The U.S. needs to develop a “resilient power...
The U.S. needs to develop a “resilient power strategy” for telecom systems and the Internet “so that our ability to communicate when it’s most necessary is less vulnerable to disaster,” said a report released Monday by the president’s Hurricane Sandy…
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Rebuilding Task Force. The high-profile task force was chaired by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan. The report, like Sandy, cuts a broad swath, mentioning telecom and the Internet intermittently as it assesses damage caused by what became known as a “superstorm.” “Hurricane Sandy devastated small businesses throughout the affected region,” the report said (http://1.usa.gov/14gPYhi). “Flooding damaged inventories, machinery, and other structures; high winds and falling trees caused structural damage; and failure of power, water, telecommunications, and fuel infrastructure shut businesses down for days, if not weeks.” The report stressed the interconnection of various systems, including the telephone system. “Examples from Sandy that illustrate the need for regional coordination of resilience investments were seen in many instances,” the report said. “The storm’s impact on fuel terminals in New Jersey and on pipelines caused a severe problem of fuel availability in New York City. A hospital is only functional when access routes to the facility are open and when availability of water, power, and telecommunications allow continuity of operations and the ability to absorb the additional demand for medical care.” Among its recommendations are that the Department of Energy, NTIA and the FCC work together on a resilient power structure to keep telecom and the Internet functioning during future disasters. They should “promote a programmatic approach to ensure that cellular towers (antennas), data centers, and other critical communications infrastructure are able to function regardless of the status of the electrical grid,” the report said. “In addition, encouraging stored power (i.e., batteries) for consumer level broadband equipment, through funding or other means, will improve impacted individuals’ ability to seek information, help with recovery needs, communicate with family members, and even work from home when transportation or business facilities are significantly compromised.” The FCC is considering whether it should impose backup power requirements for cell sites or other rules in light of the June 2012 derecho wind storm (CD Aug 20 p1). “The commission is reviewing the recommendations included in the report,” an FCC spokesman said. “We worked closely with other federal agencies in responding to Hurricane Sandy and plan to continue doing so, in addition to continuing the work already planned and underway by the agency to enhance the resiliency of our nation’s communications networks.”