Emergency Communications

Alexandria (VA) is the latest locality in the DC area to join Smart911, a system that allows users to create a safety profile that first responders see when responding to calls for help. Information you can load in the system might include medical conditions, pets, emergency contact numbers and hazardous materials first responders might encounter, such as oxygen tanks and floor plans. “You can put in information about your location beyond the address,” City of Alexandria spokesman Craig Fifer said — “if you live in a basement apartment or if you have a guest residence in an outbuilding [in] your backyard. All of these pieces of information could help responders find the person who’s placing the call.”

The lack of cellular phone service in Puerto Rico right now is contributing to the unfolding humanitarian crisis on the island. “We had consumers that were standing outside the mall, plugging in where they found power, and people were lined up to use their phones, our customers’ phones to make calls,” says Issa Asad, the CEO of Q-Link, a wireless cell provider. Q-Link is the third-largest U.S. provider of Lifeline, a Federal Communications Commission program that provides phones and service to low-income users, which means that the company is extending a vital service to some of the most vulnerable victims of these hurricanes. Emergency 911 calls on Q-Link’s Houston network spiked by 900 percent after Harvey, Asad says.

Providing all that free bandwidth comes at a cost for Q-Link, of course. That’s one reason that Asad has proposed that the FCC require Lifeline providers to extend free coverage after disasters—and for the FCC to help out with the costs. “While Q-Link has undertaken these efforts voluntarily, we urge the Commission to consider whether a supplemental allotment of Lifeline support for additional minutes for consumers located in federally declared disaster or emergency areas should be a part of the Commission’s response to future disasters,” reads Asad’s presentation to the FCC, dated September 6. “We feel that the FCC should put a disaster-recovery plan in that enables us to help consumers,” Asad says. “Because right now one doesn’t exist.”

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai's call for Apple to activate the broadcast chips in iPhones has drawn some pushback from Apple suggesting Pai did not know its phones' capabilities, and a response from broadcasters suggesting Apple didn't either. Following Pai's public statement that the chips should be activated for the sake of public safety and accessing lifesaving broadcasts when cell service goes down, Apple suggested Pai was barking up the wrong tree. "IPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models do not have FM radio chips in them nor do they have antennas designed to support FM signals, so it is not possible to enable FM reception in these products," the company said.

But the National Association of Broadcasters, which had celebrated Pai's call for Apple activation, suggested Apple was not shooting straight. "Since 2012 NAB has commissioned quarterly 'tear down' reports from ABI Research on a wide variety of Smartphones to discover their capabilities. ABI’s analysis reveals that every Apple iPhone built during that time, including the iPhone 7, has a chipset that includes support for FM radio," said NAB executive VP, communications, Dennis Wharton. "Apple also continues to sell an iPhone 6S with an FM chip that is not activated, and there are nearly 100 million iPhones in the marketplace with a deactivated FM chip. Like FCC Chairman Pai, we encourage Apple to activate this feature on their future handsets so Americans can have access to lifesaving information during emergency situations, something that many local radio stations provide. We welcome the opportunity to work with Apple to make that happen."

With nearly half of Puerto Ricans without clean drinking water, and with the territory's electricity systems “totally shot,” according to President Donald Trump, the Caribbean island is in dire need of hurricane assistance. But that's not all: A report by the Federal Communications Commission shows that cellular service has been all but obliterated in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Maria. Although the area's two 911 dispatch centers are functional, as much as 91 percent of Puerto Rico's cell sites are out of action, according to the FCC. The US Virgin Islands aren't faring much better, with 66 percent of their cell sites currently down.

In recent years, I have repeatedly called on the wireless industry to activate the FM chips that are already installed in almost all smartphones sold in the United States. And I’ve specifically pointed out the public safety benefits of doing so. In fact, in my first public speech after I became Chairman, I observed that ‘[y]ou could make a case for activating chips on public safety grounds alone.’ When wireless networks go down during a natural disaster, smartphones with activated FM chips can allow Americans to get vital access to life-saving information. I applaud those companies that have done the right thing by activating the FM chips in their phones. Apple is the one major phone manufacturer that has resisted doing so. But I hope the company will reconsider its position, given the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

That’s why I am asking Apple to activate the FM chips that are in its iPhones. It is time for Apple to step up to the plate and put the safety of the American people first. As the Sun Sentinel of South Florida put it, ‘Do the right thing, Mr. Cook. Flip the switch. Lives depend on it.’

Mark Zuckerberg pledged $1.5 million in aid to organizations assisting in Puerto Rico’s recovery from Hurricane Maria, together with direct assistance from Facebook’s connectivity team to help the country get back online.

The hurricane left 80 percent of the island without power, and citizens have faced intense shortages of food, fuel, and drinking water in the seven days since landfall. The $1.5 million donation is split between the World Food Programme, an anti-hunger organization, and NetHope, a consortium of non-profits that works to improve connectivity in undeveloped or disaster-stricken areas. Zuckerberg asked concerned followers to donate to Save The Children, which is working to distribute aid on the island. Zuckerberg emphasized the importance of communications in the recovery effort. “With 90% of cell towers on the island out of service, people can't get in touch with their loved ones, and it's harder for rescue workers to coordinate relief efforts,” Zuckerberg wrote. “We're sending the Facebook connectivity team to deliver emergency telecommunications assistance to get the systems up and running.” The company also plans to use donated Facebook ad space to share critical information with Puerto Rican users, although the ads will be of little use until power and connectivity is restored.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration issues this Notice of Funding Opportunity to describe the requirements under which NTIA will award grants for the State and Local Implementation Grant Program 2.0 (SLIGP 2.0), authorized by section 6302 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (Act), to assist state, local and tribal governments with planning activities for the nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network.

Applications will be accepted from September 27, 2017 until December 28, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time; or from September 27, 2017 until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the 91st calendar day from the date that the Governor of an applicant State receives notice from FirstNet of its final State Plan, whichever is later. Applicants are encouraged to submit SLIGP 2.0 applications as soon as possible in the application window once their respective Governor has made a decision regarding the FirstNet State Plan for deployment of the Radio Access Network. The earlier submission of applications will assist NTIA with workflow challenges during the abbreviated application review time period.

Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel says her agency needs to do more to help restore phone service in areas affected by the recent string of devastating hurricanes. "After Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy @FCC held hearings to address network recovery. Why won’t agency do it for Harvey, Irma & Maria?” she tweeted. “These are people struggling to make phone calls in the United States. @FCC must study networks in disaster. Stat.”

Critics say the agency is responding slower than to previous hurricanes and are laying the blame on FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. In 2012, the FCC announced that it would hold agency hearings within weeks of Superstorm Sandy, which battered the Northeast. “Frankly, I think Pai is worried … that hearings will point to problems the FCC needs to solve through regulation,” said Harold Feld, senior vice president at Public Knowledge.

The Federal Communications Commission began an examination of the 911 calling capabilities of enterprise communications systems, which serve many office buildings, educational campuses, and hotels. Noting reports that some of these systems may not support direct 911 dialing, route 911 calls to the nearest 911 call center, or transmit accurate information on the caller’s location or call-back number, the Commission is seeking to identify the reasons why the 911 capabilities of these systems appear to be lagging. The FCC seeks input on topics including the current state of the enterprise communications systems marketplace; the public’s expectations when calling 911 from these systems; the capabilities, limitations, and costs of provisioning 911 on these systems; and related developments, such as the extent of state legislation and industry standards in this area. The FCC is also seeking comment on potential ways to ensure that 911 calling from these systems keeps pace with technological developments and public expectations, including through voluntary best practices or through the development of voluntary technical or operational standards. In addition, the FCC asks whether it should continue to refrain from adopting 911 rules for enterprise communications systems or whether updating or streamlining existing rules to better support 911 capabilities for these systems is warranted. (FCC 17-125)

Margarita Aponte and her relatives cleared the road in front of her house with two oxen Sept 24, then drove an hour from her devastated hometown in central Puerto Rico to the old telegraph building in the capital of San Juan. There, thousands of Puerto Ricans gathered for a chance at a resource nearly as precious as power and water in the wake of Hurricane Maria — communication. “It’s ringing, it’s ringing, it’s ringing!”

Aponte, a janitor, screamed as her phone connected to free Wi-Fi and her Facetime call went through to the mainland. Her eyes filled with tears as she talked with nephews, uncles, brothers and sisters in Florida and Massachusetts for the first time since Maria destroyed nearly every cellphone and fiber optic connection on this US territory of 3.4 million people. The low murmur at one of two free Wi-Fi hotspots is occasionally interrupted by the cheering of someone getting through the largely jammed network. Most spend hours frowning at their phones, unable to connect. “There’s no communication. We’re in God’s hands,” Yesenia Gomez, a kitchen worker, said as she left a message for her mother in the neighboring Dominican Republic. Dozens of other Puerto Ricans opted to pull over to the side of the road along various highways where cellphone signals were strongest.