The Federal Communications Commission has voted to begin a review of its system for collecting data on network outages and restoration during major disasters. The effort paves the way for reforms to its Disaster Information Reporting System that it says are designed to make sure that the system’s benefits outweigh its burdens.
Since its 2007 inception, DIRS has collected information from communications providers, cable operators, phone companies, wireless firms and broadcasters on the impact of severe weather and other natural disasters on their operations.
Currently radio and TV stations may report voluntarily in DIRS when it is active, but are not required to do so. When DIRS is activated following a disaster, only 20 to 35% of stations typically submit reports, according to commission data.
[Related: “Broadcasters Asked to Join FCC’s June DIRS Exercise”]
Radio World has reported on the commission’s consideration of making DIRS mandatory uner the previous administration. The NAB believes a mandate would disrupt the emergency restoration efforts of radio and TV stations.
In launching the new effort to reexamine the system, the FCC also noted, however, that DIRS reports take time to produce, potentially drawing resources away from responding to an ongoing disaster.
To address the, the FCC said its notice of proposed rulemaking is designed to begin a thorough review of DIRS to modernize the system for reporting and to develop changes to current rules that might reduce the reporting burdens providers during disasters, while increasing the utility of the reports.
The FCC’s modernized disaster reporting vision
The proposed changes to DIRS include:
- Simplified reporting: Providing manual filers with a single, streamlined, and dynamic form to replace the 10 existing worksheets, which it says should be simpler to complete.
- Reduced data collection: Eliminating data fields that do not provide significant value to public safety stakeholders and offering a limited number of new, voluntary fields that are more tailored to the current needs of emergency managers. Examples of fields to be eliminated include the inter-exchange carrier blocking worksheet and the satellite worksheet, as no satellite providers have ever filed a DIRS report, the commission said.
- Elimination of final reports: Removing the requirement for mandatory DIRS filers to submit a final report after DIRS is deactivated to further reduce the reporting burden.
- Reporting obligations: Limiting mandatory DIRS reporting to facilities-based providers and exempting resellers and mobile virtual network operators to eliminate unnecessary burdens. The commission is also examining whether to suspend NORS filing obligations during DIRS Lite activations.
- Access to information: Promoting the ability of federal and state agencies to get direct access to DIRS and NORS filings by reducing access requirements.
Comments on the notice must be filed 30 days after the date of its publication in the Federal Register. Reply comments are due 60 dates after the publication date.
