Florida cable operators in the wake of Hurricane Ian continue to work to restore service (phone, TV and/or internet access), but most of a half-million subs (474,706) in the state remain without it as of Oct. 3, which is actually up slightly from the 441,799 without service in Florida Oct. 1.

By contrast, only one TV station remained out of service as of Monday, compared to 4 TV stations out of service Oct. 1.

That is according to the FCC's voluntary Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS).

The FCC also said that as of Oct. 2, there were almost 10,000 cable/wireline subs (9,845) out of service in South Carolina as well.

The FCC has also extended filing deadlines for affected licensees, which would include paying annual regulatory fees, to Oct. 30. The extensions impact any deadlines currently coming due before Oct. 29, including deadlines for some license modifications, license renewals, and notifications of construction. ▪️

Hurricane Ian has taken a heavy toll on Florida communications, according to the first reporting out of the Federal Communications Commission’s voluntary Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) following Ian's major landfall.

Cable and wireline service had been knocked out to over a half-million subscribers (526,966) in the path of the storm, which includes phone, TV and internet service. That was up from 26,716 subs out of service the day before.

Wireless cell sites were unavailable to 10.9% of the affected Florida counties, according to the FCC, but it pointed out that wireless networks often have overlapping sites that can provide continuity of service and ramp up mobile and other temporary facilities, including Cells on Wheels (COWs).

On the broadcast side, six TV stations reported being out of service, 15 FM radio stations and six AM stations.

Meanwhile, 127,858 subs in Puerto Rico continue to be without cable and wireless service in the wake of Hurricane Fiona. That is down from over 1 million subs out of service when the storm hit the island 10 days ago. Four TV stations there report being out of service, while two FM stations and one AM station say they are still off the air. ■

Cable/telecom trade group ACA Connects is telling the FCC that it should not mandate Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) participation by its members.

The FCC is seeking comment on potential changes to the system and suggested that smaller providers may not be volunteering information to the system as much as larger providers do, and so might need the impetus of a mandate.

The FCC is seeking input on DIRS, the web-based system it created in 2007 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, including on whether to make the voluntary system mandatory.

ACA Connects said it was tough to tell from the NPRM the extent to which smaller operators don't participate and to what degree nonparticipation affects the "situational awareness" of the FCC and federal agencies, suggesting smaller systems might not significantly improve that awareness.

Also: Broadcasters Oppose DIRS Mandate

ACA Connects said it wanted to be clear it supports and encourages DIRS participation, but that a mandate could pull staffers away from critical tasks in a disaster, the same argument broadcasters made for opposing the mandate.

Also like broadcasters, ACA Connects members are advising the FCC against backup power mandates, the cost of which the association says could divert funds from network upgrades and expansions--expanding broadband deployment being a big priority at the FCC. It also suggested the increased cost of compliance could wind up on consumer's bills and "suppress broadband adoption," another FCC priority. ■

As of Monday, over 350,000 cable subs were without service in the path of Hurricane Ida, with 338,115 of those in Louisiana, where the category four storm made landfall with sustained winds of 150 mph.

That is according to the FCC's Voluntary Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) system. There were an additional 16,601 cable/broadband outages in Mississippi and 478 in Alabama.

On the broadcast side, two TV stations reported being out of service, WGNO and WNOL-TV, both in New Orleans.

Also Read: Citing Ida, FCC Waives Number Portability Prohibition

The good news is that 15 TV stations reported they were still on the air. Providing life-saving information in times of natural disasters is one of broadcasters' major selling points in Washington.

The FCC pointed out that that was only a snapshot of a very fluid situation.

A spokesperson for WGNO and WNOL pointed out that the stations were only off air for 3.5 hours, but even then continued to stream and updated coverage throughout the storm, despite "a collapsed wall, two holes in the building, [and] evacuated control room..."

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai says the FCC has been working hard over the past few days to help prepare for Hurricane Dorian. 

According to a Pai statement Monday (Sept. 2), FCC staffers have reached out to wireless carriers and broadcasters to offer assistance--the FCC also triggered its voluntary Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) (https://www.multichannel.com/news/fcc-triggers-disaster-reporting-as-dorian-approaches) for almost three dozen Florida counties. 

At press time the storm still had sustained winds of 155 Mph. 

"With our government partners, including FEMA, we have worked to ensure that communications providers and power companies closely coordinate their activities as needed when service restoration efforts get underway—making sure they implement lessons learned from Hurricane Michael," he said. 

Pai said they had "reminded" the wireless carriers that they have to have roaming agreements in effect before the storm hits.  

“Additionally, FCC staff have been deployed to conduct ‘pre-landfall’ surveys of the radiofrequency spectrum in projected impact areas, which will help us identify any impacts to public safety communications and broadcaster outages. 

The FCC's operations center is always open 24/7 to help first responders and communications providers.  

Responding to the telecom chaos from Hurricane Irma, the Federal Communications Commission, working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has expanded its Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) data collection area to include 18 counties in Georgia and three counties in Alabama, in addition to its existing request for information from all of Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In a notice late Monday (Sept. 11), the FCC asked cable, broadcast, wireless and wireline providers to submit daily infrastructure status and situational awareness information until the DIRS is deactivated. Providers must send their information to the FCC's DIRS site, a voluntary, web-based system that collects status reports "during times of crisis."

Meanwhile, the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau moved ahead to gather data from communications providers in the affected areas. The Bureau suspended Network Outage Reporting System obligations in the affected counties where DIRS has been activated. The FCC has set a schedule for filing reports by 10 a.m. every day until DIRS is deactivated.

Senate Adopts SANDY Act
Separately, the Senate adopted the Securing Access to Networks in Disasters (SANDY) Act of 2017 on Monday night.

“In the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, this legislation comes not a moment too soon," newly reinstated Democratic commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.

"We know that weather-related emergencies and other disasters can occur anywhere at any time," she said, adding that the legislation "promises to help speed restoration of essential communications in times of disaster."

The Senate's unanimous approval of the SANDY Act on Monday night followed House passage of the companion bill last week.

Pai Cites Disaster Response at Wireless Conference
FCC chair Ajit Pai, in a scheduled address to the first-ever Mobile World Congress Americas in San Francisco on Tuesday (Sept. 12), opened his remarks with an extensive explanation of the FCC's role as part of the federal government’s disaster response efforts. Pai said it will "be a long time before we’ll be able to calculate the total amount of damage inflicted by Harvey and Irma."

Then he complimented the wireless industry.

"We already know one thing: It would have been a lot worse if it weren’t for wireless communications," Pai said.

"We work closely with DHS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, state public safety officials and private communications providers ... [to] monitor the status of communications networks in affected areas," Pai said, emphasizing the government agencies' efforts to "assist with recovery and restoration efforts" and to "ensure that first responders on the ground can quickly get access to the spectrum they need to communicate."

Pai stressed the value of wireless connections throughout his opening remarks to the San Francisco Conference, the first North American version of the landmark World Mobile Congress held in Barcelona each February.

"In the case of Hurricane Harvey, the one bit of good news is that wireless networks were much more resilient than in some previous disasters," he said, calling it a "lifeline."

"In the initial phase of Harvey, Houston’s main 911 emergency response center received more than 96,000 calls, many of which were from wireless phones," Pai said, drawing on his visit to Texas last week. "Many of the more than 11,000 people rescued by the Coast Guard were found because of wireless calls. That includes one 14-year-old girl who was saved after telling Siri, 'Call the Coast Guard.'

"The past two weeks remind us that for public safety purposes alone, wireless communications during times of emergency are critical," Pai said.

He also acknowledged the launch of Apple's new iPhone 8, which was debuting at an event a few dozen miles away in the Bay Area simultaneously with his speech.

"To me, the more notable coincidence of timing and location is that it was 10 years ago, in this very building complex, that Steve Jobs debuted the very first iPhone," Pai said. He used that example to praise the wireless industry for continuing its innovation.

Related: Apple Intros Apple TV 4K

"We find ourselves nearing another possible hinge moment," he said, using his term for pivotal advances in telecom technology. "We’ve seen remarkable progress, but it feels like we’re still waiting for another huge breakthrough."

"5G could well be what we’re waiting for," he said. "Going from 2G to 3G was the mobile equivalent of switching from dial-up to broadband. Similarly, the transition from 4G to 5G promises to be more than just incremental change — we could see dramatic improvements in network speed, capacity and responsiveness that will make the impossible possible."

Related: Charter, Samsung Team on 5G, 4G LTE Trials

And he used the platform to fret again about the lack of rural wireless broadband capability.

"I personally experienced this last week while driving from Houston to Austin," Pai said. "The personal impact of the 'no service" display in that case was trivial. ... But the wireless aspect of the rural digital divide has serious costs for many people. ... The mobile marketplace is healthy, but we’ve got work to do to close the digital divide and boost network investment, which go hand in hand. And we need to tackle these issues with an eye toward revving the virtuous cycle of faster, better networks that unleash new innovations that drive additional consumer demand."

The FCC said more than a third (38.9%) of cell sites in Puerto Rico are out of service, according to its Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) for Hurricane Irma in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The agency also said more than 50% of cell sites are out in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The agency had no direct comparisons to the day-before figures because the FCC extended the reporting area to the entirety of both.

The FCC triggered the status reports for Irma -- as it had for Hurricane Harvey -- on Sept. 6 and will certainly extend it to Florida soon.

DIRS is a voluntary web-based reporting system that communications outlets — broadcast, cable, wireless, wireline — use to keep the FCC apprised of the status of their communications infrastructure.

The FCC has limited information on cable and broadcast, but said that given widespread power outages, it has reports that large percentages of cable and wireline subs are without service. According to what it said was limited information, no broadcasters are off the air in the affected areas.

The FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has expanded the Hurricane Mathew-affected areas from which it wants status reports from communications networks.

The FCC activated the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) Friday (Oct. 7) in various counties in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. DIRS is a voluntary web-based reporting system.

Following reports of dangerous flooding in other areas that could extend into Monday or even Tuesday, the FCC has added new counties in North Carolina and South Carolina as well as a number of cities in Virgina to the list.

Cable operators, broadcasters and others in following areas were asked to start filing reports on the status of equipment, power, restoration efforts and access to fuel starting at 10 a.m. Monday (ct. 10) and each subsequent day by 10 a.m. until the DIRS is deactivated:

North Carolina: Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Moore, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender, Robeson, Tyrrell, Wake Counties

South Carolina: Horry County

Virginia: Cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach