FCC seeks more feedback on broadcaster disaster reporting

The FCC is inching closer to a requirement that radio and TV broadcasters file updates on their operational status following disasters.

The commission, at its January meeting, updated its rules for the use of its Disaster Information Reporting System. Until now, all providers, including broadcasters, have used the system voluntarily, but the FCC said this approach has led to gaps in reporting.

The adopted order requires voice and cable providers to report their infrastructure status information in DIRS daily when the system has been activated.

Broadcasters, for now, are excluded, but an accompanying proposed rulemaking asks whether broadcasters should be required to participate. The FCC has said that broadcasters voluntarily provide information in DIRS for only 20% to 35% of stations in most activations.

The proposal also asks whether broadcasters should also be required to enter any outages to the FCC’s separate Network Outage Reporting System, or NORS. Currently only wireline, cable, satellite and wireless providers are required to use NORS to report network outages that last at least 30 minutes, and the order adopted this week suspends NORS reporting obligations now that voice and cable providers are required to report in DIRS, so providers are not obligated to report twice.

And the FCC is asking whether it should require broadcasters to supply the FCC with after-action reports detailing how their networks fared during the emergency or disaster event.

Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel says network resiliency and readiness of communications systems in response to a disaster are priorities. “We live in a world with wild weather. Dramatic fires, floods, hurricanes and blizzards are occurring more frequently and doing more damage than ever before,” she said in a statement. “In short, when disaster strikes, you want communications to work.”

Rosenworcel said it is critical for the FCC to have information that it can share with other federal agencies, as well as state and local first responders, to assist those on the ground with facts about where disconnections have occurred, where operations are vulnerable and where restoration efforts are required.

A mandate for broadcast stations to participate when a disaster hits their region is not a new idea. The NAB and broadcasters generally have opposed any mandate for participating in DIRS, saying it would be unnecessary and burdensome.

The FCC acknowledged those arguments in the proposed rulemaking. But it said it believes mandatory DIRS reporting for broadcasters “could ensure a standardized and coordinated approach among entities potentially impacted by disasters, allowing authorities to make informed decisions about emergency response activities and avenues to communicate with the public” during emergency situations.

“We believe this could be of particular significance given broadcasters’ role in the EAS, as well as the continued reliance on broadcast communications by underserved and non-English-speaking communities for the dissemination of emergency and weather-related information.”

The FCC says it is cognizant of the plight of smaller broadcasters with small staffs and limited technical abilities and resources. It wants to know if, by participating in mandatory DIRS, even smaller broadcasters could contribute to a broader emergency response network, ultimately benefiting the communities they serve; and whether the benefits of requiring reporting outweigh any burden on smaller broadcasters.

“In light of concerns expressed for smaller providers, however, we seek comment on whether we should consider adopting different reporting requirements for small and large broadcasters and, if so, how should those lines be drawn,” the FCC continued. It also asked whether LPFM stations should be excluded from a mandate.

The commission is also weighing whether to require broadcasters to report in the Network Outage Reporting System on an ongoing basis. The FCC says it generally lacks timely insight into the resiliency of segments of the broadcast ecosystem. For example, the commission’s rules only require TV stations to notify the commission within 10 days of discontinuing operations, which means the FCC and other emergency response officials may be unaware that a station is off air and that its audience is not receiving relevant information.

“We propose requiring TV and radio broadcasters to report in both NORS and DIRS subject to a simplified reporting process based on the type and modality of certain broadcast infrastructures,” the commission wrote.

There are potential operational impacts for broadcasters if the FCC ultimately adopts the requirements. For instance, the FCC asks whether simplified reporting in DIRS should merely require a broadcaster to identify whether it is “on-air” or “off-air,” and whether it would be necessary for them to provide details on any restoration.

Its questions continued: “Should we also require broadcasters to notify us within 24 hours of going silent when DIRS has been activated and within 24 hours of resuming service after DIRS activation has been lifted? What alternative NORS or DIRS reporting intervals would be appropriate? Should NORS or DIRS filings specify if alerting capabilities are impacted, including whether the broadcaster’s access to FEMA’s IPAWS is operational?”

The FCC even asks whether it should require notice when a broadcaster’s ability to access IPAWS is disrupted, regardless of the operational status of its transmitter. And should the DIRS filing requirement apply to translators and boosters that merely pass along programming from other stations without generating their own?

It also proposes that reporting in NORS or DIRS would not supplant the ongoing requirement to notify the commission about going silent in the Licensing and Management System (LMS), but it wonders if this would create duplication in effort.

One possible point of contention, given past comments by broadcasters, is the estimate the commission has published for the cost. It believes mandatory broadcaster reporting in NORS and DIRS would cost the industry no more than $33.7 million per year. Almost all of that, it thinks, would relate to NORS filing rather than DIRS reporting.

Once the proposal is published in the Federal Register, comment dates will be set. RadioWorld