FCC Deactivates DIRS for Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Issues Numbering Waiver
The FCC deactivated the disaster information reporting system for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Thursday. But a public notice in Friday's Daily Digest said “there is a strong possibility that DIRS will be reactivated for Hurricane Dorian if…
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current projections concerning the path and intensity of this storm are correct.” DIRS was deactivated at the request of the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the PN said. “Communications providers do not need to provide any additional reporting in DIRS in connection with this portion of Hurricane Dorian.” Friday, the Wireline Bureau granted temporary waiver of the phone aging rule for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Until May 29, providers in those areas can temporarily disconnect customers’ phone service at their request and reinstate them when service is reconnected. It applies to other areas that are declared to be states of emergency because of Dorian. To facilitate access to telecom after the hurricane, the bureau encouraged service providers to “port telephone numbers geographically outside a rate center to the extent it is technically feasible." The White House Friday authorized a declaration of emergency for Florida in connection with the storm.