COUNCIL-BACKED 21ST CENTURY INFRASTRUCTURE BILL HEADS TO THE GOVERNOR’S DESK
This week (Aug. 28), both the Senate and the Assembly overwhelmingly passed AB 57 authored by Assemblymember Bill Quirk. This bill provides that a collocation or siting application for a wireless telecommunications facility is deemed approved if a city or county fails to approve or disapprove the application within the timeframe established by the Federal Communications Commission. This past April, the Bay Area Council Economic Institute completed the study — 21st Century Infrastructure: Keeping California Connected, Powered and Competitive — which outlined the vital role advanced energy and communications infrastructure will play in California’s future economy.
The study found that increasing reliance on advanced wireless services is creating a “data-tsunami” for which California’s existing communications infrastructure is ill prepared. To accommodate this soaring demand for wireless coverage, capacity and bandwidth, new and upgraded wireless infrastructure is desperately needed. By enforcing the FCC timeline requirements for wireless infrastructure, AB 57 encourages the deployment of advanced telecommunications infrastructure that will spur California’s economic development and bolster public safety.
Read a Letter to the Editor in the San Francisco Chronicle by Policy Director Adrian Covert >>
