USTelecom Urges Departments of Interior, Agriculture to Accelerate Broadband Deployment on Federal Lands

USTelecom President and CEO Jonathan Spalter urged Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to implement recent White House guidance to federal agencies that would expedite broadband permitting on federal lands and help connect more Americans to fast, reliable internet service. In letters to both Secretaries (here and here), Spalter commended the Departments for their leadership in supporting infrastructure deployment while emphasizing the need to further streamline permitting through expanded use of categorical exclusions (CEs) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The recent guidance from the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) presses agencies to broaden the use of these exclusions for projects with minimal environmental impact and to adopt exclusions already established by other federal agencies. USTelecom specifically urges:

• Greater adoption and standardization of categorical exclusions across Interior and Agriculture agencies and bureaus
• Alignment with Department of Commerce and NTIA exclusions, particularly for routine broadband activities
• Expedited approvals for projects in existing rights-of-way, equipment upgrades, and small-footprint infrastructure
• These steps would reduce duplication, improve coordination across agencies, and allow broadband projects to move forward more quickly.