[Federal Register: September 17, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 179)]
[Notices]
[Page 52879-52880]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17se07-60]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[DA 07-3871]
The Federal Communications Commission's Public Safety and
Homeland Security Bureau Launches Disaster Information Reporting System
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In the Public Notice, the Federal Communications Commission's
(Commission's) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB)
announces the launch of the newly designed and automated Disaster
Information Reporting System (DIRS). DIRS is a voluntary, efficient,
web-based system that communications providers can use to report
communications infrastructure status and situational awareness
information during times of crisis. This will better streamline the
reporting process and enable communications providers to share network
status information with the Commission quickly and efficiently.
DATES: The Commission launched DIRS on September 11, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW.,
Room TW-A325, Washington, DC 20554.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffery Goldthorp, Chief,
Communications Systems Analysis Division, Public Safety and Homeland
Security Bureau, Federal Communications Commission at (202) 418-1096 or
Jeffery.Goldthorp@fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the PSHSB's action in
DA 07-3871, released on September 11, 2007. The complete text of this
document is available for inspection and copying during normal business
hours in the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th
Street, SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. This document may also
be purchased from the Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copy
and Printing, Inc., in person at 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402,
Washington, DC 20554, via telephone at (202) 488-5300, via facsimile at
(202) 488-5563, or via e-mail at FCC@BCPIWEB.COM. Alternative formats
(computer diskette, large print, audio cassette, and Braille) are
available to persons with disabilities by sending an e-mail to
FCC504@fcc.gov or calling the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau
at (202) 418-0530, TTY (202) 418-0432. This document is also available
on the Commission's Web site at http://www.fcc.gov.
Synopsis of the Public Notice
The Commission's PSHSB launched a newly designed and automated
Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) on September 11, 2007.
DIRS is a voluntary, efficient, web-based system that communications
companies, including wireless, wireline, broadcast, and cable
providers, can use to report communications infrastructure status and
situational awareness information during times of crisis. This will
better streamline the reporting process and enable communications
providers to share network status information with the Commission
quickly and efficiently.
The creation and implementation of this new system builds on the
Commission's longstanding commitment to promoting the safety of life
and property through the use of wire and radio communication, as
required by the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and complements
the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security's National
Communications System (NCS) in support of NCS's role as the primary
agency for Emergency Support Function-2 (ESF-2) (Communications) of the
National Response Plan. Establishment of this database addresses many
of the recommendations submitted by the Independent Panel Reviewing the
Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks regarding the
collection of disaster-related outage and other situational awareness
information.
DIRS includes data templates for different communications sectors
(i.e., wireless, wireline, broadcast, and cable). Participating
communications providers will initially log onto the system to input
their emergency contact information. Once this is done, participating
communications providers that serve areas affected by disasters will be
able to voluntarily submit information regarding, inter alia, the
status of their communications equipment, restoration efforts, power
(i.e., whether they are using commercial power, generator or battery),
and access to fuel.
Because the information that communications companies input to DIRS
is sensitive, for national security and/or commercial reasons, DIRS
filings shall be treated as presumptively confidential upon filing.
DIRS filings voluntarily report weaknesses in and damage to the
national communications infrastructure. The release of this sensitive
information to the public could potentially facilitate terrorist
targeting of critical infrastructure and key resources. Further, the
DIRS filings contain internal confidential information that constitutes
trade secrets and commercial or financial information. Public
availability of these reports, which contain information the filers
themselves do not routinely make public, could competitively harm the
filers by revealing information about the types and deployment of their
equipment and the traffic that flows across their networks. DIRS
filings will, however, be shared with the NCS on a confidential basis.
On July 21, 2007, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
approved the DIRS information collection under OMB Control Number 3060-
1003. This OMB approval expires on July 31, 2010. As the Commission
noted in its OMB submission, DIRS is a voluntary program, separate from
the mandatory reporting requirements that apply to certain
communications providers under part 4 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR
part 4.
The Commission requests that communications providers (wireline
carriers, wireless carriers, broadcasters, and cable system operators)
that choose to participate in DIRS provide contact information for any
and all individuals in each company who would be providing information
on the status of communications equipment in the event of a disaster.
Contact information includes contact name, company name, phone number,
cell phone number, Blackberry/pager number, and e-mail address. This
information will be secured by the Commission and protected from public
release. Communications providers can accomplish this by accessing DIRS
at https://www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster/ and
[[Page 52880]]
obtaining a User ID. Such providers can also access DIRS under e-filing
on the Commission's main webpage or on the PSHSB Web page.
When this disaster data collection system is activated in response
to a crisis, all contacts in DIRS will be sent an e-mail letting them
know the disaster area and the communications providers that are
requested to provide data on the status of their communications
equipment.
Federal Communications Commission.
Derek K. Poarch,
Bureau Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.
[FR Doc. E7-18296 Filed 9-14-07; 8:45 am]
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