Subject: [NEXTEL-1] FCC ADOPTS RULES TO ENHANCE NETWORK OUTAGE REPORTING TO FACILITATE MORE RELIABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND PROMOTE HOMELAND SECURITY

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 05 Aug 2004 15:43:59 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
August 4, 2004 Fred Thomas
(202) 418-2449

FCC ADOPTS RULES TO ENHANCE NETWORK OUTAGE REPORTING TO FACILITATE MORE
RELIABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND PROMOTE HOMELAND SECURITY

Washington, D.C. - The FCC today adopted new rules requiring wireless,
wireline, cable, and satellite telecommunications providers to report
information electronically to the Commission about significant
disruptions or outages to their communications systems.  The Commission
also ruled that all sensitive information collected as a result of these
new rules will be protected from public disclosure.

The FCC’s actions are in response to the increasing reliance consumers
place on various forms of two-way communications, and the Commission’s
need for prompt information about significant disruptions to those
communications during this time of increasing concern about homeland
security and national defense.  These actions will facilitate more
reliable telecommunications throughout the United States and promote
Homeland Security, building on the telecommunications industry’s efforts
to date to improve outage reporting.
Under the new rules, both wireless and satellite providers will be
subject, for the first time, to the Commission’s reporting
requirements.  Currently, only wireline and cable telephony
communications providers are required to report.   The increasing use of
cell phones and pagers, as well as the Nation’s growing dependence on
satellite communications as critical infrastructure, necessitated these
changes to the Commission’s rules.

In addition, the Commission will require network outage reports whenever
certain critical facilities are affected, including, for example, E911
facilities and the nation’s larger airports.  The Commission will also
require network outage reports whenever especially critical transmission
and network control technologies are disrupted, such as Signaling System
7 (SS7) and DS-3 transmission failures.

Furthermore, the Commission recognized that the information collected as
a result of these new rules is likely to be sensitive information that
would cause substantial competitive harm and/or seriously undermine
national defense and public safety if publicly disclosed.  Thus, the
Commission found that the information in outage reports will need to be
protected from public disclosure to the full extent of the law.

To promote security and ease outage reporting, communications providers
will use an electronic template to provide the requested information in
encrypted form.  The electronic template was derived from the
Commission’s experience in administering network outage reporting
requirements for wireline telephone companies, and will simplify and
improve the Commission’s reporting requirements.

Finally, in a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission is
seeking comment on additional issues in the area of network outage
reporting affecting telecommunications service to airports, including
appropriate reporting requirements for smaller airports and for
facilities not connected with the Public Switched Telecommunications
Network (PSTN).
Action by the Commission August 4, 2004, by Report and Order and Further
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 04-188).  Chairman Powell,
Commissioners Abernathy, Copps, Martin and Adelstein.  Separate
statements issued by Chairman Powell, Commissioners Abernathy, Copps,
Martin, and Adelstein
Office of Engineering and Technology contact:  Kent Nilsson,
202-418-0845, e-mail – [email-masked];  Jeff Goldthorp,
202-418-1096, e-mail – [email-masked].
ET Docket No. 04-35

-FCC-

 http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250543A1.doc

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