Today:  Alaska, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico Opt-In to FirstNet, AT&T Expands 5G Trials, FCC LNPA Transition, FCC Extends DIRS, FCC Report in TS Harvey 

Alaska, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico Opt-In To FirstNet

• Alaska Governor Walker approved the buildout plan for the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet).  "Opting in to FirstNet is an important step to ensure that Alaska's first responders can communicate when seconds can mean the difference between life and death. "Putting this technology in the hands of our public safety personnel brings us closer to building a safer Alaska," Gov. Bill Walker said.
• Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam accepted the FirstNet plan to deliver a wireless broadband network to the state’s public safety community.  "Reliable communications are vital to public safety's life-saving mission," said FirstNet CEO Mike Poth.  "Governor Haslam’s decision will help deliver innovation and interoperability to emergency personnel across Tennessee’s diverse landscape – including its rural, mountainous and remote areas, as well as federal lands. FirstNet looks forward to continuing our partnership with Tennessee to ensure the network meets public safety's needs – now and in the future.”
• Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló also announced his decision to accept the FirstNet plan.  “With this new tool we reinforce the exchange of information between the security agencies and the response during an emergency.  We are convinced that improving the communication between the components of public safety will be for the betterment of the people of Puerto Rico,” said Governor Rosselló.

AT&T Expands 5G Trials

AT&T announced that it is expanding its fixed wireless 5G trials to business and residential customers in Waco, TX; Kalamazoo, MI; and South Bend, IN by the end of the year.  Trial participants in the new markets may include universities, hospitals, churches, restaurants, and other small businesses.  Participants will be able to stream premium live TV via DIRECTV NOW and experience faster broadband services, all over a 5G internet connection.  To read more about the existing trial experiences, click here.

FCC LNPA Transition Webcast

The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced the date and time of the 20th Local Number Portability Administrator (LNPA) Transition Outreach and Education Plan (TOEP) webcast.  The TOEP webcast is scheduled for September 6, 2017, and will be hosted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, LLP, the Transition Oversight Manager for the LNPA transition.  These webcasts are one of the channels used to communicate with the public in accordance with the TOEP as described in the Transition Oversight Plan.  One week before the webcast, the agenda will be published on the LNPA Transition tab of the napmllc.org website.  Interested parties may register for the webcast here.

FCC Extends DIRS System To Nine Other Counties

The FCC has extended the data collection in its Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) to include nine additional counties in Texas, as follows: Bexar, Fayette, Hardin, Jasper, Montgomery, Newton, Sabine, San Jacinto, and Waller.  Communications providers that provide service to any these areas must expeditiously submit and update information through DIRS regarding the status of their communications equipment, restoration efforts, and power (i.e., whether they are using commercial power or back-up power). Reports are requested by 10:00 a.m. Friday, September 1, 2017, and every day after that by 10:00 a.m. until DIRS is deactivated.  The FCC reminds providers that for those that participate in DIRS, the separate Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) obligations are suspended for the duration of the DIRS activation with respect to outages in the counties where DIRS has been activated. 

FCC Updated Report On Tropical Storm Harvey

The FCC released an updated report on the status of communications services in geographic areas impacted by Tropical Storm Harvey as of August 31, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. EDT.  As before, the report incorporates network outage data submitted by communications providers to the FCC’s Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS).  DIRS still covers 55 counties in Texas and Louisiana.  The report indicates that: (1) there are now a total of 7 PSAPs affected by the storm (down from 11); (2) 3.8% of the cell sites in the affected area were out of service (down from 4.2%), there were not counties with greater that 40% of cell sites out of service and no cell sites out of service in LA.; (3) there are at least 270,139 cable and wireline subscribers  out of service in the affected area (up slightly from  267,426), 36 non-mobile switching centers out of service (down from 42) and 38 switching centers on back-up power (up from 25); (4) there are 9 radio stations out of service (up from 5); and (5) there are 2 TV stations out of service (down from 3).

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The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of a TMI Briefing.