CommLawBlog : Broadcast & Communications Lawyers & Attorneys : Fletcher Heald & Hildreth Law Firm : Telecommunications, FCC Regulation, Communications Act

With a nasty nor’easter threatening to dump its load all the way from the Great Lakes to New York and New England, the FCC has started its anticipatory disaster response. A public notice released this afternoon alerts the public that Commission personnel will be available through the weekend, 24/7, to assist communications providers as they deal with the effects of the storm.  Emergency communications providers – a universe that includes broadcasters, cable operators, wireless and wireless providers, and, of course, first responders – should contact that Operations Center if they need help in initiating, resuming, or maintaining communications operations during the weekend. The phone number for the FCC Operations Center is 202-418-1122, and its email address is FCCOPCenter@fcc.gov.

Although the public notice doesn’t mention it, folks in the storm zone might also want to take a look at the FCC’s “advisory tip sheet” on communicating during emergency conditions. The tips, developed by the Commission in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), aren’t what you’d call radical or cutting-edge by any means, but they serve as an excellent reminder that, in emergencies, caution, cool heads and common sense are among the most useful tools available.

Historically, the Commission has also activated its Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) in advance of approaching major storms. Such activation has not yet been announced by the FCC (as of 4:30 p.m. on Friday, February 8), but we won’t be surprised if word comes down before too long that the DIRS is open for business. Check back here for updates.

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Sweeping alert affects communications providers in 150+ counties across 10 states and DC.

As we anticipated, the FCC has activated its Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS), to enable it to monitor damage to broadcast and telecommunications facilities during Hurricane Sandy.  (Note that the activation has occurred even though the FCC itself is shut down because of the storm -- major props to the folks in the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau for stepping up to shoulder this important responsibility.)

The DIRS is a voluntary, web-based system that communications providers – a universe that includes wireless, wireline, broadcast, cable and Voice over Internet Protocol providers – can use to report “communications infrastructure status and situational awareness information during times of crisis.” The FCC is asking that providers submit their reports starting 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 30, 2012, and every day after that by 10:00 a.m. until DIRS is deactivated.

In particular, the Commission wants to know, among other things, the status of communications equipment, restoration efforts, power (i.e., whether providers are using commercial power, generator or battery), and access to fuel, if they provide service to certain affected areas.

What are those areas? Given the enormous size of Sandy, there are a lot of them. Take a deep breath. Here are the areas the FCC has identified:

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 With Frankenstorm Sandy muscling its way up the East Coast and preparing to turn inland in a couple of days (if virtually all the current weather reports are to be believed), the FCC has started its anticipatory disaster response. A public notice released late Friday, October 26, alerts the public to an “advisory tip sheet” on communicating during emergency conditions. The tips, developed by the Commission in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), aren’t what you’d call radical or cutting-edge by any means, but they serve as an excellent reminder that, in emergencies, caution, cool heads and common sense are among the most useful tools available.

And in a separate public notice, the FCC has confirmed that its Operations Center will be open all this weekend, 24-hours-a-day, to address emergency communications needs as they arise. (Presumably the Center will stay open during the coming week as the storm makes landfall, but the notice released Friday addresses only this weekend.) Emergency communications providers – a universe that includes broadcasters, cable operators, wireless and wireless providers, and, of course, first responders – should contact that Operations Center if they need help in initiating, resuming, or maintaining communications operations during the weekend. The phone number for the FCC Operations Center is 202-418-1122, and its email address is FCCOPCenter@fcc.gov. 

Other emergency contacts listed on the FCC’s website include:

Eric Panketh
Acting Division Chief
phone: 202-418-0063
email: Eric.Panketh@fcc.gov

Tim Perrier
Associate Division Chief, Operations and Security
phone: 202-418-1190
mobile: 202-907-4424
email: Timothy.Perrier@fcc.gov

Steve Maguire
Associate Division Chief, Plans and Programs
phone: 202-418-0614
mobile: 202-365-1539
email: Steve.Maguire@fcc.gov

Louis Sigalos
Regional Communications Liasion
phone: 281-492-6288
email: Louis.Sigalos@fcc.gov

Historically, the Commission has also activated its Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) in the face of approaching hurricanes. Such activation has not yet been announced by the FCC (as of 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 27), but we won’t be surprised if word comes down before the weekend is out that the DIRS is open for business. Check back here for updates.

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The FCC has activated its Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) to enable it to monitor damage to broadcast and telecommunications facilities during Hurricane Isaac.  DIRS is a voluntary web-based system that communications providers can use to report communications infrastructure status and situational awareness information during times of crisis. (“Communications providers” include the full range of wireless, wireline, broadcast, and cable providers.)

The Commission is requesting communications providers in the following counties and parishes to log into https://www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster/ to report and update information through DIRS regarding, inter alia, the status of their communications equipment, restoration efforts, power (i.e., whether they are using commercial power, generator or battery), and access to fuel:

Alabama counties: Baldwin and Mobile;

Florida counties: Escambia and Santa Rosa;

Louisiana parishes: Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles, Saint Helena, Saint James, St John the Baptist, Saint Landry, Saint Martin, Saint Mary, Saint Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana; and

Mississippi counties: Adams, Amite, Franklin, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Lincoln, Pearl River, Pike, Walthall and Wilkinson.

(The FCC’s public notice also suggests that reports/updates can be submitted through the e-filing function on either the Commission’s main webpage or the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau’s webpage. From a quick glance at both those pages, however, it’s not clear that the “e-filing function” is immediately obvious – so you will probably find it quicker to log directly into the DIRS site.)

If you lose Internet access, several FCC staff members involved in disaster preparedness have published their office and cellphone numbers:

Jeffery Goldthorp (202) 418-1096 (office), (202) 253-1595 (cell), jeffery.goldthorp@fcc.gov

Julia Tu (202) 321-4399 (cell), julia.tu@fcc.gov

John Healy (215) 847-8094 (cell), john.healy@fcc.gov

Michael Caiafa (202) 418-1311 (office), (202) 277-5690 (cell), michael.caiafa@fcc.gov

David Ahn (202) 418-0853 (office), (571) 232-8487 (cell), david.ahn@fcc.gov

Jane Kelly (202) 418-2832 (office), (202) 503-0398 (cell), jane.kelly@fcc.gov

If you’re in the path of the hurricane but are not in any of the counties/parishes listed above, check the FCC’s home page for further additions to the list of reporting areas. 

Satellite earth station operators needing to operate emergency facilities may apply electronically at http://licensing.fcc.gov/myibfs; or if they cannot access that system, they may apply by letter, e-mail, and even by telephone.  All requests should provide the technical parameters of the proposed operation and a contact point.  Requests not made through myibfs should be re-filed through that system as soon as circumstances permit.

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 The FCC has activated its Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS), to enable it to monitor damage to broadcast and telecommunications facilities during Hurricane Irene. 

 If you are located in the North Carolina counties of Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hyde, Jones, Martin, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell and Washington, or the South Carolina counties of Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Georgetown, Horry and Marion, the FCC asks you to log into https://www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster/ and to provide contact information and report the status of your facilities, including whether you are remaining on the air using emergency power.

If you lose internet access, several FCC staff members involved in disaster preparedness have published their cellphone numbers:

   Jeffery Goldthorp (202) 418-1096, (202) 253-1595 (cell), jeffery.goldthorp@fcc.gov

   Julia Tu (202) 321-4399 (cell), julia.tu@fcc.gov

   John Healy (215) 847-8094 (cell), john.healy@fcc.gov

   Michael Caiafa (202) 418-1311, (202) 277-5690 (cell), michael.caiafa@fcc.gov

   David Ahn (571) 232-8487 (cell), (202) 418-0853, david.ahn@fcc.gov

   Jane Kelly (202) 418-2832, (202) 503-0398 (cell), jane.kelly@fcc.gov

If you are in the path of the hurricane but are not in any of the North or South Carolina counties listed above, check the FCC’s home page, www.fcc.gov, for further additions to the list of reporting areas.  The FCC’s first request for reporting is at:  http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-11-1464A1.doc.

Satellite earth station operators needing to operate emergency facilities may apply electronically at http://licensing.fcc.gov/myibfs; or if they cannot access that system, they may apply by letter, e-mail, and even by telephone.  All requests should provide the technical parameters of the proposed operation and a contact point.  Requests not made through myibfs should be re-filed through that system as soon as possible.  More details are at: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-11-1465A1.doc.

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The FCC’s DIRS wants to hear from you.

As this is being written, we have two hurricanes (Danielle and Earl) already formed, and at least one other storm system heading in that direction (next name up: Fiona) – and it’s still August. All of which means that it’s a good time to remind broadcasters of the FCC’s Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) – and to encourage them to update their contact information with DIRS regularly (if they’ve previously enrolled in the program), or to get with the program and sign up now, if they haven’t already. At last count nearly 800 broadcasters nationwide had enrolled in DIRS, which appears to leave a significant number still standing on the sidelines.

DIRS enables the FCC to keep tabs on which stations are up and running during, and immediately after, a disaster or large-scale emergency. It also enables the Commission to move quickly to help broadcasters get back on-air if they’re knocked off by the emergency conditions. In emergencies and disasters, obviously, it’s in everybody’s interest to have broadcasters up and operating so that they can provide emergency-related information and updates to the public.

If you’re a communications provider (a broad universe that includes broadcasters), you can sign up for the program online here.  You give the Commission some basic contact information, and you get a user ID and user password. When emergencies occur and the FCC activates the system (participants will be advised by email of any activation), you can then use the system to alert the FCC to the status of your operation – and, if you happen to need any help from the FCC, you can let them know that as well. (FEMA and FCC emergency response personnel use DIRS reports to coordinate needed assistance – including such necessities as fuel and generators – in the aftermath of natural disasters.)

Participation in DIRS is purely voluntary. Even if you sign up, you don’t necessarily have to submit reports. But experience (think Katrina, for one unfortunate example) indicates that when disaster strikes, it is at least helpful, if not absolutely crucial, to have a common point for the collection and dissemination of information about what’s going on in the stricken area and its environs. And don’t forget, the DIRS is available for all kinds of emergencies, not just hurricanes.

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An FCC reminder about important emergency contact information

With the Fourth of July fading into the past and Labor Day looming ominously just beyond the horizon, hurricane season is upon us. Lisa Fowlkes, Deputy Chief of the Commission’s Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau, has asked us to pass along to our clients and readers some important FCC contact information in case Mother Nature turns nasty in the coming weeks and months.

The link to the FCC's emergency contacts page, including its 24/7 Operations Center, is http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/about-us/contacts.html.

Also, the Bureau continues to encourage communications service providers – particularly broadcasters – to register with the Commission’s Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) and to participate in DIRS if the system is activated.  The link to the DIRS login page is https://www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster/Login.cfm.  FEMA and FCC emergency response personnel (ESF-2) use DIRS reports to coordinate needed assistance (e.g., fuel, generators, etc) in the aftermath of natural disasters. (“ESF-2” is FEMA-speak for “Emergency Support Function #2” – the governmental system that, among other chores, supports the restoration of the communications infrastructure and coordinates Federal communications support to response efforts during incidents requiring a coordinated Federal response.)

Thanks for the reminder, Lisa. We all hope that none of us will need to call on the guv’mint to “restore communications infrastructure”, a notion which conjures up images of worst case scenarios.   But the unfortunate truth of the matter is that Big Storms are beyond our control. This is one of those cases where a timely ounce of prevention is clearly worth a pound of cure.

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