FCC seeks information about wireless service provider's disaster prepardness
The same FCC which keeps outage reports secret from the public (and congress?), is seeking information about wireless service provider's safety measures during disasters. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-21-362A1.pdf How have mobile wireless service providers addressed and improved network reliability in the face of natural disasters? Overall, what resiliency measures are most effective? How can these measures be improved? How have customers responded to new measures? We specifically seek comment on steps wireless mobile providers have taken to ensure network resiliency, including but not limited to: back up power in areas prone to planned power outages to mitigate wildfires; pre-storm staging processes; roaming agreements that can be activated quickly following a natural disaster; effective coordination with power companies, municipalities, and backhaul providers; diversification of backhaul options in disaster prone areas; availability of deployable network assets; network infrastructure sharing among operators during natural disasters; and communicating disaster-related information with customers, particularly members of vulnerable populations, including individuals who are low-income, members of the disabilities community, or non-English speaking. Are there successful network resiliency policy measures for fixed networks that have been applied to wireless networks, especially given that much of the backhaul for wireline providers is the same as wireless providers? We also seek comment on cost and benefit issues associated with implementing measures to maintain and improve resiliency of mobile wireless networks.
participants (1)
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Sean Donelan