Your Cell Signal May Be Stuck in Paperwork. The FCC Is Asking the Right Questions About Tower Reviews
An FCC proposal published Oct. 19 asks whether towers tied to spectrum licenses should trigger federal historic-preservation review, and how to batch filings and set clearer tribal timelines. In our view, speed up the easy fixes and keep any changes forward-looking.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | October 20, 2026 | 6-min read If your cell signal drops every time you drive past the county line, part of the reason may be paperwork. Before a new tower goes up, companies often wade through federal historic-preservation and environmental reviews that can stretch for months. On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission published a proposal asking how far those reviews should reach, and how to make them faster and more predictable [1]. In our view, the FCC is asking exactly the right questions, and it should answer them without trampling the legitimate concerns of tribes and historic communities. Key Takeaways The FCC's further notice, published Oct. 19, seeks comment on its National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) framework "to further expedite, simplify, and reduce the costs of environmental review" [1]. It follows a Sept. 30 order in which the FCC determined that its spectrum licenses, and facilities deployment connected with them, are not subject to NEPA review [1]. The FCC asks whether building communications facilities tied to a spectrum license should count