Emergency Communications

The Federal Communications Commission announced settlements with CenturyLink and West Safety Communications to conclude investigations into violations of FCC rules in connection with a multi-state 911 outage that took place on Aug 1, 2018.

Dayslong power outages in California are revealing an inconvenient fact about modern phones: When the electricity goes out, so do they. Power shutdowns in the state meant to prevent further fire risk have cut power to some cell towers, as well as to cable providers that sell home voice services along with television programming and internet access.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the Open FCC Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Nov 19, 2019:

The Federal Communications Commission streamlined rules and procedures to reduce administrative costs and accelerate the successful conclusion of its 800 MHz band reconfiguration program. In 2004, the FCClaunched its 800 MHz reconfiguration program, known as rebanding, to eliminate harmful interference to public safety radio systems and other licensees caused by Sprint and other commercial operators The rebanding process is now nearly complete, with over 2,000 licensees relocated to new channels in the band, and only 19 licensees yet to be relocated.  The FCC has now adopted an Order that s

The Federal Communications Commission clarified that state, local, and Tribal governments cannot charge the same class of subscribers total 911 fees that are higher for VoIP services than for traditional telecommunications services with the same 911 calling capability.

The Federal Communications Commission remains intent on repurposing airwaves to handle surging Wi-Fi data traffic, despite opposition from power companies and first responders who say it could interfere with their communications systems. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai defended the agency’s plan to allocate more spectrum to meet exploding Wi-Fi demand at a recent Senate appropriations panel hearing. The agency may finalize its proposal later this year or early in 2020, commission watchers say. “I truly believe that American consumers can have the best of both worlds,” Chairman Pai told lawmakers.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the October Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Friday, October 25, 2019.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) sent a letter to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) urging the government watchdog to investigate and evaluate months-long communication failures and restoration efforts in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands following Hurricane Maria in 2017.  As part of his request, Chairman Pallone wrote that the Federal Communications Commission’s response to Hurricane Maria raises serious questions about the state of our communications infrastructure.

The Federal Communications Commission approved $950 million in funding to improve, expand, and harden communications networks in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Two years ago, communications infrastructure on the islands was devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The FCC responded, among other steps, by creating the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund. To date, the FCC has provided about $130 million in additional, one-time Universal Service Fund support to assist with network restoration.