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Wireless providers back extending Vermont’s 2‑48a siting sunset, urge longer window for investment predictability
Summary
CTIA, AT&T and Verizon told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure committee that Vermont’s section 2‑48a helps speed wireless siting and protects municipal input; they urged extending or removing the statute’s sunset to give carriers predictable timelines for costly network investments while lawmakers pressed for better public participation safeguards.
The House Energy and Digital Infrastructure committee on Wednesday heard unified support from wireless industry representatives for H.527, a bill that would extend by three years the sunset on Vermont’s section 2‑48a wireless siting process.
Jeremy Crandall, testifying for CTIA, told the committee the siting process for a new or upgraded wireless site is “technical, complicated, [and] expensive,” and said the average timeline from initial idea to activation is roughly two years. “It is important for us that this process and ultimately deployment be both effective and successful,” Crandall said, urging the committee to preserve the statute’s predictability for carriers and the municipalities that review projects.
Why this matters: Carriers told lawmakers that predictable permitting windows help them plan multiyear capital investments to expand coverage, maintain service for first responders and meet rapidly growing consumer data demand.
Ryan Clark…
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