The cell-phone and tower industries urged the Bush administration to reject backup-power reporting requirements, arguing the Federal Communications Commission grossly underestimated time, operational and financial burdens placed on wireless providers.
Indeed, wireless providers argue information collection guidelines associated with the eight-hour cell site backup-power mandate could trigger unintended consequences that are at odds the government’s objective to maintain communications during and after major storms like the one – Hurricane Katrina – that prompted FCC action.
The administration could rule within days.
While the FCC estimates it will cost each wireless carrier approximately $312,600 to adhere to backup-power information collection requirements, the wireless industry predicts the financial hit would be exponentially greater.
“The backup-power rule does not reasonably further, but rather undermines, the goal of emergency preparedness,” stated cellular association CTIA. “The FCC itself has acknowledged that wireless carriers may be forced to find new locations for cell sites, thus temporarily decommissioning those sites, where compliance with the backup-power rule is not possible. Yet decommissioning cell sites, even temporarily, could disrupt important public and private emergency communications and networks. . By forcing [carriers] to decommission cell sites that cannot be made compliant, the backup-power rule would undercut its own stated emergency preparedness goals. The FCC’s failure to craft its rules to meet this challenge is nothing short of capricious. Further, in order to comply with the commission’s rules, carriers would not be able to move assets around in the event of a disaster – as they did recently during Hurricanes Gustav and Ike-because they would be out of compliance in the areas from where the assets were moved. The outcome is counter to the goal of improving safety in areas impacted by disasters.”
OMB review under way
The Office of Management and Budget is reviewing comments – many echoing CTIA’s concerns – about whether the reporting requirements comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Even if OMB rules against the FCC on the information collection matter, the commission – as an independent federal agency – is not bound by the outcome. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has been a strong supporter of public safety since taking over the agency in March 2005.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit – which put the FCC’s backup-power decision on hold in February and held oral argument in May on appeals filed by CTIA, Sprint Nextel Corp. and USA Mobility Inc. – said in July it would not issue a ruling until after the OMB review is completed. The FCC appeared to be on the defensive for much of the oral argument before a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit in May. The key issue before the court is whether the FCC overstepped its authority in putting in place the backup-power rule and accompanying information collection requirements.
The guidelines call for a minimum 24 hours of emergency backup power for telecom assets inside central offices and eight hours for other facilities such as cell sites, remote switches and digital loop carrier system remote terminals. There are about 200,000 cell sites in the United States, with tower companies operating about 115,000 sites and operators controlling 85,000 sites.
“Wireless infrastructure providers, which are in the best position to accurately assess the paperwork burden of the [FCC] order, have with a consistent voice stated that the commission’s requirements are totally erroneous and unrealistic,” stated PCIA, an association representing the nation’s top tower companies.
The backup-power rule was approved last year, following recommendations in 2006 by the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks. The FCC responded to protests by partially modifying the rule and extending auditing and compliance deadlines.
But the changes are not nearly enough for wireless operators.
A minute per site
“Although the commission has revised slightly its estimate of the time it will take carriers to comply – from 70.32 hours to 96 hours – this minor upward revision does not come close to quantifying the actual burden imposed in respondents,” MetroPCS Communications Inc. stated. “For example, under the old estimate, MetroPCS demonstrated that it would have slightly less than one minute and fifteen seconds per site to gather, assemble and submit the required information based on the number of sites MetroPCS had deployed more than a year ago. Under the revised estimate, MetroPCS will be able to spend an additional 30 seconds per site; still far below the actual time required. And, the commission has steadfastly refused to modify its compliance deadline, requiring compliance with the enormously time-consuming reports called for under Section 12.2 (c ) of the commission’s rules with an unworkable six-month timeframe after the date of publication of the OMB control number in the Federal Register.”
The FCC backup-power rule gives wireless providers six months to determine which assets comply with the new guidelines and to ascertain which facilities are exempted for safety reasons. Carriers with wireless facilities covered by the new rule, but not in compliance, must rectify the situation or file an action plan within 12 months on how they intend to meet new federal requirements.
“The FCC has dramatically understated the burden that the new information collection requirements will present for carriers,” T-Mobile told OMB. “And, despite, the overwhelming burden that will result from these obligations, the information yielded will be of no practical utility: submission of the requested information is unnecessary to effectively ensure the provision of the mandate levels of backup power. In fact, by demanding time and resources be devoted to recordkeeping for recordkeeping’s sake, the proposed information collection requirements will divert scarce carrier resources from providing service, upgrading and maintaining the network, and, of course, from responding to real and present disasters like Hurricanes Ike and Gustav.”
