Disaster Recovery Has Complicated Issues Tough to Resolve, BDAC Told

Adelstein said power outages are a top issue. He wants accelerated discussions, with electric utilities and electricity groups represented on the committee: “When it comes to communications, we're in the same milieu as everybody else when the power goes down.” Claims are made that a cell tower is down, he said. “I actually call various media outlets and say the cell tower is still standing,” he said. “It just doesn't have any power, so the site is not operational.”

Education is critical, said Red Grasso, with the North Carolina Department of Information Technology, chair of the disaster group. Grasso said after Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina, some media reported that several 911 call centers were down, even though all 911 calls were getting through. “We had 911 centers that were evacuated and we had calls that were rerouted to another 911 center,” he said.

“When we're having a conversation around disaster recovery and putting in backup communication infrastructure, putting in the cheapest infrastructure should not be our goal,” said David Young, representing the National League of Cities. “We need to do it and do it once. … It needs to be hardened infrastructure. Telecommunications is a public safety issue.”

Utilities can't say “cheap is good, more is better, and it's also public safety in the same breath,” Young said: “We really need to have a conversation around requiring hardened infrastructure.”

“We are working every day with small-cell companies in trying to figure out how to get small cells deployed as fast as possible,” said Allen Bell, distribution support manager at Georgia Power. “Everybody has their own quirks,” Bell said. “We have to keep repeating the same message over and over again. This is what you need to do to get power connected. We have requests for things like, ‘Well, why don't you just put the hot wire up to [the cell], and we'll connect it when it's built.’ No. That's not a good idea. What if you decide not to build there, and then we just have a hot wire in the communications space?”

Perfection can't be the standard, said Christopher Yoo, University of Pennsylvania law professor. “Everyone wants a backup instantly,” he said. “It has a cost and the increased cost will trade off with the other goals we've been advocating in the BDAC.” Yoo drew a comparison to the concerns raised every time a Tesla crashes. “If perfection is our standard, these things are never going to crash,” he said: “We’re never going to get a technology.”

In the afternoon session, questions arose over a Wireless Bureau notice released last week (see 1909130062) seeking clarification of siting rules under Section 6409(a) of the Spectrum Act of 2012 and Section 224 of the Communications Act. WIA and CTIA had sought clarity. “In reality, there are new rules being proposed within those regulations,” said Larry Hanson, executive director of the Georgia Municipal Association. “It struck me that those types of issues are the very reason that BDAC was created.”

NATOA General Counsel Nancy Werner supported Hanson. “If we're able to have more of a collaborative conversation, we could probably better understand the problem and come up with some creative solutions,” Werner said. Adelstein welcomed the discussion. “We are not asking for new rules with regard to local municipalities,” he said. A small number of localities “are trying to do work-arounds,” he said: “Dialogue is welcome.”

BDAC Chair Elizabeth Bowles, president of Aristotle, agreed to form an ad hoc working group to look at the collocation issues raised by the telecom trade groups, but only if Chairman Ajit Pai agrees.

Carr Concerns

BDAC's work has made “a key difference in accelerating the buildout of infrastructure in communities around the country,” said Commissioner Brendan Carr: “We are seeing such an acceleration of infrastructure build.” The U.S. had about 13,000 small cells installed in 2017, jumping to more than 60,000 in 2018, he said: By year-end, some 200,000 small cells will be in play.

The U.S. is leading the world on 5G, with more than 40 commercial 5G builds before the year's end, Carr said. “That compares to China, which right now has zero,” he said: “We are so far in really good shape. We have to keep making progress.”

“The actions the commission has taken to date have accelerated infrastructure deployment and further action would further accelerate infrastructure deployment like FirstNet and rolling out broadband,” said Chris Nurse, AT&T assistant vice president-state legislative and regulatory affairs. Everyone has to deal with limited resources, Nurse said: “A municipality may have 11 fire trucks, but why don't they have 12?"

Workers Sought

Carr's particularly focused on training for tower workers, one of the group’s focuses this year. The U.S. needs another 20,000 tower workers, by some estimates, compared to the 29,000 active today, he said.

BDAC got a first update from its Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Job Skills and Training Opportunities Working Group. Leticia Latino, CEO of tower company Neptuno and chair of the WG, said 40 percent of companies can’t find the 5G workers they need. The report has an overview of the problems and recommendations on training.

“This is a huge issue that's facing us,” said Kelly McGriff, Uniti Group deputy general counsel. “This economy is amazing, and it's the gift that keeps on giving. The problem with that is it creates a very tight labor market. We have a lot of open positions right now that we find very hard to fill.”

“Construction across the board is having a hard time finding people to do the work,” Adelstein said. The report's early version offers probably the best analysis he has seen on the issue, he said.

BDAC’s Increasing Broadband Investment in Low-Income Communities WG offered preliminary findings. It's looking at regulatory and other barriers of deployment, recommendations for investment incentive and barriers to adoption.

The committee next meets Dec. 3 and 4 at the FCC.