WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission voted to approve changes to its Disaster Information Reporting System which collects and reports communications outage information before, during, and after emergencies like hurricanes and floods.

The new rules streamline reporting requirements and allow providers to focus more of their resources on service restoration during the immediate wake of a disaster.

“In the middle of a disaster recovery effort, the FCC should be focused on helping crews reconnect communities and clearing barriers that slow recovery down,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said. “Limited manpower shouldn’t be spent on unnecessary red tape. That’s why I am pleased we are taking action today to modernize the FCC’s disaster reporting system in a way that reduces burdens while still ensuring we have accurate, up-to-date information on service restoration efforts. This will be especially important for small, rural providers that may already be stretched thin during emergencies.”

The Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) is a web-based system that collects infrastructure status and service restoration information from communications service providers during and after major disasters. This information allows state, Tribal, territorial, and federal emergency management officials to more efficiently prioritize disaster response efforts. For example, DIRS provided daily reports before, during, and for weeks after the recent landfall of Super Typhoon Sinlaku in the U.S. island territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The Report and Order adopted on May 20 will enhance DIRS’ capabilities while eliminating unnecessary burdens on communications service providers, allowing them to focus critical resources on service restoration instead of redundant paperwork in those circumstances when every second counts, the agency said.

For manual filers, it permits the submission of a single streamlined form instead of multiple worksheets and it establishes a “one-click” option to indicate no change from the previous day’s report. The new rules also simplify DIRS reporting requirements by eliminating fields that do not offer significant value to public safety stakeholders, ending the requirement to submit a final report after DIRS is deactivated and limiting reporting obligations to facilities-based providers.

The new rules also direct the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau to improve the ability of filers to voluntarily submit geographic information about service areas and the locations of facilities that are out of service. And it establishes mandatory DIRS reporting for public safety voice and broadband network operators on the status of public safety network infrastructure and public safety customer impact.

Chairman Carr, Commissioners Gomez and Trusty approved the changes in the Third Report and Order (FCC 26-34).

The Order and more details on the changes are available here.

WASHINGTON—Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has announced a tentative agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, May 20, 2026.

The item with the most direct potential impact on broadcasters is a Report and Order that aims to modernize the disaster information reporting system.

The FCC described the items as follows:

• Modernizing the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) – The Commission will consider a Third Report and Order to modernize DIRS by enhancing its capabilities while eliminating unnecessary reporting burdens. These actions will provide better information to emergency managers during disasters and allow communications service providers to focus their resources on service restoration instead of redundant paperwork at times when every second counts. (PS Docket Nos. 21-346, 15-80; ET Docket No. 04-35)
• Enhancing Know-Your-Upstream-Provider Requirements – The Commission will consider a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would propose to enhance the STIR/SHAKEN framework used by voice providers to combat illegal robocalls by improving know-your-upstream-provider (KYUP) requirements and oversight, raising standards for STIR/SHAKEN attestations, and closing implementation loopholes. (WC Docket No. 17-97; CG Docket No. 17-59)
• Streamlining Broadband Data Processes and Reducing Unnecessary Regulatory Burdens –The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would take several steps to streamline and improve the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection (BDC). This item would alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens on service providers and challenge process participants by streamlining audits and verifications, improving challenge processes, and reducing regulatory burdens that add costs without a corresponding benefit to the quality of provider-reported data, all while ensuring that the data depicted on the National Broadband Map is accurate. (WC Docket Nos. 11-10, 19-195; GN Docket No. 25-133)
• Launching ‘High-Cost’ Program Initiative – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on how a High-Cost Modernization initiative could best ensure that all Americans, particularly those in rural areas, have access to next-generation services in an ever-changing environment. (WC Docket Nos. 26-96, 10-90)

Documents and materials relating to each of the items are available here.

WASHINGTON—Federal Communications Commission has set deadlines for comments on its efforts to modernize the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS).

In August, the FCC adopted a Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Third Further Notice) that seeks comment on proposals that would ensure the system is collecting information useful to disaster response without imposing unreasonable burdens.

The Third Further Notice set deadlines for filing comments and reply comments at 30 and 60 days, respectively, after publication in the Federal Register. That means comments must be filed on or before October 2, 2025, and reply comments must be filed on or before November 3, 2025, the agency said.

As previously reported, the DIRS, which was launched in 2007, has collected information from communications providers, cable operators, phone companies, wireless firms and broadcasters on the impact of severe weather and other natural disasters on their operations. The information, which includes data on phone and broadband outages, collected through DIRS allows emergency management officials to more efficiently prioritize disaster response efforts.

Currently television and radio broadcast providers, broadband Internet access service (BIAS) providers, satellite providers, and other communications service providers may report voluntarily in DIRS when it is active, but are not required to do so. The previous administration had tried to make reporting mandatory for broadcasters..

That effort was opposed by the NAB. In 2024, the FCC did, however, make reporting mandatory for wireless, wireline, cable and VoIP providers. .

In launching the new effort to reexamine the system, the FCC said the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is designed to begin a thorough review of DIRS to modernize the system for reporting and to develop changes to current rules that might reduce the reporting burdens providers during disasters, while increasing the utility of the reports, the FCC said.

This includes simplifying reporting requirements, limiting DIRS reporting obligations to facilities-based providers, and promoting federal and state agencies’ ability to obtain direct access to NORS and DIRS filings by eliminating unnecessary access requirements, among other improvements for efficiency, the FCC said.

More details are available in the full NPRM here.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has voted to launch a review of its system for collecting data on network outages and restoration during major disasters. The effort, the agency reported, will pave the way for reforms to the Commission’s Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) that are designed to make sure that its benefits outweigh its burdens.

Since its inception in 2007, DIRS has collected information from communications providers, cable operators, phone companies, wireless firms and broadcasters on the impact of severe weather and other natural disasters on their operations. The information, which includes data on phone and broadband outages, collected through DIRS allows emergency management officials to more efficiently prioritize disaster response efforts.

Currently television and radio broadcast providers, broadband Internet access service (BIAS) providers, satellite providers, and other communications service providers may report voluntarily in DIRS when it is active, but are not required to do so.

In launching the new effort to reexamine the system, the FCC also noted, however, that DIRS reports take time to produce, potentially drawing resources away from responding to an ongoing disaster.

To address that issue, the FCC said the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is designed to begin a thorough review of DIRS to modernize the system for reporting and to develop changes to current rules that might reduce the reporting burdens providers during disasters, while increasing the utility of the reports, the FCC said.

This includes simplifying reporting requirements, limiting DIRS reporting obligations to facilities-based providers, and promoting federal and state agencies’ ability to obtain direct access to NORS and DIRS filings by eliminating unnecessary access requirements, among other improvements for efficiency, the FCC said.

The Commission also adopted an accompanying Order on Reconsideration that clarifies the situations in which network outage reporting requirements are suspended during DIRS activations. It also maintains requirements to send outage notifications to 911 and 988 officials during DIRS activations to ensure these officials can receive timely information about outages and in turn enable the public to reach these critical services during a disaster.

More specifically, the FCC said that the NPRM proposes to:

• Provide manual filers a single streamlined, dynamic form for DIRS reporting that reduces burdens by being simpler to complete than the ten existing worksheets.
• Simplify DIRS reporting requirements by eliminating fields that do not offer significant value to public safety stakeholders, while offering limited additional voluntary fields that are tailored to the current information needs of emergency managers.
• Eliminate the requirement for mandatory DIRS filers to submit a final report after DIRS is deactivated to further reduce reporting burdens and enable providers to focus on disaster response and recovery.
• Limit DIRS reporting obligations to facilities-based providers, which will eliminate unnecessary reporting burdens for resellers and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).
• Examine whether to suspend NORS filing obligations during DIRS Lite activations to reduce regulatory compliance obligation during disasters.
• Promote federal and state agencies’ ability to obtain direct access to NORS and DIRS filings by reducing access requirements.

The NPRM also described the data it would collect in a new streamlined report. For broadcasters the proposed fields for that report would include what the FCC called the following "voluntary information":

• Call Sign
• FAC ID
• Broadcast Status
• Power Status
• Impacted Equipment Location Information (Latitude/Longitude or Street Address/City/State/Zip)
• Generator Availability
• Fuel Status (Volume Capacity and Hours)

For cable communications providers "required information" in the proposed new form would include:

• Physical System Identifier (PSID)
• Type of Major Equipment Down
• Power Status
• Common Language Location Identifier (CLLI) Code for the Equipment
• Impacted Equipment Location Information (Latitude/Longitude or Street Address/City/State/Zip)
• Number of OC3s or Functional Equivalents Down
• For Filers Required to Report Broadband Status: Number of Broadband Access Subscribers Served: Estimated Number of Broadband Access Subscribers Down

"Voluntary information" from cable operators would include:

• Generator Availability
• For Filers Not Required to Report Broadband Status: Number of Broadband Access Subscribers Served; Estimated Number of Broadband Access Subscribers Down

More details are available in the full NPRM here.

WASHINGTON—Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has announced a tentative agenda for the August Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 7, 2025.

As previously reported, that agenda will include a vote on an inquiry that will embark on a fundamental reexamination of America’s emergency alerting systems.

The FCC described the August agenda as follows:

• Revamping NEPA Review to Accelerate Infrastructure Deployment – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would examine the Commission’s environmental rules to ensure they comport with the amended National Environmental Policy Act, accelerate the federal permitting process, further a national priority of faster and more infrastructure deployment, and ensure that the Commission’s rules are clear. (WT Docket No. 25-217).
• Streamlining Space Bureau Reviews – The Commission will consider a Second Report and Order that advances opportunities for innovation in the space economy by taking measures to expedite the application processes for space stations and earth stations, to remove barriers for modifying authorizations, and to remove outdated rules. (IB Docket Nos. 22-411, 22-271).
• Accelerating Buildout of Secure Undersea Cable Infrastructure – The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would modernize the Commission’s submarine cable rules to unleash high-speed infrastructure deployment, while strengthening our national security. The Commission will also consider a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would build upon the Report and Order by proposing measures to further streamline and improve timeliness of submarine cable application review and make other updates to address national security threats. (OI Docket No. 24-523, MD Docket No. 24-524).
• Evaluating the Deployment of Advanced Telecommunications – The Commission will consider a Notice of Inquiry that would initiate the annual assessment of whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion, as required by section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. (GN Docket No. 25-223).
• Examining the Nation’s Alerting Systems – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would examine the national alert and warning systems from the ground up and explore ways to make them more effective, efficient, and better able to serve the public’s needs. (PS Docket No. 25-224).
• Modernizing the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to reduce the reporting burdens on communication service providers during disasters through the modernization of DIRS. The Commission will also consider an accompanying Order on Reconsideration that clarifies the situations in which outage reporting requirements are suspended during DIRS activations. (PS Docket Nos. 21-346, 15-80; ET Docket No. 04-35).
• Addressing Business Data Services Pricing Regulations – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would propose to end rate regulation and tariffing obligations for legacy circuit-based business data services provided by incumbent local exchange carriers, and an Order temporarily pausing the triennial update to the competitive market tests pending review of the record in this proceeding. (WC Docket Nos. 21-17, 17-144).
• Deleting 98 Obsolete Broadcast Rules and Requirements – The Commission will consider a Direct Final Rule that would repeal certain rules identified as outdated and obsolete via a direct final rule procedure. The Commission’s “In re: Delete, Delete, Delete” docket seeks public input on identifying FCC rules for the purpose of alleviating unnecessary regulatory burdens. (GN Docket No. 25-133).

Materials relating to each of these items can be found at www.fcc.gov/openmeeting.

The Open Meeting is scheduled to commence at 10:30 a.m. ET in the Commission Meeting Room of the Federal Communications Commission, 45 L Street, N.E., Washington, D.C.

Open Meetings are streamed live at www.fcc.gov/live.

WASHINGTON—California is once again being hit with a series of devastating wildfires all across the state, which the latest report from the FCC for Wednesday, Oct. 30, reveals have caused power shutoffs for 173,058 cable and wireline subscribers, causing in many instances the loss of TV, internet and phone services.

This all comes from the Disaster Information Reporting System, which the FCC activated late last week and extended over the weekend. On Wednesday, the FCC added five counties, making DIRS activated in 37 counties.

The latest report released from the FCC has 25 TV stations report that they were operational, while no stations were reporting being out of service at that time. However, there are 13 FM radio stations that reported as out of service; it was 21 on Tuesday. Three FM stations were out of service but programming was being sent to another station (KRSH, KXTS, KSXY). One AM station, KVIP, also reported as being out of service.

The out of service FM stations are K236AW, K238AF, K264AL, K265CV, K270BE, K276EK, KAWJ, KCAI, KHAP, KKDV, KLVY, KNOB and KNVE 

The 32 counties where DIRS was activated are as follows: Alpine, Alameda, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Kern, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, and Yuba. 

The DIRS report also shares that status of 911 service (all are currently operational) and cell sites out of service.

TV Technology will update this story as the most recent DIRS report is made available.

WASHINGTON—The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has announced the activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) in response to Tropical Storm Dorian, which is already affecting parts of Puerto Rico. DIRS is a voluntary, web-based system that communications providers, including wireless, wireline, broadcast, cable and VoIP providers, can use to report communications infrastructure status and situational awareness information during times of crisis.

The affected providers are are asked to submit and update information through DIRS regarding the status of their communications equipment, restoration efforts, and power (i.e., whether they are using commercial power or back-up power), by accessing DIRS at https://www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster/.

For providers that participate in DIRS, the separate Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) obligations are suspended for the duration of the DIRS activation with respect to outages in the counties/municipalities where DIRS has been activated. Reports are requested beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET on Aug. 29 and every day after that by 10:00 a.m. ET until DIRS is deactivated.

For now, the affected areas only include most of Puerto Rico, however it could be expanded as Dorian is anticipated to hit the east coast of the United States, possibly as a Category 2 hurricane, by this weekend.