Recovery From Michael Slowed by Damage, Coordination Gaps, FCC Told

Telco, cable and electric company interests cited their efforts to restore services in the Florida Panhandle hammered by Hurricane Michael in October. Recovery was slowed by the magnitude of the devastation and coordination difficulties, and service remains out in some areas, they commented, posted through Tuesday responding to an FCC Public Safety Bureau public notice in docket 18-339 (see 1811160050).

Verizon acknowledged restoring service took longer than it expected in the Panama City area. Debris blocked access to fiber rings, and "clearance activity afterward resulted in repeated fiber cuts by electric contractors, road contractors, and homeowners." This result "did not meet our expectations, and was frustrating to us and, more importantly, to our customers,” it said. It said the storm’s “devastating impact” made it difficult to coordinate with Gulf Power. Often, no utility pole was available for attachment, it said.

Some Charter Communications customers still lack service and it doesn’t expect complete restoration until January. In Chattahoochee, it “rebuilt approximately 90 percent of the damaged plant” and is upgrading facilities to “provide more advanced services." In Blountstown, it said it has completed 20 percent of the rebuild. The two municipalities didn't comment immediately.

Some backed better coordination between carriers and utilities. “Michael demonstrated that the restoration efforts of other infrastructure stakeholders can dramatically impact wireless network resiliency and restoration -- for example, by electric utility companies inadvertently cutting the critical fiber lines upon which wireless services rely for backhaul services,” said CTIA. It cited work the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee’s Disaster Response and Recovery Working Group is doing on “best practices for coordination."

Sprint and other carriers worked "to restore wireless services to the impacted communities and public safety first responders as soon as possible," it said. It said electrical power and backhaul were disrupted, "but through careful planning and preparation, wireless services were successfully restored on a temporary basis." Sprint generally keeps "a fleet of mobile diesel-fueled electrical power generators" for rapid deployment. Sprint wireless services were fully restored by partners and contractors, "including utility crews restoring commercial power" and its telecom backhaul provider took several weeks to reconnect damaged fiber.

Comcast said "large portions" of its network were destroyed by "fallen trees, snapped utility poles, and cut or downed cables." It's "rebuilding an even stronger, more resilient network," the cable ISP said. To help consumers, it "suspended billing, offered service credits, and waived fees for missing or damaged equipment."

Electric company "preparation and pre-positioning of equipment" has improved emergency responses and service restoration over the years, said the Edison Electric Institute and Utilities Technology Council. They said coordination between electric companies and communication providers can further speed recovery efforts, and asked for FCC support. "Establish ongoing, regular and substantive meetings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy," they advised. "Given that distribution infrastructure is subject to state jurisdiction, the FCC should also engage with state regulatory agencies." They recommended the commission promote information sharing with electric companies, including giving them access to information reported by communications service providers to the disaster information reporting system, and information about communication fiber.

Southern Co., parent of Gulf Power and communications unit Southern Linc, said it at one point had 614,000 customers without service. Southern called restoration a “complicated labor-intensive process.” It said Southern Linc standards, which include backup power at every site, generators with on-site fuel at most sites, and redundant backhaul and transport links, were “key to the survivability and swift recovery ... and have yet to be met by other commercial communications providers.” It recommended on-site generators, backhaul and transport redundancy, and public safety communications systems interoperability.

With some two dozen member companies providing telecom services in affected areas, the American Cable Association said “as crews worked to clear debris and restore electrical power, ACA members sustained extensive fiber cuts, both to fiber that was not originally harmed and to fiber that had been damaged and restored, leading to additional service disruptions.” Roadside debris caused “additional damage to facilities and preventing access to utility poles.” Wireless service outages hampered field personnel’s communications, ACA said.

Others filing were: NAB, AT&T, Gulf Power, T-Mobile.