FCC Chairman Ajit Pai today called on Congress to repeal its mandate that the agency reallocate and auction public safety T-band spectrum. In a related development, the Commission today suspended the processing of T-band renewal applications.

“In 2012, Congress passed legislation requiring the FCC to reallocate and auction T-Band spectrum used for decades by public safety licensees and fund the relocation of those licensees elsewhere.  The agency has extensively analyzed the T-Band and concluded that moving forward is not viable — relocation costs for public safety licensees would likely far exceed any potential auction revenue, making it impossible to fund the relocation and comply with the mandate.  The Government Accountability Office has agreed — reporting to Congress that the T-Band mandate is unworkable and could deprive first responders of their current ability to communicate by radio,” Mr. Pai said in a statement.

“Because of these concerns, I’m calling on Congress to repeal the T-Band mandate,” he added. “I’m hopeful that Congress can resolve this matter without delay.  Doing so will not only protect public safety communications in the T-Band but will also allow our dedicated auction staff to focus in 2020 on auctions that will make new airwaves available for 5G, like spectrum in the 3.5 GHz and 3.7 GHz bands.”

The requirement was included in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, and public safety entities have been urging Congress since then to repeal the provision, arguing that the T-band spectrum in the 470-512 megahertz band is crucial to public safety agencies in the 11 cities where it is used.

Legislation has been reintroduced in the House and Senate to repeal the statutory mandate.

The Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act was reintroduced in October by Sens. Ed Markey (D., Mass.), Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.), Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), and Bob Casey (D., Pa.) (TR Daily, Oct. 31). The bill was reintroduced in the House in January by Rep. Elliot Engel (D., N.Y.). Similar legislation failed to pass both chambers in the 115th Congress.

In a report released in June, GAO said that Congress should consider legislation that would rescind the T-band mandate (TR Daily, June 21). The report also said that the FCC is concerned about the impact to public safety of relocating systems.

GAO noted that the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) has estimated that relocating public safety systems in the 11 cities where the T-band is used by public safety entities could cost more than $5.9 billion. NPSTC says that alternative spectrum is not available (TR Daily, March 15, 2013).

GAO said the FCC has calculated the costs of relocating public safety users from the T-band at $5 billion to $6 billion. The agency estimates it would cost $4 billion extra to relocate business-industrial users, GAO said, although Congress is not requiring those users to be compensated for moving to other spectrum.

Meanwhile, the Wireless Telecommunications and Public Safety and Homeland Security bureaus announced today that they are suspending the processing of applications to renew parts 22 and 90 licenses for systems that operate on the T-band.

“Licensees that have filed, and will in the future file, timely and complete applications for renewal of license may continue to operate using their licensed facilities past the license expiration date while the suspension is in effect,” the bureaus said in a public notice released in PS docket 13-42.

The public notice pointed out that in 2012, “to stabilize the spectral environment in light of the T-Band Mandate, the Bureaus suspended acceptance and processing of certain other T-Band applications [TR Daily, April 26, 2012]. That freeze was imposed to allow the Commission to consider issues surrounding future use of the T-Band and implement the Act. … Given that the February 22, 2021 statutory deadline is less than 15 months away, the Bureaus have determined that suspension of renewal processing is now necessary for the Commission to have the full range of implementation options available.”

Sen. Markey welcomed Mr. Pai’s statement today.

“Supporting the brave women and men in police and fire departments across the [country] and giving them the tools they need to succeed isn’t a partisan issue,” the lawmaker said. “I commend Chairman Pai for joining the coalition of public safety organizations and industry actors alike calling on Congress to protect the T-Band. It’s time for Congress to do right by the people who keep us safe and secure and pass my Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act before the end of the year.”

Public safety groups also praised Mr. Pai’s support.

“Chairman Pai’s call for repeal of 6103 of P.L. 112-96 is to be applauded,” NPSTC said. “His statement is consistent with the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) and public safety calls for repeal of section 6103.”

“APCO has always supported repeal of the T-Band provision.  It’s the right thing for Congress to do,” said Derek Poarch, executive director and chief executive officer of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International.

“Our members appreciate Chairman Pai’s support for the repeal of the T-Band auction requirement,” said International Association of Fire Chiefs President and Board Chairman Gary Ludwig. “The fire and emergency service relies on the T-Band for interoperable communications in many of our nation’s metropolitan areas. In cities like New York and Chicago, public safety does not have an alternative to the T-Band. Today, fire departments large and small have access to the spectrum they need to communicate with each other. If a T-Band auction moves forward, this will no longer be the case. On behalf of the IAFC, I urge Congress to pass legislation repealing the T-Band auction requirement this year.”

“We see this as a move in the right direction. We hope that … Congress is open to our pleas,” said Craig Allen, chair of the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s Communications & Technology Committee and a retired lieutenant colonel for the Illinois State Police. “It is unworkable to vacate the T-band space for public safety.”

Andy Seybold, a wireless industry consultant and public safety advocate, said he was surprised to see Mr. Pai weigh in. “Previously it appears as if the FCC said that they could do nothing unless Congress passed a bill to repeal the give back,” he noted.- Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com

Read complete report here: https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-releases-report-communication-impacts-hurricane-michael

Executive Summary: Hurricane Michael, one of the most powerful storms to make landfall in the United States, inflicted billions of dollars in damage and resulted in the loss of dozens of lives on the American mainland.[1] It is estimated the hurricane caused over $25 billion in damages^[2] and resulted in 57 known deaths.^[3] The storm had significant effects on communications, and also adversely affected other critical sectors including transportation, power, food and agriculture.

The storm cut a path from the Gulf Coast, up through the Panhandle, continuing into Georgia and the Carolinas, before veering off into the Atlantic just south of the Chesapeake Bay. Communications in many areas in Georgia, Alabama, and most of Florida were mildly affected by the hurricane. In these areas, communications providers rebounded within 48 hours after Hurricane Michael made landfall on October 10, 2018.  In other areas, particularly the Florida Panhandle, the effects were more pronounced. Specifically, wireless subscribers in Bay and Gulf Counties had limited service for over a week.[4]

The Bureau undertook an inquiry into what went right, and what went wrong, on various communications platforms in the areas affected by the storm. While the Bureau invited comments from all sectors of the communications industry (e.g., broadcasting, cable, wireline, satellite),[5] it was most particularly interested in the experience of mobile wireless communications. Initial reports, both in the news media and in conversations between Commission staff and representatives of the mobile wireless industry, indicated that there were, in some instances, significant lapses in consumer connectivity. The Bureau sought to understand why and how those lapses occurred, and what could be done in the future to minimize such lapses. This Report presents the Bureau’s findings and recommendations. Because the initial belief that the mobile wireless communications industry was particularly affected was borne out by outage data, the Report places special emphasis on wireless service performance before, during, and after Hurricane Michael, with an emphasis on hardest-hit Bay and Gulf Counties in Florida.

Hurricane Michael demonstrated starkly how some wireless providers in the Florida Panhandle were able to rebound from this devastating storm through foresight and appropriate planning, while others stalled in their efforts to restore full service. Some providers, working in the same area and facing the same challenges as others, were back in service considerably sooner than others.[6]

The poor level of service several days after landfall by some wireless providers cannot simply be attributed to unforeseeable circumstances specific to those providers. A lack of coordination and cooperation between certain wireless service providers on the one hand, and utilities and debris clearance crews on the other, unnecessarily prolonged critical backhaul repairs and full restoration of functioning wireless service. The Bureau learned of numerous cases in which a wireless provider had restored service to customers only to have that service brought down as third-party crews damaged communications assets while clearing trash or restoring power lines and utility poles. Such lack of coordination among wireless providers, utilities, and debris clearance crews unnecessarily prolonged the time customers lacked service.

The Bureau finds that three key factors – insufficiently resilient backhaul connectivity, inadequate reciprocal roaming arrangements, and lack of coordination between wireless service providers, power crews, and municipalities – were the predominant causes of the unacceptable lack of service. The Bureau further concludes that a lack of coordination and cooperation among wireless providers themselves (exacerbated by inadequate roaming arrangements) inhibited their ability to increase service availability via roaming. Some providers appear not to have comported with the Wireless Resiliency Cooperative Framework (Framework), the voluntary commitment that several nationwide service providers proposed and committed to abide by in 2016. Specifically, it appears that some wireless providers demurred from seeking assistance from potential roaming partners and, therefore, remained inoperable.

We note that certain findings in this Report are based on information submitted in the Commission’s Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS), a voluntary web-based system allowing providers to report communications infrastructure status and situational awareness information during times of crises, or information discovered as a result of communications with providers about those filings.[7] Because information submitted in DIRS is sensitive, for national security and/or commercial reasons, DIRS filings are treated as presumptively confidential.[8]  Accordingly, the Report protects identifying information from disclosure where necessary to preserve DIRS confidentiality.

[1] National Centers for Environmental Information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Assessing the U.S. Climate in 2018 (2019), https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-201812.

[2] Id.

[3] Olivia Michael, Hurricane Michael death toll continues to rise (Jan. 11, 2019), https://www.wjhg.com/content/news/Hurricane-Michael-death-toll-continues-to-rise-504241911.html.

[4] Patricia Sullivan, Emily Wax-Thibodeaux, & Annie Gowen, “It’s All Gone”: Tiny Florida town nearly swept away by Hurricane Michael, Washington Post, Oct. 12, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/its-all-gone-tiny-florida-beach-town-nearly-swept-away-by-hurricane-michael/2018/10/12/f1a110c0-ce56-11e8-a3e6-44daa3d35ede_story.html.  Bay and Gulf Counties are located directly on the Gulf Coast where the storm first made landfall.  Bay County is home to Panama City as well as Mexico Beach, which sustained extreme damage from the hurricane.

[5] See Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Seeks Comment on Hurricane Michael Preparation and Response, Public Notice, PS Docket No. 18-339, 33 FCC Rcd 11239 (2018) (Public Notice).

[6] The storm was the most intense storm to make landfall on Florida, the third most intense hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States, and the fourth most intense storm to make landfall based on windspeed.  National Centers for Environmental Information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Assessing the U.S. Climate in 2018 (2019), https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-201812.

[7] See The FCC’s Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau Launches Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS), Public Notice, 22 FCC Rcd 16757 (PSHSB 2007) (DIRS Public Notice).

[8] DIRS Public Notice, 22 FCC Rcd at 16758.