About 76% of cell sites in Puerto Rico remained down today due to Hurricane Maria, but about 60% of the population was covered by cellphone service due to roaming, the FCC said in an outages report. Overall, 76.1% of cell sites in Puerto Rico were down, compared with 77.6% yesterday. But it said about 60% of Puerto Rico’s population, up from 54%, were covered due to roaming agreements by the four largest providers.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, 55.4% of cell sites were down, compared with 54.5% yesterday, including all of cell sites in St. John.  “Approximately 79% (same as yesterday) of the population is reported to be covered by wireless carriers in the U.S. Virgin Islands,” the FCC said.

Regarding cable and wireline services, the report said that at least six switches, the same number as yesterday, were still “out of service due to either SS7 or toll isolation.”

There were no changes reported today in the operational status of public safety answering points in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. There were also no changes reported in the operational status of TV and radio stations in Puerto Rico. In a blog posting today, Joan Marsh, executive vice president–regulatory and state external affairs for AT&T, Inc., said the carrier has made progress restoring service in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, but she said that it still faces challenges. Continue reading →

The FCC released a forfeiture order today imposing a $404,166 fine against a New York City man for causing interference to the New York Police Department by operating a radio transmitter on frequencies licensed to the agency. The FCC, which had proposed the fine in April (TR Daily, April 14), said that from April to August of last year, Jay Peralta “transmitted threatening messages directed at NYPD officers. These messages included false bomb threats and false officer-in-distress calls to NYPD dispatchers.

The NYPD provided the FCC with a written statement by Mr. Peralta, who is currently in custody pending a trial for related charges, in which he acknowledged making nine unauthorized transmissions on the NYPD’s radio system.” The Commission said Mr. Peralta did not respond to the notice of apparent liability. The forfeiture order was adopted in file no. EB-FIELDNER-16-00022343.

Courtesy TRDaily

Nearly 78% of cell sites in Puerto Rico remained down today due to Hurricane Maria, the FCC reported. It said that about 55% of cell sites were out of service in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The FCC noted that due to roaming among the four major wireless carriers, about 54% of the population in Puerto Rico was reported to be covered yesterday by wireless carriers in Puerto Rico. Overall, 77.6% of cell sites in Puerto Rico were down, compared with 78.9% yesterday. The FCC said that 15 of Puerto Rico’s 78 counties had 100% of their cell sites down, down from 18 counties yesterday.

In the Virgin Islands, 54.5% of cell sites were down, a reduction from 60.3% yesterday, including all of them in St. John. Regarding cable and wireline services, the report said that at least six, compared with four yesterday, switches were still “out of service due to either SS7 or toll isolation.”

There were no changes reported today in the operational status of public safety answering points in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. There were also no changes reported in the operational status of TV and radio stations in Puerto Rico.- Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com

Courtesy TRDaily

Nearly 79% of cell sites in Puerto Rico remained down today due to Hurricane Maria, but carrier roaming enabled more than half of the its population to be covered, the FCC reported today. It said that about 60% of cell sites were out of service in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“The four major wireless companies have opened up roaming on the islands so that they, collectively, can serve the maximum population of the islands with the current coverage available,” said an FCC outages report, which was based on information submitted to the agency’s Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS). “They are coordinating and prioritizing the recovery of cell sites and placement of temporary assets with the other carriers to maximize the coverage for all subscribers. Satellite Cells on Light Trucks (COLTs) have been deployed in Aguadilla, Arecibo, Cayey, Caomo Sur, Fajardo, Guayama, Manati, Mayaguez Mesa, San German, Vega Baja, and Yauco and Terrestrial Cells on Wheels (COWs)/COLTs in Humacao, Quebradillas, Rio Grande, and Utuado. Approximately 54% of the population is reported to be covered by wireless carriers in Puerto Rico.” Continue reading →

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai today announced the establishment of an internal Hurricane Recovery Task Force to support restoration efforts in the wake of three recent hurricanes, with a particular focus on Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The announcement came as Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D., N.J.), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, urged Mr. Pai today to initiate “a Commission-level review of the resiliency of our nation’s networks and the effect of the Wireless Network Resiliency Cooperative Framework following restoration efforts” and hold field hearings, echoing a call by Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.

“As we shift from short-term incident management to a longer-term recovery phase, it makes sense to adjust the structure of the FCC’s response,” Mr. Pai said in a statement. “In the weeks and months to come, the Commission will be confronting a wide range of storm-related issues that fall within the jurisdiction of numerous bureaus and offices. It is critical that we adopt a coordinated and comprehensive approach to support the rebuilding of communications infrastructure and restoration of communications services.  The Hurricane Recovery Task Force will allow us to do just that.”    Continue reading →

FCC CHAIR ANNOUNCES HURRICANE RECOVERY TASK FORCE.  News Release. News Media Contact: Tina Pelkey at (202) 418-0536, email: Tina.Pelkey@fcc.gov  OCHAP PSHSB  https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-347113A1.docx; https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-347113A1.pdf

AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE.   Granted the Waiver Request. Action by:  Deputy Chief, Mobility Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Adopted:  10/05/2017 by ORDER. (DA No. 17-974).  WTB  https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-17-974A1.docx; https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-17-974A1.pdf

The FCC granted, on its own motion, a waiver of the commission’s rules to facilitate use of two nationwide interoperability channels (151.1375 and 154.4525 MHz) in the commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico) and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI).

In Puerto Rico and the USVI, only three of the five interoperability channels (VCALL10, VTAC13 and TAC14) are available for public-safety use. Therefore, the FCC temporarily waived this limitation to allow public-safety agencies to use the two additional frequencies in support of hurricane response and recovery activities.

Read complete article at: https://www.rrmediagroup.com/News/NewsDetails/newsID/16026

Several FCC bureaus today granted additional relief to parties struggling to recover as a result of recent hurricanes, including by extending filing and regulatory deadlines, streamlining the environmental notification process for areas impacted by Hurricane Maria, and extending deadlines related to universal service programs. “We find good cause to waive certain of our rules, on our own motion, as described below, for six months, in order to alleviate the burden of regulatory compliance as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands recover from Hurricane Maria,” the Wireless Telecommunications and Public Safety and Homeland Security bureaus said in a public notice. “We will also consider, as the six-month date approaches, whether additional relief on a broad or more targeted basis is needed.”

The bureaus extended “certain deadlines occurring between September 20, 2017 and March 19, 2018, until March 20, 2018, for affected licensees, applicants, and registrants in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In this context, ‘affected’ means those persons or entities that operate facilities in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as persons or entities that rely in a significant manner essential to their operations on personnel, records, or financial institutions located in those areas to provide services or to conduct substantial activities with the Commission.

“(1) We extend until March 20, 2018, any deadlines currently set within the period from September 20, 2017, to March 19, 2018, inclusive, with respect to Wireless Radio Service applications, notifications, and reports pursuant to Parts 1 (Subpart F only), 13, 20, 22, 24, 27, 30, 74 (excluding Subparts G, and L), 80, 87, 90, 95, 96, 97, or 101 of the Commission’s rules, including, but not limited to, filings regarding certain minor license modifications, license renewals, and notifications of construction,” the public notice said. “Licensees making delayed filings in accordance with this extension must include with those filings a certification made under penalty of perjury that the deadlines could not be met within the time otherwise provided in the Commission’s rules because of the hurricane. Pursuant to this Public Notice, licensees will not need to file individual waiver or extension requests, or to pay individual waiver fees. Continue reading →