The FCC should reject any calls to impose rules on...
The FCC should reject any calls to impose rules on wireless carriers that would restrict their “operational flexibility” to make their networks more able to withstand disaster, CTIA said in reply comments on an FCC notice of inquiry on the…
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effects on broadband communications networks of damage to or failure of network equipment or severe overload. “Although a small minority of commenters purports to identify weaknesses in the reliability of wireless networks, in each case these assertions do not withstand scrutiny,” CTIA said in a filing Friday. “Wireless network operators go to great lengths to harden their networks and have made huge investments to develop and implement emergency response procedures.” The record shows carriers “have gone to great lengths to implement robust network architectures that include redundancy, overload protection, and survivability, without the need for government regulation,” CTIA said. Federal mandates haven’t worked in the past, the group said. CTIA cited as an example a backup power rule for cell sites, mandated by the FCC after Hurricane Katrina, later reversed by the commission after the requirements proved unworkable and were challenged by carriers in federal court. “In short, the adoption of prescriptive regulation could actually harm network reliability by limiting carriers’ abilities to implement innovative solutions that take into consideration the unique aspects not only of an individual carrier … but also the unique aspects of individual markets within a carrier’s footprint (e.g., floodplains, hurricane belts, tornado alleys) that likely will require different approaches to addressing disaster recovery.”