Representative Gabe Evans announced on April 21 that his bipartisan Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act passed the House with near unanimous support. The bill is designed to streamline federal permitting and speed up the deployment of high-speed internet infrastructure on federally managed lands.
The legislation aims to address delays in broadband expansion, particularly in states like Colorado where large areas are federally managed. These delays have left many rural communities without reliable internet access.
“Far too often, overburdensome federal regulations delay critical infrastructure projects—leaving rural communities behind. The Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act cuts through that red tape, speeds up approvals on federal lands, and helps ensure families and small businesses can access reliable, high-speed internet. I am proud to lead on this commonsense, bipartisan permitting reform legislation, and am thrilled to deliver this win for rural communities across Colorado and the country,” Congressman Gabe Evans said.
The act establishes an interagency strike force made up of key federal land management agencies such as the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This group will coordinate efforts to prioritize broadband permitting requests, set clear review timelines, improve coordination across offices overseeing public lands, monitor agency performance, and hold agencies accountable for meeting deadlines.
By focusing on speeding up approvals for communications use authorizations—including easements, leases, and rights-of-way needed for building towers or fiber lines—the bill seeks to expand high-speed internet access more quickly in rural and underserved areas. It also requires agencies to report progress directly to Congress.
Broader implications include helping close the digital divide by ensuring faster deployment of reliable internet services in regions that have historically faced barriers due to lengthy approval processes.
