New SPEED Act Exempts Small Broadband Towers from Major Environmental and Historic Reviews

The “SPEED for Broadband Infrastructure Act of 2025” is straightforward: it aims to accelerate the rollout of wireless and fiber infrastructure by removing the biggest bureaucratic hurdles for smaller projects. Specifically, Section 2 of this bill exempts certain communications facilities—dubbed “Covered Projects”—from the detailed environmental impact statements required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the historical reviews required by the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The goal is to cut the permitting time from years down to months, or even weeks, for specific, limited projects.

The Fast Lane for Fiber and Towers

So, what exactly qualifies as a “Covered Project” that gets to skip the line? The bill lays out clear size limits. For instance, if a company wants to put up a new tower in a public right-of-way (like along a road), it qualifies if it’s no more than 50 feet tall, or 10 feet taller than the tallest structure nearby, whichever is greater. If they’re just expanding an existing site, they can do so by no more than 30 feet in any direction. The bill also covers replacing an old facility with a new one that’s functionally the same, or installing certain small antennas that meet existing FCC size limits. This means the routine upgrades and small-scale infill projects that bring better 5G to your neighborhood or faster fiber past your office can move much quicker than before.

Trading Oversight for Speed: What Gets Skipped?

This is where the trade-off happens. When a project is exempted from NEPA, it skips the comprehensive study of how that construction might affect local air quality, water runoff, wildlife, and natural habitats. Similarly, skipping the NHPA review means the project avoids the process of assessing whether the new tower or trenching might disturb or destroy historic sites, archaeological resources, or culturally significant landscapes. For those who live in areas where connectivity is poor, this speed boost is a huge win. For example, a small business owner relying on slow DSL might see fiber optic service arrive years sooner. However, those layers of review were put in place to protect local environments and history. By removing them, the bill is betting that the environmental risk of these small, defined projects is low enough to justify the regulatory shortcut.

Local Control and the Fine Print

It’s important to note what isn't being thrown out. The bill explicitly states that state and local governments still maintain their authority over zoning and land use. If your local council has rules about where towers can go or how they must look, those rules still apply, provided they don't conflict with existing federal telecom laws. Furthermore, the FCC still has to evaluate radio frequency exposure under NEPA, which is a key safety measure. This means while the big environmental and historic preservation reviews are gone for these small projects, local authorities and federal safety standards remain in play. The bill also applies this streamlining to certain easements on federal property, but only if a similar utility or communications line already exists there, ensuring that brand-new development on federal land still faces the full review process.