Today:  FCC Extends Comment Period in Section 706 Proceeding, FCC Announces Deactivation of DIRS, FCC Preparations for Hurricane Irma 

FCC Extends Comment Period In Section 706 Proceeding

The FCC agreed to extend the deadline for filing initial and reply comments in response to the Thirteenth Section 706 Report Notice of Inquiry.  The new deadlines are September 21, 2017 and October 6, 2017, respectively.  TMI Briefing Service subscribers see Briefing dated 8/14/17.  They had been due September 7, 2017 and September 22, 2017.  The FCC found that an extension of the comment and reply comment deadline was appropriate in this case in order to allow interested parties to review relevant public materials and develop thorough, informative submissions.

FCC Announces Deactivation of DIRS

The FCC announced it has deactivated its Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) for Hurricane Harvey.  Communications providers no longer need to provide additional reporting in DIRS for this event.  The FCC said it will continue to monitor the status of communications services and work with providers and government partners as needed to support remaining restoration efforts.  The FCC published its final daily communications status report for Hurricane Harvey on September 5.  See the Regulatory Mix dated 9/5/17.  The deactivation was requested by FEMA.

FCC Preparations For Hurricane Irma

In anticipation of Hurricane Irma impacting the US, the FCC released a public notice providing guidance from its International Bureau, Media Bureau, Wireline Competition Bureau, and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau concerning applications for special temporary authority and providing Bureau contacts during and after business hours.  The procedures are intended to help communications services initiate, resume, and maintain operations in the areas affected by Hurricane Irma.

Separately, the FCC released contact information for providers operating in areas expected to be impacted by Hurricane Irma.  It reminds emergency communications providers, including broadcasters, cable service providers, wireless and wireline service providers, satellite service providers, emergency response managers and first responders, and others needing assistance to initiate, resume, or maintain communications operations during the weekend, to contact the FCC Operations Center for assistance at 202-418-1122 or by e-mail at FCCOPCenter@fcc.gov. Consumers are reminded to directly report any communication service outages to their service providers.

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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.