Alexandria, VA – APCO President Gigi Smith is issuing this statement following a meeting today of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) where a new rulemaking was initiated that would require wireless carriers to release certain outage information.

“APCO is pleased that the Commission is initiating a proceeding to consider whether wireless service providers should be required to publicly disclose the percentage of cell sites within their networks that are in operation during and immediately after disasters. This is an important issue as the vast majority of 9-1-1 calls are from wireless devices,” said Smith.

According to the FCC, the “proposal would require wireless service providers to submit to the FCC, for public disclosure on a daily basis during and immediately after disasters, the percentage of operational cell sites for each county within a designated disaster area.”

While this information is already included in voluntary reports that wireless carriers submit to the FCC, the new rulemaking would make it a requirement.

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APCO International (www.apcointl.org)

APCO International is the world’s oldest and largest organization of public safety communications professionals and supports the largest U.S. membership base of any public safety association. It serves the needs of public safety communications practitioners worldwide – and the welfare of the general public as a whole – by providing complete expertise, professional development, technical assistance, advocacy and outreach.