FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel says the agency is monitoring how the Los Angeles wildfires are impacting residents’ ability to receive the information they need to stay safe. “At the request of FEMA and state officials, the FCC has boots on the ground through the deployment of spectrum survey teams to assess the impact to cellular communications in Los Angeles County,” said Rosenworcel. “This data is used to identify communications gaps, which informs emergency response activities and identifies where communications assets are needed.”
“While communications outages remain minimal, the FCC will continue to closely monitor developments and do whatever we can to help ensure that residents and first responders are able to communicate and stay informed during this crisis,” said Rosenworcel.
The agency staff is also helping to manage public safety spectrum use and coordinating with government and industry on response efforts. The Commission has issued grants of Special Temporary Authority to keep communications operational.
The Western Fire Chiefs Association is reporting, as of Monday, the Eaton fire which threatened Mount Wilson is 35 percent contained while the Palisades fire is only 15 percent contained. T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) says it has restored about half of the sites impacted by power outages and is continuing to deploy portable generators at sites in areas like Altadena, Duarte, Calabasas, Malibu, Fillmore and Agoura Hills until commercial power is fully restored.
AT&T (NYSE: T), Verizon (NYSE: VZ), and T-Mobile all announced they are waiving data charges, providing unlimited calls, texts, and data for customers in the impacted parts of the city. Verizon has deployed free WiFi and charging stations for public use in several locations throughout Los Angeles. T-Mobile said its teams are on hand to deploy relief supplies, including WiFi, device charging, and “power packs” for charging, as conditions safely allow.
Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR), operating as Spectrum, announced it has opened 35,000 WiFi hotspots in Los Angeles to the public, providing free internet access to anyone that needs it. The hotspots cover a large portion of the city, and you can find them in places like restaurants, parks, cafes, retail stores, city streets, and more.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
Reader Interactions