911 Outage Rules Headline Abbreviated November Meeting Agenda

The FCC will tackle 911 calling at its Nov. 17 commissioners' meeting, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Wednesday. The agenda is light, with only a broadcast item and an enforcement action also set for a commissioner vote. Drafts are expected to be released after Thursday's meeting.

Rosenworcel has been focused on public safety issues. She also circulated for a vote Wednesday, though not at the meeting, an order establishing a national band manager for the 4.9 GHz band, which would govern the leasing process in the band, officials said (see 2210260064). An NPRM asks for feedback on details of how the leasing process could work. The band is assigned to public safety use.

“We place an estimated 240 million emergency calls each year to the nation's more than 5,700 911 call centers,’ Rosenworcel said: “When 911 outages occur, action is needed to help the public maintain access to emergency responders. The Commission will consider rules to ensure that 911 call centers receive timely and useful notifications of network disruptions that affect 911 service, which will help them to inform the public when to use alternatives to call 911.” The rules will “harmonize and maintain certain 911 reporting and certification requirements that will help improve 911 reliability.”

Commissioners approved an NPRM in April 2021 on setting a framework for informing 911 centers of network outages (see 2104220036).

The FCC will also vote on a draft order to replace references in the agency’s rules to Nielsen’s now defunct Station Index Directory with the ratings company’s monthly Local TV Station Information Report. The Media Bureau uses the publications to determine TV station designated market areas for MVPD carriage purposes.

The proposals to shift to the new report were uncontroversial at the NPRM stage, but the proceeding provided a stage for NAB (see 2208300050), public TV groups (see 2209270068), low-power TV groups and FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington (see 2207180037) to air concerns about the DMA system and the FCC’s dependence on Nielsen.

Rosenworcel’s description Wednesday of the November item as “fixing outdated media rules” and the narrow focus of the original proposal likely mean the broader discussions about Nielsen and DMA won’t be part of the draft order, but they could crop up in ex parte filings and commissioner remarks anyway.