DIGITAL Applications Act
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The bill would require the Interior Department and the Forest Service to each build an online portal within a year for accepting and processing Form 299 applications — the paperwork companies file to place communications equipment like cell towers on public or national forest land.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (acting through the Forest Service) to each establish, within one year of enactment, an online portal for accepting, processing, and disposing of Form 299 applications — the standard federal form used to request easements, rights-of-way, leases, licenses, or other authorizations to place or modify communications facilities, such as cell towers or antennas, on public lands or National Forest System land.
Once a portal is established, the responsible agency would have three business days to notify the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, who would then post a link to that portal on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's website. The bill does not change the substantive standards agencies use to approve or deny communications use applications; it only requires that the application process move online.
Key provisions
- 1Would require the Interior Department and Forest Service to each establish an online portal for Form 299 communications use applications within one year of enactment
- 2Would require the responsible agency to notify the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information within three business days of establishing its portal
- 3Would require the Assistant Secretary to publish a link to each established portal on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's website
Who would be affected
Telecommunications and wireless companies seeking to install or modify communications equipment on federal public lands or national forests, along with the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which would build and link the new online portals.
Why it matters
Companies currently filing Form 299 applications on paper or through inconsistent processes could gain a standardized, faster online filing system, potentially speeding up deployment of cell towers and other infrastructure on federal land. The change is procedural rather than a shift in who qualifies for authorizations or under what terms.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455) (Sec. 2(c))
References the existing Form 299 and communications facility definitions established under this Act to define terms used in the new portal requirement
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Deadline for Interior and the Forest Service to each establish their online application portal
- Deadline for an agency to notify the Assistant Secretary after establishing its portal
Funding and costs
How implementation would work
Within one year of enactment, the Interior Department and the Forest Service must each build and launch an online portal for submitting, processing, and resolving Form 299 communications use applications. Once a portal goes live, the responsible agency has three business days to notify the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. The Assistant Secretary must then post a link to each portal on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's website, giving applicants a central place to find both agencies' online filing systems.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill requires the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service to each establish an online portal for accepting, processing, and disposal 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.
Interior and the Forest Service must also notify the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) within three business days of establishing their respective portals, and once the portals are established, the NTIA must link to them from its website.
Legislative subjects
Government buildings, facilities, and property; Government information and archives; Internet, web applications, social media; Land use and conservation; Science, Technology, Communications; Telephone and wireless communication
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-487,Part 1