NPRM to be considered this month would prompt another round of industry comment
BY RANDY J. STINE
PUBLISHED: JANUARY 8, 2024'
This story serves as a follow-up to our Jan. 5 story “FCC Seeks to Enhance DIRS Reporting.”
The FCC is considering imposing new reporting mandates on broadcasters so it can better determine the condition of communication systems following natural disasters. It has been talking about the idea of such a requirement for a while and appears to be getting serious about it. But it is asking for more information before doing so.
If eventually adopted, new rules would require radio and TV broadcasters to file operational status updates with the FCC following disasters like hurricanes and wildfires.
For now, the FCC is preparing to vote at its monthly meeting on Jan. 24 on whether to require other types of companies, including cable TV, wireless service providers, and interconnected VoIP providers, to report outages following disasters. The draft order does not include broadcasters.
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