and processing.
Recreationists, conservationists, and nearby communities — Making it easier to apply (and publishing central links) may encourage more infrastructure applications on public lands, increasing risks to recreation, wildlife habitat, and conservation values.
Rural residents, low-income people, and older adults — Reliance on online portals could disadvantage applicants or stakeholders with limited internet access or technical skills, creating an accessibility/equity gap.
Local communities and applicants — Creating an online portal and publishing links does not itself guarantee faster approvals or more rigorous environmental review, so wait times and local impacts may remain unchanged.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture to create public online portals within one year to accept, process, and dispose of Form 299 applications for placing or modifying communications facilities on public lands and National Forest System lands. Each department must notify the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information within three business days after its portal goes live, and the Assistant Secretary must post links to those portals on the NTIA website.
Introduced February 27, 2025 by Kat Cammack · Last progress March 17, 2026