Emergency Communications

A false alert sent to cellphones across Hawaii on Saturday warning of an incoming ballistic missile is calling attention to an emergency notification system that government officials at all levels say needs major improvements. The Federal Communications Commission said it was opening a “full investigation into what happened.” Sen Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) praised FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for moving swiftly to address the mistake. FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel also expressed concern about the system’s failure.

An early-morning emergency alert mistakenly warning of an incoming ballistic missile attack was dispatched to cellphones across Hawaii, setting off widespread panic in a state that was already on edge because of escalating tensions between the United States and North Korea. The alert, sent by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, was revoked 38 minutes after it was issued, prompting confusion over why it was released — and why it took so long to rescind.

The Federal Communications Commission is poised to make good on one of my top resolutions from last year: prioritizing high-quality economic and data analysis at the agency. After nine months of study and extensive interviews with several dozen experts both inside and outside the agency, the working group issued a report that included some concrete recommendations. Based on the insights from its report, I’ve shared with my colleagues an Order to create a new Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA).

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the January Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 30, 2018:

The Government Accountability Office was asked to review federal efforts to improve the resiliency of wireless networks following natural disasters and other physical incidents. This report examines: (1) trends in mobile wireless outages reported to Federal Communications Commission since 2009 and (2) actions federal agencies and industry have taken since 2013 (after Hurricane Sandy) to improve wireless network resiliency, among other objectives.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai issued the following statement on the proposal he circulated to improve Wireless Emergency Alerts:  

Software on iPhones and Android smartphones help mobile apps like Uber and Facebook to pinpoint a user’s location, making it possible to order a car, check in at a local restaurant or receive targeted advertising. But 911, with a far more pressing purpose, is stuck in the past. U.S. regulators estimate as many as 10,000 lives could be saved each year if the 911 emergency dispatching system were able to get to callers one minute faster. Better technology would be especially helpful, regulators say, when a caller can’t speak or identify his or her location.

Following news that all of the nation’s states have opted in to FirstNet’s public-safety network, executives at FirstNet and AT&T are now moving forward with their network buildout plans.

The US Department of Commerce and the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) announced that all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands have accepted FirstNet and AT&T’s proposals to design and build a broadband network for the public safety community. Guam, the Pacific Territories of American Samoa, and the Mariana Islands have until March 12, 2018, to make their decision. 

Puerto Rico's post-Maria communications effort could serve as a disaster-response playbook for other governments. Three months after Maria made landfall, rolled back regulations, experimental technologies and portable satellite terminals have helped the government and private-sector restore communications across more than 85 percent of the island.