The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Huricane Katrina and other man-made and natural disasters often reveal flaws in emergency communications systems. Here we attempt to chart the effects of disasters on our telecommunications and media communications systems -- and efforts by policymakers to stregthen these systems.
Emergency Communications
FCC Commissioner Starks Visits Puerto Rico to Learn About Making Communications More Resilient
The weekend of Feb 21, Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks visited Puerto Rico, where he convened a field hearing on communications resiliency and visited mountain areas to learn about the challenges of deploying resilient infrastructure in Puerto Rico’s rural areas.
Remarks of Commissioner Starks at Field Hearing on Resilient Networks
As our communications networks have expanded, we sometimes take stable, reliable access to communications—and the access to friends and family, emergency services, employment, and all of the many benefits those networks provide—for granted.
Reps Pallone and McNerney Introduce RESILIENT Networks Act, a bill to improve network resiliency in times of emergency
House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee member Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA) introduced the Reinforcing and Evaluating Service Integrity, Local Infrastructure, and Emergency Notification for Today’s Networks Act (H.R.
FCC Seeks to Refresh Net Neutrality Docket
In Mozilla Corp. v. FCC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the vast majority of the Federal Communications Commission’s 2017 decision to end net neutrality protections. However, the court also remanded three discrete issues for further consideration by the FCC. On February 6, 2020, the D.C. Circuit denied all pending petitions for rehearing, and the Court issued its mandate on February 18, 2020. With this Public Notice, the Wireline Competition Bureau seeks to refresh the record regarding the issues remanded to the FCC by the Mozilla Court.
The hearing will convene stakeholders from across private and public organizations to discuss steps taken to improve the resiliency of communications networks since Hurricanes Irma and Maria, how communications networks and recovery efforts performed during recent earthquakes, and what additional actions are needed to ensure that communications networks are always available, particularly to meet public safety needs.
Witnesses
Save the Date
Here's the agenda for the Federal Communications Commission's February open meeting:
Emergency Alerting: Agencies Need to Address Pending Applications and Monitor Industry Progress on System Improvements
The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Modernization Act, enacted in 2016, required the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in consultation and coordination with Federal Communications Commission, to enhance and test the capabilities of IPAWS and increase its adoption among state and local public safety agencies. GAO was asked to review the federal response to recent natural disasters. This report examines, among other things: (1) trends in the use of IPAWS and (2) actions that FEMA and FCC have taken to modernize IPAWS and increase its adoption.
Voter Guide To Where 2020 Candidates Stand on Media and Tech Policy
Free Press Action released its 2020 Right to Connect Voter Guide, an analysis of presidential candidates’ positions on vital media and technology policies. It analyzes the positions of nine Democratic and Republican presidential candidates polling at 3 percent or above in recent national polls. Sens Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) stand out for their proposals to invest billions to expand internet access and rein in steep broadband prices that keep low-income families and people of color offline.
Public Safety Broadband Network: Deployment Is Progressing, but FirstNet Could Strengthen Its Oversight
Public-safety officials such as police officers and firefighters rely on communications systems to do their jobs. The Department of Commerce's FirstNet must establish a nationwide public-safety broadband network for use by these officials. In March 2017, FirstNet awarded a 25-year, multibillion-dollar contract to AT&T to deploy, operate, and maintain the network. AT&T must meet milestones specified in the contract, such as for providing network coverage and for the network's adoption.