The Policy and Licensing Division of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau released an order on reconsideration in file no. 0007811683 today addressing a request by the city of Long Beach, Calif., “to extend the construction deadline for 700 MHz trunked public safety station, call sign WQNH254. Specifically, Long Beach requests an extension until June 2020 to construct the station.

While the City’s extension request was being reviewed by Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau or PSHSB) staff, call sign WQNH254 entered into Termination Pending Status for failure to meet a build-out requirement. For the reasons stated below, we grant the extension request until June 17, 2018, and return call sign WQNH254 to active status.”

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FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said today he has asked for regular updates on the impact of Los Angeles-area wildfires on telecommunications networks and public safety communications services. “As devastating fires continue to hit Southern California, our thoughts and prayers go out to those in the paths of these flames, and we thank the first responders working tirelessly to combat these blazes,” Mr. Pai said in a statement.

“Given our role to promote the safety of all Americans by ensuring communities have resilient communications networks and remain connected to emergency call centers, we stand ready to assist in any way possible.  I have requested regular updates from the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, which is monitoring the impact of the wildfires on communications services and coordinating with our government partners.  To date, we are aware of minor impacts to communications infrastructure resulting from the loss of power.  We continue to track the situation and are prepared to provide assistance to our federal, state, and local emergency first responders on the ground. Lastly, I am pleased to hear reports that Wireless Emergency Alerts have been used successfully to warn affected communities, including the use of clickable URLs in text messages that give the public direct access to additional public safety information.”

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The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau released a public notice today seeking comments on “the resiliency of the communications infrastructure, the effectiveness of emergency communications, and government and industry responses to the 2017 hurricane season.”

The public notice seeks answers to a number of questions.

“The Bureau will identify, from the comments received, areas for further exploration in workshop(s) to be held in the coming months on improving future response efforts,” it said. “While this Public Notice is primarily focused on the effectiveness of preparation and response activities for the 2017 hurricane season, PSHSB will coordinate with the Hurricane Recovery Task Force on issues or opportunities which should be addressed in long-term Hurricane Maria recovery efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including potential recovery-focused workshop(s). The areas below focus on impacts to the communications infrastructure; FCC response efforts; and experiences of communications service users as well as communications services providers. In addition to providing comment on the specific questions below, commenters are encouraged to provide any additional information relevant to the 2017 hurricane season’s impact on communications, generally, or specific to any hurricane event. Commenters are also encouraged to include examples of effective and/or ineffective practices/methods.”

Comments are due Jan. 22, 2018, and replies Feb. 21, 2018, in PS docket 17-344.

“We want to hear from all stakeholders, including the public safety community; state, local, territorial, and tribal officials; industry; consumer groups; and federal response partners,” Lisa Fowlkes, chief of the Public Safety Bureau, said in a blog posting today on the public notice. “This input will inform the workshop(s) that we plan to hold next year to further explore the matter.  Our aim is to build on successful approaches and develop options to address shortfalls as we prepare for future disasters.  We are also considering what additional steps will assist this process.” —Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com

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With funding for the federal government ending tomorrow barring congressional action, the FCC has said that 85% of its workforce, or 1,265 employees, will be furloughed and sent home in the event that agency appropriations lapse.

Among those who will not be furloughed are the five Commissioners, whose compensation is “financed by a resource other than annual appropriations,” and up to 185 employees whose “salary and expenses are not funded out of annual appropriations that will lapse on December 8 and [who] will be supporting spectrum auction-related activities,” according to the agency’s “Plan for Orderly Shutdown Due to Lapse of Congressional Appropriations” dated Dec. 5.

“Up to 13 employees, not otherwise exempt, will be retained to protect life and property,” the plan says.  “Up to three (3) employees will be retained to provide oversight or conduct interference detection, mitigation, and disaster response operations wherever they may be needed. These will be full-time employees strategically located across the country to resolve imminent threats to the safety of life or property,” it adds.

Up to nine employees will be retained “for critical oversight/protection of life or property,” up to four will be retained “to perform international and treaty related activity instrumental in the discharge of the President’s constitutional power,” and seven will be retained “for critical Information Technology (IT) issues.”

In addition, contractors will be retained for security, IT, and facility services purposes.

Furloughed employees will be given four hours for shut down activities, such as securing materials and files, cancelling travel plans, and cancelling meetings. Furloughed employees will be expected to monitor news regarding a continuing resolution or appropriations legislation and to return to work on the next scheduled day after the furlough has ended.

A continuing appropriations bill (H.J. Res. 123) that would extend funding at current levels through Dec. 22 passed the House and Senate late this afternoon, sending it to President Trump for his signature.  —Lynn Stanton, lynn.stanton@wolterskluwer.com

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The FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council plans to hold a meeting from 1-5 p.m. on Dec. 12 in the Commission’s meeting room.

The FCC’s Technological Advisory Council today received a myriad of recommendations from its five working groups, including those dealing with rural broadband deployment, the removal of obsolete technical rules, mobile device theft prevention, and satellite system spectrum sharing.

The broadband deployment technical challenges working group recommended, among other things, that the FCC encourage broadband providers to use long-term technologies, consider developing an Economic Advisory Council to assist the chief economist in understanding the micro-economic operations on rural broadband deployment, and coordinate with government entities on GIS [geographic information system] modeling and an accessible database.

The working group also recommended that the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC) develop a planning guide for future broadband providers and publish success stories. It also suggested that the FCC and BDAC coordinate to better identify where broadband exists today and develop partnering guidance.

The removing obsolete or unnecessary technical rules working group recommended that the FCC begin using consensus-based standards as an alternative, or in addition to, traditional regulations. To accomplish this, the FCC should engage with standards-development organizations and industry organizations, according to the recommendation, and should make public its areas of focus. Continue reading →