The Australian government is currently weighing changes to its powers and immunities granted to telecom companies to enable a swifter rollout of wireless infrastructure, reports zdnet.com.
A lot has changed in the world of telecom since Australia first legislated the immunities and powers of telecom companies—back in 1997. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield summarized the purpose of the proposed changes, which he said include less restrictive zoning rules and laws and the redefinition of certain infrastructure terms that are commonly used during the zoning process.
“The changes seek to clarify the operation of some existing powers and immunities, allow for the deployment of new types of network infrastructure, make changes to some existing facility types, and streamline notification and objection rules,” Fifield told zdnet.com.
The change in law currently being weighed would enable telecom companies to install COWs without local government planning approval and increase the height of tower extensions in commercial, industrial and rural areas without the need for state and territory planning approvals.
It would also increase the height of antenna protrusions that are allowed on facilities from 3m to 5m, and the new law would seek to redefine the term “micro cell” to “radio communications facility” to make it easier for the deployment of such infrastructure. The law also loosens several zoning restrictions.
June 12, 2017
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