At the next FCC agenda meeting (Oct. 12), commissioners may decide on SHVERA, defining a “significantly viewed audience,” FCC sources said. The other media item will be action on a rulemaking on how the Emergency Alert System applies in a DTV environment, sources said. Work related to the Gulf Coast hurricane recovery may delay the meeting (CD Sept 30 p10).
The FCC extended an emergency alert system (EAS) compliance deadline for small cable systems from Oct. 1 to March 1. Firms affected by the order include Galaxy Cable and Northland Communications.
Telcos and wireless providers said Fri. they were working to ensure viable communications if Hurricane Rita knocked out coastal Tex. operations centers. Verizon and SBC said they were collaborating with federal emergency management and had activated emergency operations centers. They had technicians ready to make repairs and had reinforced switching center offices with sandbags, plywood and other materials. Officials also were working closely with state and local agencies to coordinate emergency communications.
PHILADELPHIA -- Local radio broadcasters shouldn’t worry about competition from satellite radio, FCC Comrs. Adelstein and Abernathy said at the NAB Radio Show here. “There is a place for satellite radio, but I don’t think they will ever be able to replicate what local broadcasters do,” Abernathy said. “I think we have the right rules in place.”
The FCC should have more authority to handle coordination of emergency communications during disasters, Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) said Thurs. at a hearing. One key example would be to give the Commission power over credentialing employees to enter disaster areas -- a role now largely performed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Stevens said. “We want to have a plan in place to be able to get in touch with people,” Stevens said. FCC Chmn. Martin said the additional authority Stevens envisioned would be “good,” but said the Commission would still work with FEMA “since they are the ones on the ground.”
The FCC should require broadcasters to provide emergency announcements in multiple languages in markets that include large numbers of people whose main language isn’t English, the Minority Media & Telecom Council (MMTC) told the Commission in a petition. MMTC asked the FCC, in its emergency alert system rulemaking, to require vital information be made available to non-English people. After Hurricane Katrina and as Hurricane Rita nears Florida, this material should be available now, said MMTC Exec. Dir. David Honig.
XM is ready to “play a crucial role” in helping first responders in disasters, the company told FCC Chmn. Martin. In a Thurs. letter to Martin to be part of the record of an open FCC meeting in Atlanta, Senior Vp- Regulatory & Govt. Affairs William Bailey said XM easily can leverage existing infrastructure to fit disaster scenarios. XM satellite radio broadcasts can “provide a cost-effective, efficient, and truly interoperable means of communicating a common understanding of situational awareness to First Responders in a particular area,” Bailey wrote. Satellite telephony, data and radio services are playing a key role in relief work, filling gaps the storm tore in Gulf Coast terrestrial communication systems (CD Sept 9 p4). Bailey said in his letter that XM’s system, largely immune to earthbound calamity, has the capacity “to deliver a reliable, dedicated audio channel to emergency personnel and decision-makers across various levels of govt. and across multiple jurisdictions, using very small mobile receivers.” Last week, officials reported damage to XM terrestrial repeaters along the Gulf Coast. But, they said, XM’s satellite signal is strong enough that subscribers without repeaters can receive it (CD Sept 2 p5). XM’s 24-hour emergency alert channel continues to deliver key information from NOAA, HHS, DHS and FEMA, Bailey wrote. “Today, XM’s Channel 247 is providing similar emergency information of particular interest to residents of North Carolina and Virginia threatened by Hurricane Ophelia,” he said. Since Katrina, XM has launched a Red Cross Radio channel jointly with the American Red Cross, broadcasting information directly to Red Cross workers in the Gulf Coast and Houston. XM said it donated 200 radios to Red Cross workers.
A week after Hurricane Katrina, tales of satellites’ role are mounting. It won’t be long before regulators and Congress are further assessing the sector’s place in emergency communications, industry officials said. One thing is clear: the satellite industry never has been so busy in the Gulf of Mexico. Satellite phones and fly-away VSAT earth stations are playing a greater role than usual in relief work because of Katrina’s wide path and subsequent floods, officials said. Demand for satellite capacity is high enough that Defense Dept. officials said this week they're making military satellite bandwidth available for civilian communication purposes in Miss.
NATOA said FCC rules must continue to enshrine local interests, as the commission seeks comment on whether to change 1993-1995 regulations. In a joint filing with the Mt. Hood (Ore.) Cable Regulatory Commission, NATOA said emergency alert systems and public access channels must be protected “in any revision of the Commission’s carriage rules.” The FCC, in its rules, shouldn’t change regulations on cable home wiring, a consortium of real estate groups said in a filing with the Commission. Retaining the rules won’t hurt small businesses, said the Building Owners & Managers Assn., the International Council of Shopping Centers, the National Assn. of Realtors and other organizations.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau delayed imposition of a rule requiring VoIP providers to disconnect subscribers who haven’t responded to alerts about 911 service limitations. The bureau said Fri. it would extend the Aug. 30 cutoff date 30 days, until Sept. 28. But VoIP providers must file 2 more reports on their progress educating customers and gaining their acknowledgments. Reports filed in early Aug. indicated some providers have replies from 90% or more of customers. Vonage claimed a 96% response rate. But tens of thousands of phones still could have been cut off next week without the extension.