FCC Finds Hurricane Michael Wireless Restoration Slowed by Poor Roaming, Backhaul

Backhaul, roaming and coordination problems slowed wireless restoration after Hurricane Michael in the Florida Panhandle last year, the FCC Public Safety Bureau reported Thursday. Backhaul wasn’t resilient enough, reciprocal roaming was inadequate, and coordination among wireless providers, power crews and municipalities was lacking, it said. Wireless providers in hurricane-prone areas should make roaming agreements as part of pre-storm preparations; diversify backhaul technologies, such as by using microwave or satellite links; and work on best practices related to cooperation and coordination with local utilities, the report recommended. Communications providers should participate in coordination trainings, and they and power companies should make coordination agreements for mutual preparation and restoration efforts, it said, and the FCC should work with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on harmonizing restoration practices across sectors. Recovery efforts often led to outages, with “numerous” cases of third-party crews damaging communications equipment while doing other restoration work, the report said. “Hurricane Michael demonstrated starkly how some wireless providers in the Florida Panhandle were able to rebound from this devastating storm through foresight and appropriate planning, while others stalled in their efforts to restore full service,” it said. “Some providers appear not to have comported with the Wireless Resiliency Cooperative Framework (Framework), the voluntary commitment that several nationwide service providers proposed and committed to abide by in 2016. Specifically, it appears that some wireless providers demurred from seeking assistance from potential roaming partners and, therefore, remained inoperable.” The bureau disagreed with carriers that claimed the framework worked as intended. “The effusive praise given by Framework signatories that commented in this docket simply does not ring true, in light of the lengthy wireless outages in Bay and Gulf Counties,” it said. “At least tens of thousands wireless customers had to wait days, unnecessarily, for their mobile phone service to be restored while their provider held off entering into roaming arrangements.” Chairman Ajit Pai urged wireless, other communications providers and power companies to implement the bureau’s recommendations. “It will come as no surprise to the residents of the Florida Panhandle that there is significant room for improvement on the recovery efforts seen in the wake of Hurricane Michael.” Wireless carriers didn’t comment.