FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn met with South Florida public safety officials, telecommunications workers restoring cell towers and other wireless infrastructure and broadcasters Monday to get a firsthand assessment of the damage caused by Hurricane Irma. The group also toured the David Paulison Fire Rescue Headquarters Building, met with a Florida Public Service Commissioner and staff from the FCC’s Miami Field Office and visited WIOD-AM.
At the Miami-Dade Emergency Operations Center, Pai and Clyburn spoke with staff to learn more about their response to Hurricane Irma. Pai praised Florida’s first responders; he said they handled triple the normal amount of calls before, during and after Hurricane Irma, reported WLRN.org. “The other thing that was noticeable, was it was very difficult given some of the power outages, to figure out where people were,” Pai said, according to WPBF-TV.
Pai noted about five percent of the cell tower sites were not operating in southeast Texas after Hurricane Harvey, contrasted with about 27 percent of Florida’s 14,502 cell towers post-Irma. Pai cited Irma’s wind and widespread power outages for the difference. Better planning for reliable backup power will be crucial to improving cell service after future storms, he said, according to WLRN.
Inside Towers reported carriers pre-staged fuel for generators and backup batteries before both storms. In some cases, their trucks were impeded by high winds and debris in the streets, preventing them from quickly accessing a site.
Clyburn agreed with Pai, saying: “We need to really have serious conversation about backup power — how much in terms of battery life. We’ve been talking about eight-plus hours; hopefully improvements are being made to extend that.”
What they’ve learned will help the Commission develop policies to ensure the nation’s communications networks and 911 systems remain resilient during future disasters, Clyburn said.
September 20, 2017
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