Before any construction begins, federal environmental and historic preservation reviews can add an average of $15,500 per wireless site, according to the NERA study—costs that are incurred long before a shovel hits the ground and that, when multiplied across thousands of projects, slow deployment, strain budgets, and ultimately reduce the volume of work reaching the field.
Longstanding federal environmental and historic preservation review requirements are imposing billions of dollars in avoidable costs and delays on wireless infrastructure deployment, according to a new study by NERA Economic Consulting, with the downstream impact falling heavily on tower owners, carriers, and contractors tasked with building and maintaining the nation’s networks.
The study, commissioned by CTIA, finds that the Federal Communications Commission’s application of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) has failed to keep pace with modern wireless construction practices. As a result, routine deployments are frequently delayed and made more expensive, constraining the volume of projects that ultimately reach the field.
$15,500 Per Site—Before a Shovel Hits the Ground
NERA’s analysis shows that simply navigating the federal permitting process now costs an average of $15,500 per wireless site when an environmental assessment is required, with those costs increasing year over year. For tower owners such as American Tower, Crown Castle, and SBA Communications, as well as carriers including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, those per-site costs are incurred repeatedly across thousands of macro sites, amendments, and network upgrades.
Absent reform, the study estimates that wireless providers will face more than $2.2 billion in NEPA and NHPA compliance costs over the next decade, resulting in over $4 billion in reduced output and consumer welfare losses. For contractors, fewer approved sites and slower project flow translate directly into idle crews, compressed schedules, and intensified pricing pressure.
Six-Month Delays Ripple Through the Construction Chain
Beyond direct costs, NERA found that federal permitting requirements delay wireless installations by nearly six months per site on average. Those delays, the study estimates, impose $1.3 billion in downstream consumer harm and disrupt construction sequencing and workforce planning.
For contractors, permitting delays often mean remobilizations, extended equipment rentals, lost crew availability, and difficulty aligning work across multiple sites—costs that are rarely recoverable under fixed-price or matrix-based contracts.
U.S. Deployment Slowed as Global Competitors Move Faster
NERA also warned that the U.S. permitting environment is undermining global competitiveness. Industry estimates cited in the report indicate that Chinese state-owned enterprises can construct traditional cell towers up to 18 times faster than U.S. providers, in part because they do not face comparable environmental and historic preservation hurdles.
The study concludes that the FCC’s current framework “has not kept pace with the rapid technological advancements in the telecommunications sector,” particularly as 5G densification and next-generation deployments rely on faster, more frequent construction cycles.
FCC Reform Could Unlock More Work—If It Reaches the Field
The Federal Communications Commission has launched a proceeding to modernize its NEPA and NHPA rules, aligning them with recent bipartisan congressional updates and broader Administration efforts to streamline federal permitting. CTIA argues that those reforms—especially if paired with FCC actions to simplify state and local siting rules—could unlock billions in savings and accelerate deployment.
“We need to be able to build infrastructure in this country,” said Ajit Pai, President and CEO of CTIA. “Modernizing outdated environmental and historic preservation processes will save consumers billions and ensure that America remains a leader in wireless.”
For contractors, the stakes are more immediate: streamlined federal reviews could mean more sites approved, shorter timelines, fewer stop-and-start projects, and a steadier pipeline of build-and-maintenance work. Without reform, NERA’s findings suggest that permitting costs and delays will continue to limit project volume—regardless of demand for new networks.
