Improving Network Resiliency

The Federal Communications Commission is requiring changes that it hopes will improve the reliability and resiliency of cellular networks to be better prepared for and respond better to emergencies. The FCC's order cites recent emergencies like Hurricane Ida, the earthquakes in Puerto Rico, severe winter storms in Texas, and worsening hurricane and wildfire seasons. This makes me wonder if we might someday see similar requirements for internet service providers (ISPs) and broadband networks. The FCC wants to leverage the industry-developed Wireless Network Resiliency Cooperative Framework as a starting point for introducing new rules it is calling the Mandatory Disaster Response Initiative (MDRI). The new rules require cellular network owners to regularly test their emergency capabilities and file a report with the FCC after every declared emergency to describe in detail how the carrier ended up responding to the emergency. It’s a change that is overdue because, as the FCC notes, lives are dependent during an emergency on a functioning cellular network. However, one issue the order doesn’t address is that large parts of rural America still have poor or nonexistent cellular coverage. For these folks, a broadband connection is their lifeline to the world in the way that a cellular connection is vital to others during and after an emergency.

[Doug Dawson is president of CCG Consulting.]