Between 2009 and 2016, the number of wireless network outages increased from 189 to 1,079, making safety communications increasingly unavailable to the public, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) review. In that same time period, rapid growth in the number of wireless customers and the scale of wireless infrastructure has contributed to the outages, reported the FCC. Nearly all outages were attributed to a physical incident, with 75 percent of outages coming from accidents and 25 percent connected to natural disasters.
An additional challenge cited is that wireless networks depend on each other and “carriers reported that 87 percent of wireless outages attributed to a physical incident were due to a failure in another provider’s network on which they rely,” according to the GAO.
The solution to this outage issue? Homeland Preparedness News reported the GAO has recommendations given the increase of outages, including a series of steps for the FCC to bolster the resiliency of wireless networks. The recommendations also note that the agency should work with wireless providers to develop “specific and measurable” resiliency objectives, create a plan to monitor outputs, and promote awareness of the Wireless Network Resilience Cooperative Framework. Established by a wireless industry coalition, the framework enables carriers to roam on each other’s networks during outages and publish statistics about network performance during emergencies, Inside Towers reported.
“More robust measures and a better plan to monitor the framework would help FCC collect information on the framework and evaluate its effectiveness,” GAO stated. “Such steps could help FCC address any challenges or decide whether further action is needed. Also, by promoting awareness about the framework, FCC would help public safety officials and other industry participants to be well positioned to use the framework to help them prepare for or respond to emergency events.”
January 15, 2018
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