AWC is seeking city input to push back against Federal Communications Commission (FCC) efforts in two telecommunications preemption proceedings that could significantly impact cities’ ability to control public rights of way.

On December 1, the FCC published in the Federal Register its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to limit local authority over the buildout of wireless infrastructure, setting a December 31 deadline for initial comments and a January 15 deadline for replies. The agency claims that preempting local authority is needed to correct what it characterizes as overreaching and delay tactics by local governments.

AWC, as part of a coalition of cities in Washington and Colorado, is seeking cities’ help in identifying both positive and negative examples of your experiences with wireless broadband deployment in your communities.

Specifically, the coalition wants to give the FCC specific examples of:

• Permitting processes for wireless broadband facilities that cities have been able to implement efficiently and effectively;
• Delays in broadband deployment that were caused by telecommunications providers or their contractors, including instances where a company approached the city about deployment but then failed to move forward for weeks or months;
• Accidents, damage, or related problems caused by work done by a telecommunications provider or its contractors as well as any specific city permitting and review processes that help minimize or repair such damage; and
• Any other risks to public safety that can occur to public or private property if the federal government takes away local control.

Integrating these examples into the response to the NPRM that coalition attorneys are currently drafting will take time, so please submit any feedback that your city can offer related to wireless permitting and deployment to AWC by Friday, December 19.

Separately, AWC and the coalition have collected similar examples from cities in response to a related notice of inquiry (NOI) into wireline infrastructure. Industry groups, in their initial comments on the NOI, alleged that local governments across the country caused unreasonable delays in broadband deployment and charged excessive fees. The coalition plans to use the wireline examples it has collected to rebut those allegations in reply comments that it will submit this week ahead of an extended December 18 deadline.

Federal telecommunications preemption efforts return – Find out how to engage

November 19, 2025

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Congress are considering proposals on telecommunications preemption that have implications for local governments’ authority to regulate infrastructure.

As part of Chair Brendan Carr’s Build America Agenda, the FCC has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to accelerate buildout of wireless infrastructure—including cell phone towers—by further limiting local authority over such infrastructure and expediting the resolution of permitting disputes.

The FCC is also seeking to accelerate buildout of wireline infrastructure through a notice of inquiry (NOI) requesting examples of local policies, fees, and practices that have a prohibitive effect on wireline broadband deployment. The NOI further seeks feedback on possible preemptive measures the FCC could take, asks whether state or local regulation of AI violates federal law, and similarly proposes limiting local authority.

The NPRM and NOI frame local governments as a key barrier to broadband deployment and a challenge that must be addressed before work begins on Broad Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD)-funded projects next year. The National League of Cities (NLC) says that both go well beyond preemptions the FCC imposed in 2018 and 2019.

Comments on the NOI were due on November 17; however, reply comments are due on December 17. AWC recommends that cities review comments filed on the FCC’s docket to determine whether comments inaccurately characterize local policies, fees, or practices, and to file a reply to clarify or correct the record. We also ask that cities notify AWC if you submit reply comments.

A 30-day comment period on the NPRM will begin once it is published in the Federal Register, which was delayed pending the reopening of the federal government and has yet to be published. After the 30-day comment period, the NPRM provides just 15 days to reply to comments.

NLC is actively tracking and submitting comments in both proceedings. AWC has joined a coalition with cities in Washington and Colorado to file comments as well.

In a separate move, this week the House Energy and Commerce Communications & Technology Subcommittee marked up 28 bills streamlining broadband permitting, combining 21 of them into a single package. The bills now go before the full committee. NLC encourages cities to oppose preemptive measures and support grant incentives and federal permitting reform.