STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER JESSICA ROSENWORCEL,
CONCURRING
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
For too long, towers built during the Twilight Period have been caught in a regulatory quagmire.  
During this four-year period—from 2001 to 2005—both the Commission and the Advisory Council on 
Historic Preservation were adjusting their rules to accommodate the need to facilitate the nationwide 
building of wireless infrastructure.  But before any new policies were put in place, towers were put in the 
ground and ever since these facilities have been stuck in regulatory limbo.  Today’s proposal seeks to 
bring an end to this ambiguity and make these towers available for collocation without sacrificing the 
ability to entertain meaningful objections or engage in tower-specific mitigation.  This approach can 
benefit the First Responder Network Authority and other broadband providers seeking to swiftly deploy 
new infrastructure.  It also can further historic preservation goals by limiting the need for additional 
towers.  
But we still have a long way to go to honor our federal trust responsibility to Tribal communities 
impacted by towers constructed during the Twilight Period.  I concur today because I believe that our 
effort here is well-intended but falls short of what is required.  If we proceed with this draft proposal we 
need to simultaneously update the Commission Statement of Policy on establishing a government-to-
government relationship between the agency and federally-recognized Tribes.  This document has not 
been revisited since it was adopted more than a decade and a half ago.  It is time to take on this task and 
do it in conjunction with resolving these longstanding issues of tower construction.  In doing so, we can 
set a clear and updated course for Commission policy while also giving substance to Tribal self-
determination.  And that, I believe, is worth the effort.