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1 1 (October 8, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveqxp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service informing the legislative debate since 1914 0 October 8, 2024 Restoration of Cell Phone Services: Hurricane Helene On September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida. The hurricane caused flooding and damage to personal property and critical infrastructure, including roads, power, and communication networks. The storm's damage spread across parts of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Virginia. According to data reported to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by wireless service providers, while cell sites had been repaired in many counties a week after the storm (October 3, 2024), some counties' cell site outages persisted. Congress may examine public-private preparedness for communication outages from Hurricane Helene and consider how to prepare for and respond to future disasters and restore cell service in hard-hit regions. Some state and local officials reported coordination with wireless service providers on preparation and restoration efforts; others, including a mayor and residents in North Carolina, reportedly faulted public-private preparation efforts. Wireless providers reported on preparation and restoration efforts but noted challenges in some areas. Challenges derived from damaged critical infrastructure (e.g., roads) inhibiting access to cell sites, damage to cell towers and wire lines (e.g., fiber) that connect cell sites to a provider's network, and lack of power to cell sites hindering permanent restoration. Federa Rol en Restoring Ce Services Generally, wireless networks are privately owned. Network owners take responsibility for repairing their networks and restoring services for their customers (e.g., government agencies, businesses, individuals) after disasters. When authorized, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may deploy communication assets to support federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial response (e.g., deploying mobile assets for emergency managers). FEMA also coordinates with the private sector to aid in the restoration of private networks (e.g., coordinating debris removal to enable access to cell sites, sharing information on power restoration). The FCC monitors the status of commercial networks and provides government officials and the public with information on the status of communications, outages, and restoration efforts. To do this, the FCC requires providers to report on the status of their networks during disasters. Disaster Information Reporting System In anticipation of a disaster or after an unexpected disaster, the FCC may activate the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS). DIRS is a web-based system that providers use to report network status during disasters. The FCC announces DIRS activations through public notices and emails to providers; the notice lists the counties covered and reporting requirements. The FCC requires providers to submit daily reports on their network status for listed counties. The FCC gives network status data to federal emergency management officials. It also allows designated state agencies to share the information with first responders, emergency communications centers, and other government agencies with a public safety role. The FCC publishes aggregated outage data (e.g., communications status reports on the FCC's Hurricane Helene website). Mandatory Disaster Response Intiative The FCC can activate the Mandatory Disaster Response Initiative (MDRI) for facilities-based mobile wireless providers operating in a certain geographic area in the aftermath of a disaster. In June 2022, the FCC adopted a Report and Order codifying an existing voluntary agreement between a limited group of large wireless service providers agreeing to coordinate during disasters to enable access to communications (called the Wireless Network Resiliency Cooperative Framework). The rules require providers to improve coordination during emergencies or disasters by * providing for reasonable roaming when feasible, * establishing mutual aid agreements with other wireless service providers, * enhancing municipal preparedness and restoration, * increasing consumer readiness and preparation, and * improving public awareness and stakeholder communications on service and restoration status. FCC rules require providers to perform these tasks when MDRI is activated. The FCC may activate MDRI when * an authorized entity (e.g., FEMA) activates Emergency Support Function 2 (ESF-2)-a team of federal agencies designated to support restoration of communications; * the FCC activates DIRS; or * the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Chief releases a public notice in response to a state's request to activate MDRI, where that state has activated its emergency operations center or mutual aid agreements or has proclaimed a state of emergency. Hurricane Helene Response Private-sector wireless service providers and the U.S. government, including FEMA and the FCC, took action before, during, and after Hurricane Helene to protect and restore communications infrastructure. Before Hurricane Heene Made Landfall Days before landfall, the U.S. government and private telecommunication providers began preparing for Hurricane Helene's arrival in the continental United States. On September 24, 2024, FEMA announced that it was actively preparing and pre-staging resources to support state and local government response, including Mobile Emergency

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