The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sought public comment on a proposed action which would streamline new antenna deployments on thousands of towers currently caught in a “regulatory quagmire” related to the historic review process.

Specifically, the FCC’s proposed action targets so-called twilight towers, those built between 16 March 2001 and 7 March 7 2005, which either did not complete a historic review or have no documentation from such a review. If adopted, the action would exclude these towers from the required historic preservation review, treating them the same as older towers already exempt from the process.

Commissioner Michael O’Rielly noted there are approximately 4,300 twilight towers across the US which could potentially hold an additional 6,500 antennas.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai added freeing up this infrastructure for co-location without a “costly” review process would make it easier for mobile providers to expand their wireless coverage without the need for new construction: “The more rapidly we enable additional use of this infrastructure, the sooner consumers everywhere can benefit from next-generation wireless services.”

Pai said he hopes the FCC will wrap up the proceeding by the middle of 2018.