FCC Agenda Targets November to Finalize Wireless Siting Rules
The agency’s 2026 regulatory agenda points to upcoming action on permitting, spectrum and legacy telecom rules.
WASHINGTON, August 17, 2026 – The Federal Communications Commission is targeting Nov. 2 for new rules that would streamline local review of certain wireless infrastructure modifications.
Watch the online course preview!
The effective deadline was among planned regulatory actions detailed in the agency’s 2026 unified agenda. The FCC said the actions described in the agenda released Friday are those “currently planned” for the next 12 months and are subject to revision.
The agenda offers a window into the FCC’s planned regulatory and deregulatory actions, including rules that could have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Under a 1993 executive order, agencies are required to identify regulations they expect to develop or review over the coming year. The order expanded the 1980 Regulatory Flexibility Act, which requires agencies to identify rules that could have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Wireless siting rules set for November effective date
The FCC’s rulemaking regarding eliminating barriers to wireless deployment, is one of the agency’s major pending actions in the latter half of 2026.
The FCC’s regulatory flexibility analysis identifies businesses and governmental jurisdictions as small entities affected by the proceeding.
The unified agenda projects Nov. 2 as the effective date for final action in the proceeding, and notes the agency’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau is in the final rulemaking stage.
The agency’s proceeding, initiated in September 2025, examines whether existing 60, 90, and 150-day shot clocks set for wireless siting in the FCC’s 2018 Small Cell Order were working as intended, whether to tighten them, and whether to apply to larger wireless facilities, including macro cell towers.
The proposal contemplates allowing a locality 30 days to tell an applicant that an application is incomplete. Likewise, if the locality says required documents are missing, the FCC is considering a 30-day framework for that response.
If a locality fails to act within the applicable shot clock, the application could potentially be deemed approved.
The proposal drew quick opposition with municipalities, counties, and state associations forming the bulk of the opposition.
The proposal was published in the Federal Register in December. The comment period closed in January, leaving the commission to consider final rules.
FCC projects September action on prison contraband jamming
The FCC is also projecting a Sept. 30 effective date for final action on a proposal that could allow state and local correctional facilities to deploy radio-frequency jamming systems to combat contraband cellphones.
In September 2025, the FCC proposed a framework that would allow non-federal correctional facilities to use RF jamming solutions to prevent contraband wireless devices from connecting to commercial networks.
The FCC’s regulatory flexibility analysis identifies businesses as small entities affected by the proceeding.
The proposal has raised concerns about interference with legitimate wireless communications, particularly because some local jails are located near courthouses, government buildings and residential areas.
The proposal was published in the Federal Register in November, the comment period closed in January.
Upper C-band order already adopted
The FCC’s agenda also lists Nov. 23, as the effective date for its Upper C-band rules. The commission just adopted a final order on the matter on July 22.
The FCC order will make 160 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.98-4.14 GigaHertz portion of the Upper C-band available for terrestrial wireless use in the contiguous United States.
The commission plans to auction the spectrum in eight 20-megahertz blocks, with the auction tentatively scheduled to begin April 27, 2027.
The FCC’s regulatory flexibility analysis says the rule is likely to have international trade or investment effects, or otherwise be of international interest. The agency has not determined which levels of government would be affected.
The FCC’s agenda also identifies several broader telecommunications proceedings in the proposed rule stage.
Those include the FCC’s effort to reform legacy rules for an all-IP future and accelerate network modernization, along with a companion effort addressing high-cost legacy program reforms. The agency is also considering rules to promote the development of positioning, navigation and timing technologies and solutions.
