Pai, Clyburn to Inspect Florida Irma Damage on Monday

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn plan to travel to Florida on Monday to see first-hand, the damage caused by Hurricane Irma. They’ll meet with those engaged in recovery operations, and receive updates about the ongoing efforts to restore communications services.


“Hurricane Irma has had a serious impact on communications networks in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands,” said Pai. “The FCC is committed to supporting recovery efforts, and I am grateful for the work that first responders, emergency personnel, and state and local partners are doing to restore service in affected areas. I’m pleased that Commissioner Clyburn is joining me to get a firsthand look at the damage caused by Irma and meet with those engaged in recovery efforts.”
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Pai: Wireless Connectivity Was Literally A Lifeline For Many

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai praised the efforts of the wireless communications industry in the wake of back-to-back hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Speaking to attendees of the Mobile World Congress Americas 2017 on Tuesday, Pai said the FCC, along with other federal agencies like the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as state and local agencies, monitor communications. He thanked all the agencies’ “incredible staffers on the ground.”



“It will be a long time before we’ll be able to calculate the total amount of damage inflicted by Harvey and Irma. But we already know one thing: it would have been a lot worse if it weren’t for wireless communications,” said Pai. Continue Reading

Severe Storms Highlight Senate Legislation to Aid Carriers

As Hurricane Irma leaves the battered Southeastern coast, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is taking the opportunity to stress the importance of a bill currently up for debate in the U.S. Senate. According to the New York Daily News, H.R. 588 will require cell phones to work on all carriers’ networks in the event of natural disasters. Originally presented by Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) in January, the Securing Access to Networks in Disasters Act already passed the House of Representatives. Although it places more requirements on carriers, the bill will also provide telecommunications companies with emergency access to repairs reserved for utilities, says NJ.com. Continue Reading

Repack, FirstNet All Part of Tower Climber’s ‘Perfect Storm’

Tower companies are facing a climber crunch, a factor to consider as television stations face the upcoming channel repack. The television tall tower work, combined with densification of carrier networks, tower work for FirstNet and upcoming FAA tower marking mandates are all happening at the same time, according to National Association of Tower Erectors Chairman Jim Tracy.

“This is creating the perfect storm for tower companies,” he told lawmakers at the House Commerce Communications Subcommittee on Thursday. During a hearing on the repack, Tracy said NATE has contacted OSHA, the FAA, the FCC and other federal agencies to discuss safety and bring more climbers into the industry. “At present, there are not enough qualified workers to do all this work,” and the demands will be exacerbated by the repack, he testified. Continue Reading

Irma Eyes Florida

On Monday, Governor Scott issued Executive Order 17-235 declaring a state of emergency in all 67 counties within the State of Florida. Yesterday Governor Scott requested that President Donald Trump declare a pre-landfall emergency for the State of Florida in preparation for Hurricane Irma to provide important preparation resources and assistance from the federal government. The State Emergency Operations Center has been activated to level one, which is a full-scale, 24-hours-a-day activation.

Emergency Support Functions by State Emergency Response Team

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

• The state has contacted telecommunications partners to activate protective action plans and procedures for Central Offices, tower sites, mobile response units and any other critical infrastructure.
• Telecommunications Partners are monitoring fuel levels for generators and back-up power supply.
• The state is drafting 24-hour staffing schedules and all Telecommunications remain on standby to respond if required.
• At this point, no out of ordinary reports of any major outages.

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CTIA, T-Mobile Urge FCC to Keep WEA ‘Blue Alert’ Simple

CTIA-the Wireless Association and T-Mobile have weighed in on the FCC’s proposal to add a Blue Alert code to Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and the broadcast Emergency Alert System (EAS). Blue Alerts, meant to signal a police officer is in danger, can be transmitted to cell phones and wireless devices, broadcast stations, overhead highway message signs, and other secondary alerting mechanisms – in the same way Amber Alerts are issued.

The FCC proposes calling the new event code “BLU” and classifying it as either an Imminent Threat Alert or a Public Safety Message, depending on the circumstances. CTIA and T-Mobile tell the agency in filed comments, Blue Alerts could be incorporated into the existing WEA as an imminent threat without any new standards or system modifications. “This approach would allow the integration of a dedicated ‘BLU’ code within an existing alert class, without the delay that would result from new testing requirements and network/handset modifications,” says CTIA. “Notably, integration as an Imminent Threat alert would allow a seamless delivery of Blue Alerts to all WEA-capable mobile devices, including legacy devices.” Continue Reading

Local Telecoms Working 24/7 on Harvey Restoration Efforts

Several USTelecom members have operations in and around the areas that have been impacted by Harvey, and their employees are working 24/7 in emergency operations centers to keep networks up and running, as well as restore service in areas around Houston that have been flooded. While Inside Towers has been keeping readers up-to-date with the restoration efforts of the larger carriers, USTelecom shines a light on what some of its other members are doing in a blog post.

Consolidated Communications activated its Emergency Operations Center, equipping its fleet with extra fuel, ensuring backup generators are working and placing extra emergency supplies in key areas, so employees can focus on keeping the network operational.   

Orlando-based Smart City Telecom, which provides internet services in convention centers, amusement parks and hotels, flew staff to Texas to help relieve local employees and keep its WiFi and voice networks operational for storm victims who’ve taken refuge at the George R. Brown Convention Center and NRG Stadium in Houston. Continue Reading