STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER BRENDAN CARR Re: Comment Sought on Draft Program Comment for the Federal Communications Commission’s Review of Collocations on Certain Towers Constructed without Documentation of Section 106 Review, Accelerating Wireless Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment, WT Docket No. 17-79 Today, we take another significant step in our ongoing effort to streamline and accelerate the deployment of wireless infrastructure. Specifically, we propose a plan to resolve the longstanding issue of Twilight Towers. These are towers that were built 12-16 years ago that did not necessarily undergo review pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act because the FCC had yet to provide clear guidance on compliance with that provision. The approach we adopt today would culminate in the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation adopting a document known as a “Program Comment” that would exclude collocations of communications equipment on Twilight Towers from routine historic preservation review. This action could open up thousands of towers for the deployment of new wireless facilities. As such, these towers would be treated similarly to older towers that are already excluded from historic preservation review. In today’s Public Notice, we also make clear that the agency will not take enforcement action against Twilight Towers that were constructed in good faith. This clarification further removes the regulatory uncertainty that has hung over these deployments for far too long. I am grateful for the engagement we have seen on this issue. In response to public input, we make clear in the Draft Program Comment that where a proposed collocation on a Twilight Tower is not excluded from historic preservation review, such review will be limited to the collocation and not the underlying tower. We also clarify the standard under which the FCC will treat a request for direct government-to-government consultation by a Tribal Nation as a complaint against a proposed collocation. These clarifications will provide stakeholders with additional regulatory certainty, and I thank my colleagues for their willingness to incorporate these changes into the Draft Program Comment. For more than a decade, the FCC and a broad range of stakeholders have debated the best approach for resolving the regulatory status of Twilight Towers. So I am glad that this Commission is moving forward with a concrete solution that can open up these structures for additional wireless deployments. Doing so will help bring advanced wireless offerings to even more Americans. I thank the staff of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau for their hard work on this item and for their broader efforts to streamline the deployment of wireless infrastructure. I look forward to continuing to make progress on these issues in the months to come.