The new rules also eliminate the need to submit environmental assessments just because a would-be facility will sit in a floodplain, so long as "certain conditions" are met. FCC officials now have timeframes to act on those environmental assessments, however.

All three Republicans on the commission approved the new rules, while both Democrats voted against it.

The order is likely to please American telecoms racing to launch their 5G networks as quickly as possible and score those all-important bragging rights. It won't have many fans among the eco-conscious, mind you. While large cell sites still have to go through federal review, this reduces the amount of scrutiny over the impact of smaller sites. If regional regulations are relatively light, this could lead to environmental harm.