The FCC is requesting public participation on Hurricane Michael preparation and recovery efforts by Dec. 17, 2018 it announced in a public notice. The review has been opened by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau that “now seeks public comment to better inform its understanding and awareness of stakeholders’ readiness preparation, and response with respect to Hurricane Michael.” A …
Carriers’ fuzzy Hurricane Michael outage math doesn’t add up
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai last week chided carriers for their slow progress in restoring wireless service in areas close to where Hurricane Michael made landfall. He called it “completely unacceptable.” Yesterday, he complimented broadcasters for their stellar job. “Another familiar aspect is local radio and TV broadcasters were unsung heroes in their first informer roles and in the aftermath,” Pai …
Verizon taking lion’s share of blame for continuing Hurricane Michael site outages
Hard-hit Bay County, Fla. is showing, according to FCC data, that 30% of its cell sites are still down as of Oct. 22, 2018 from Hurricane Michael. A week ago, that percentage was at 62%. (See data below.) Recent news reports indicate that Verizon, a key carrier for Panama City and outlying suburbs in Bay County is still struggling to …
‘Hallelujah’ heard from Mexico Beach Mayor as Verizon service is restored on his phone
Hard-hit by Hurricane Michael’s devastating winds and cut fiber lines, Bay County, Fla. saw little improvement yesterday in the number of cell sites that were down, going from 216 the day before to just 214, but this afternoon there was a marked improvement in service as the dominant carrier in Panama City and Mexico Beach, Verizon, brought service back to …
Florida’s Governor calls out Verizon and AT&T’s poor service in hard-hit Bay County, Florida
Florida Governor Rick Scott at a press conference yesterday regarding Hurricane Michael restoration efforts said, “One of the most frustrating problems is telecommunications.” “Now, after clearing the roads, communications are the first priority, and power. We have an unbelievable problem in Bay County — Verizon is down and AT&T is up, but the county services are on Verizon. In other …
Hurricane Michael mauls cell service in three states after cutting through Georgia
When Hurricane Florence slammed into North Carolina on Sept. 17, it kayoed 718 cell sites, according to the FCC’s Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) which listed the counties that could suffer service interruption in four states. Hurricane Michael, the third-most powerful storm on record to hit the U.S., and the worst in 50 years, has almost doubled the number of …
Wireless infrastructure failed his city’s first responders: Panama City Beach Mayor
Panama City Beach saw some catastrophic damage, and localized flooding and power outages, but faired considerably better than its sister community 15 miles east, Panama City, which also took a severe hit, and many locations look like a wasteland after Hurricane Michael, the third-most powerful storm on record to hit the U.S., and the worst in 50 years, devastated Florida …
FirstNet’s 72-dedicated deployable network assets ready for Hurricane Michael
Public safety agencies subscribing to FirstNet now have access to the full fleet of 72 dedicated deployable network assets. And many of them might be needed later this week if Tropical Storm Michael reaches hurricane status and comes ashore in Florida. AT&T said it is ready for Hurricane Michael and has “an arsenal of disaster response equipment and personnel on standby.” Florida Gov. Rick …
