June 3, 2026: FCC Chairman Brendan Carr proposed new rules as part of his “Build America Agenda,” to eliminate local authority “that constrain the deployment of modern, high-speed wireline infrastructure” The FCC press release states their proposal “aims to cut red tape and excessive fees” referring to local government process as “an onerous process” that “wastes federal resources.” 

“What is this really about? It is about AI and data centers. Local government oversight is being dismantled to accelerate the deployment of the fiber optic infrastructure needed to support artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and future 6G networks,” stated Theodora Scarato, Director of the Wireless and EMF Program at  Environmental Health Sciences, an environmental health scientific non-profit. 

She states this connection was made explicit in a letter sent by major U.S. telecom and wireless associations supporting Congressional bill H.R. 2289, which would strip local and state government authority for both cell towers, wireless and wireline projects. The letter states that the bill’s measures were ‘urgent because it directly supports America’s position in the global AI race,’ framing the deregulation and infrastructure acceleration as a matter of geopolitical competition with China. 

CTIA, the leading lobbying association for the U.S. wireless telecommunications sector, just released a report and hosted a conference entitled ‘AI and Wireless’ where top telecom executives and policymakers emphasized that AI growth and data centers depend on unprecedented increases in cell towers, wireless network and fiber infrastructure. 

“Chairman Carr continues to act recklessly, ignoring the American people.  Congress was unable to pass H.R. 2289, despite Republican control of the House and strong support from the telecommunications industry. Yet now the FCC, with only three sitting commissioners, is pushing the agenda through regulation. That should concern every American who values democracy.”

“While Americans are rising up and fighting data centers in local communities nationwide, federal proposals quietly advancing in Washington that would clear the path for an unprecedented buildout of AI infrastructure. The fiber networks, power lines, substations, wireless facilities, and data centers needed to support artificial intelligence and future 6G networks are being fast-tracked, while local authority and public oversight are systematically being stripped away.”

See the FCC graphic shared by the agency on LinkedIn.

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According to the FCC press release, the FCC Notice would seek comment on codifying rules that would:

• Give state and local governments only 120 days to review wireline telecommunications applications, after which delays could be presumed unlawful, creating pressure to approve complex projects before communities have adequate time to evaluate impacts.
• Restrict local governments’ fees to recovering only narrowly defined direct costs and establish FCC “safe harbor” fee limits, likely shifting infrastructure review and oversight costs from industry to taxpayers.
• Count in-kind requirements imposed by local governments toward those fee limits, reducing communities’ ability to negotiate public benefits, infrastructure improvements, or other measures designed to offset project impacts.
• Prohibit local governments from imposing additional requirements on telecommunications infrastructure even when that infrastructure may also support other commercial services, further limiting local oversight and regulatory authority.

Taken together, these FCC proposals would significantly reduce the ability of state and local governments to manage telecommunications infrastructure projects, protect community interests, and ensure that the costs and impacts of deployment are borne by industry rather than local taxpayers.

Stay tuned for more.