 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||
|
|
![Previous (earlier) Story](/images/sty-down.gif "New Emergency Preparedness Law "Legalizes" Amateur Radio in All Texas Public Schools"){kind=small} Previous: New Emergency Preparedness Law "Legalizes" Amateur Radio in All Texas Public Schools |  Next: Surfin': Long-Delayed Echoes -- Again, Again, Again... |
On July 11, the FCC released its Order regarding the recommendations of the independent panel reviewing the impact of hurricane Katrina on communications networks (Katrina Panel). It contained their conclusions that followed a review of the comments filed in response to the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). The Commission asked for comments a week after the release of the report and recommendations of the Katrina Panel and directed the Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) to implement several of the recommendations. The FCC also adopted rules requiring some communications providers to have emergency/back-up power and to conduct analyses and submit reports on the redundancy and resiliency of their 911 and E911 networks. The FCC's actions go into effect August 10.
The Commission noted that "the amateur radio community played an important role in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters," and instructed the PSHSB to "include the amateur radio community in its outreach efforts."
The FCC invited comments on the Katrina Panel's recommendation that the FCC "act to enhance the public safety community's awareness of non-traditional emergency alternative technologies that might be of value as back-up communications systems in a crisis." Several commenters suggested that the public safety community be educated about the applicability of Amateur Radio in a crisis. The FCC agreed with these comments, saying that improving the public safety community's knowledge of, and training in, alternative technologies would improve preparedness for future crises. They directed the PSHSB to "develop and implement an awareness program to educate public safety agencies about alternative technologies and to encourage agencies to provide regular training on any alternative technologies to be used," including educating public safety agencies about alternative technologies.
The recommendations said that several Amateur Radio operators recommended changes to Part 97 of the FCC's rules; Part 97 is the section that covers Amateur Radio. Many of the suggestions, the report said, have already been implemented, and as such, require no further action. For example, "the Commission recently eliminated Morse Code proficiency as a license qualification requirement, an action supported by several commenters in this proceeding."
The FCC once again made clear that Part 97 "does not prohibit Amateur Radio operators who are emergency personnel engaged in disaster relief from using their amateur radio bands while in a paid duty status." This changed this past December in WT Docket 04-140, the "Omnibus" Amateur Radio Report and Order (R&O).
The Commission also previously decided to phase out RACES station licenses, "making proposed changes to rules relevant to these licenses moot." ARRL Regulatory Information Specialist Dan Henderson, N1ND, notes that the FCC "is not phasing out the RACES program, just the RACES station licenses."
Credentialing
The FCC also sought comments regarding the Katrina Panel's recommendation that the FCC work with other federal departments and agencies, as well as the communications industry "to promote and develop national credentialing requirements and process guidelines to enable communications infrastructure providers and their contracted workers to affected areas after a disaster." The National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committees (NSTAC) made the same recommendation to President Bush in 2006.
The Panel recommended that the FCC "work with the communications industry to develop an appropriate basic NIMS training course for communications repair workers that can be completed online as a requirement for credentialing." The Panel also said the FCC should "encourage, but not require, each regional, state and local EOC or JFO to develop credentialing requirements and procedures, consistent with any national credentialing guidelines, for purposes of allowing communications infrastructure providers, their contracted workers and private security teams, if any, access to the affected areas post-disaster."
Commenters to this proposal generally supported credentialing communications personnel to access affected areas post-disaster. Many stressed that credentialing recommendations should apply to all communications providers; however, commenters were split regarding whether NIMS training should be required as a requirement for credentialing.
The FCC concluded, since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), rather than the FCC, has jurisdiction and authority to adopt credentialing guidelines that apply to the communications industry, the DHS has "primary responsibility to coordinate federal incident management activities, including disaster site access and credentialing, for all emergency personnel."
PSHSB staff is already working with DHS to help ensure that any credentialing program would "encompass critical communications infrastructure repair crews and their contracting support staff and to support coordination with regional, state and local officials regarding the development of consistent credentialing programs for communications providers." The FCC believes the issue of whether to require NIMS training as a requirement for credentialing is best addressed by DHS and regional, state and local authorities as they develop their credentialing programs." The FCC agrees with DHS that the FCC's credentialing efforts "should complement, not supersede or duplicate, those of DHS," and directed PSHSB to continue to work with DHS and the states on these efforts.
Proposed New Radio Service Would "Facilitate Interoperability between Different First Responders"
In his comments to the Katrina Panel, W. Lee McVey requested that the FCC initiate a rulemaking to create a new radio service in the 148-150 MHz band "to facilitate interoperability between different first responders during and following a national emergency" The FCC noted that the 148-149.9 band is allocated on a primary basis for the federal mixed, mobile and mobile satellite (Earth-to-space) service, and the 149-150.05 MHz segment is allocated on a co-primary basis for federal and non-federal mobile satellite (Earth-to-space) and radio navigation.
The FCC's report said "[This] petition does not address this use nor does it explain what rules would be necessary to govern access to this spectrum. Given the potential impact of McVey's proposal to spectrum allocated for federal use, we direct PSHSB, together with the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET), to seek feedback from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on this petition."
The FCC said that when it receives the feedback, they will direct PSHSB and OET to make a determination on the appropriate action to be taken on McVey's petition.
Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act and Temporary Exemption for Ad Hoc Networks
Champaign Urbana Wireless Network et al asked the Commission to clarify that volunteers who build ad hoc networks in response to an emergency do not need to comply with the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). They state that, in response to Hurricane Katrina, "Volunteers created numerous wireless networks to provide needed Internet connectivity for Red Cross shelters and others in areas where Katrina destroyed or substantially degraded existing infrastructure. On completing construction of these ad hoc networks, the volunteers turned these networks over to local operators and moved on to help others."
Champaign Urbana et al said "many of these ad hoc networks remained in operation for months and may still remain in operation today," and that volunteers generally did not maintain contact or provide any services for these networks once they turned them over to local operators. "These volunteers are not telecommunications carriers to whom CALEA generally applies and these volunteers do not provide these services for hire…[and] these volunteers do not fall under the 'substantial replacement provision' of [CALEA]."
Champaign Urbana et al requested that the FCC establish a "blanket waiver" for ad hoc wireless networks created in response to a state of emergency, and "that any liability that might arise for failure to comply with CALEA if the networks remain in operation after the emergency would not lie with those who created the network so long as they turned control over the network to others."
The FCC replied that it did not have "sufficient information in the record" to justify the blanket waiver as suggested. They declined to issue such a waiver for these types of networks because "it is not clear whether Champaign Urbana's request is for a blanket waiver of ad hoc temporary networks in all cases of emergencies, including those involving terrorist attacks. If so, such a waiver could actually impede law enforcement and thus hinder the purposes of CALEA." The FCC also noted that CALEA exemptions may only be granted "after formal consultation with the US Attorney General and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has previously opposed granting blanket CALEA exemptions."
| Previous: New Emergency Preparedness Law "Legalizes" Amateur Radio in All Texas Public Schools | Next: Surfin': Long-Delayed Echoes -- Again, Again, Again... |
