FCC Expands Network Outage Reporting Requirements

Citing national security concerns, the FCC adopted new rules requiring wireless, wireline, cable, and satellite telecommunications providers to report information electronically to the Commission about significant disruptions or outages to their communications systems.



Under the new rules, both wireless and satellite providers will be subject, for the first time, to the Commission's reporting requirements. Currently, only wireline and cable telephony communications providers are required to report.



In addition, the Commission will require network outage reports whenever certain critical facilities are affected, including, for example, E911 facilities and the nation's larger airports. The Commission will also require network outage reports whenever especially critical transmission and network control technologies are disrupted, such as Signaling System 7 (SS7) and DS-3 transmission failures.



The FCC also ruled that all sensitive information collected as a result of these new rules will be protected from public disclosure. http://www.fcc.gov