Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act
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The bill would require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to submit a plan to Congress for tracking how applications to place communications equipment on federal land are accepted, processed, and resolved.
It targets the paperwork bottleneck around Form 299 permits, which telecom companies use to seek approval for towers and other infrastructure on public lands and national forests, aiming to give applicants more visibility into where their requests stand.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to submit a plan to Congress, within 180 days of enactment, describing how the agency proposes to track the acceptance, processing, and disposal of Form 299 applications for communications use authorizations. These authorizations are easements, rights-of-way, leases, or licenses that let companies place or modify communications facilities, such as cell towers, on public lands managed by agencies like the Bureau of Land Management or on National Forest System land.
The plan would also have to describe how the Assistant Secretary intends to give applicants more transparency about the status of their applications, how the tracking plan could be implemented most quickly, and any barriers the Assistant Secretary identifies to implementing it. The bill itself does not create the tracking system or change the underlying permitting process; it only requires a plan to be delivered to specified congressional committees.
Key provisions
- 1Would require the Assistant Secretary to submit a plan to Congress within 180 days describing how it will track acceptance, processing, and disposal of Form 299 applications
- 2Would require the plan to describe how applicants would get additional transparency on their application's status
- 3Would require the plan to address the most expeditious way to implement the tracking system and any barriers to doing so
- 4Defines key terms including communications use authorization, covered land, Form 299, and public lands for purposes of the plan requirement
Who would be affected
The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, along with the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and Forest Service, which oversee the land involved. Telecommunications companies and other applicants seeking to place communications facilities on public or national forest land would also be affected.
Why it matters
Broadband and wireless providers often cite delays in federal land-use permitting as a barrier to expanding infrastructure. A tracking and transparency plan could help applicants know where their requests stand and could surface bureaucratic bottlenecks, though the bill only requires a plan, not any actual process changes.
What would change
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Deadline for the Assistant Secretary to submit the tracking plan to Congress
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates H.R. 1343 would have no significant effect on the federal deficit, with zero impact on direct spending or revenues over the 2026–2036 period.
CBO estimates that H.R. 1343 would have no effect on direct (mandatory) spending or revenues, resulting in no change to the deficit over the 2026–2036 scoring window. The bill would require the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to submit a report to Congress — within 180 days of enactment — on how it plans to track requests to place and operate communications facilities on federal land; CBO estimates the cost of producing that report would be less than $500,000 and would be subject to the availability of appropriated (discretionary) funds. CBO found no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates in the bill.
How implementation would work
Within 180 days of enactment, the Assistant Secretary must deliver a plan to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. The plan must describe the tracking process for Form 299 applications, how applicants would get status transparency, the fastest path to implementation, and any barriers identified. The bill does not mandate that the plan be adopted or set further deadlines beyond the initial submission, leaving actual implementation to future agency or congressional action.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to submit a plan to Congress for tracking the acceptance, processing, and disposition of applications for communications use authorizations. (These are requests for easements, rights-of-way, leases, licenses, or other authorizations to locate or modify a transmitting device, support structure, or other communications facility on public lands or National Forest System land.)
Legislative subjects
Congressional oversight; Government buildings, facilities, and property; Government information and archives; Infrastructure development; Internet, web applications, social media; Science, Technology, Communications
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-485