Harvey Knocks Out More TV Stations, as Radio, Wireless Begin Recovering; Pai Plans Trip
The numbers of cell sites and radio stations knocked out by Tropical Storm Harvey and of cable and wireline customers without service (see 1708290029) is dropping, though the number of TV stations off air has ticked up, the FCC said Wednesday in its latest status report. The agency is receiving some kudos for its storm-related response and some criticism for its wireless emergency upgrade proceeding. Companies are stepping up aid.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
The FCC said five radio stations are out of service in the 55-county Texas and Louisiana area directly affected by the storm, down from seven Tuesday, and 4.2 percent of the cellsites in those counties are down, compared with 4.7 percent Tuesday. It said no county has more than 50 percent of its cellsites out of service; two Texas counties had between 73 and 85 percent of their cell towers reported down Tuesday. The agency said three Texas TV stations were off air, compared with one Tuesday. At least 267,426 cable and wireline subscribers in the affected area are without service, compared with 283,593 Tuesday, it said.
Chairman Ajit Pai said he would visit Harvey-affected areas Tuesday: “Working in close coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, the FCC will do everything it can to help restore communications services.”
Citing the widespread phone service disruptions and outages from Harvey, the Wireline Bureau in an order Tuesday said it will temporarily waive numbering rules to allow Texas and Louisiana carriers and numbering administrators to port telephone numbers geographically outside of rate centers. The agency said the waiver is retroactive to Monday and in effect until Nov. 26, and if carriers can't resume service on a normal basis in Harvey-hit areas after that, they can request additional relief from the bureau.
Citing the waiver, Gigi Sohn, an aide to former Chairman Tom Wheeler, tweeted Wednesday the agency was "doing a great job" in its Harvey response. But Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted a July docket 15-91 filing by Harris County, Texas, Homeland Security and Emergency Management saying potential delay of a wireless emergency alert enhancement final NPRM "has left the public safety community feeling frustrated and disappointed." "For shame it wasn't done before," Rosenworcel said.
Technology and communications companies stepped up responses, with many engaging in fundraising and suspending for now certain overage and other charges. Many also contributed money to relief efforts and said employees are volunteering.
Such providers include Amazon, AT&T, Google and Samsung. Verizon will deploy cells on wheels and cells on light trucks to supplement service in affected areas of South Texas, it said. Comcast/NBCUniversal opened 53,000 Xfinity Wi-Fi hot spots in the Houston area to noncustomers, it said Wednesday. Dish Network said it and nonprofit Information Technology Disaster Resource Center jointly deployed a mobile command center to outside Corpus Christi, Texas, to be a coordination hub for installation of satellite broadband and TV services for disaster relief sites and shelters.