To direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting.

Bill: 116-hr-5918
Sponsor: Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-6]
Introduced: 2020-02-14 in the House
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Disaster relief and insurance
Emergency communications systems
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Government information and archives
Intergovernmental relations
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Public participation and lobbying
Telephone and wireless communication

Summary:
action_date: 2020-02-14
text: 
This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take certain actions following an activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System, which is used by communications providers to report the operational status of their service and infrastructure to the FCC.
 
Specifically, the FCC must issue a preliminary report following an activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System, which includes information on (1) the number and duration of any outages of internet and mobile services, and (2) the approximate number of users affected by such outages. The FCC must then conduct at least one public field hearing in affected communities and issue a final report that includes recommendations on how to improve the resiliency of affected communications or networks recovery efforts.
 
Further, the FCC must initiate a rulemaking to determine under what circumstances it should require mobile service providers to alert public safety answering points (i.e., the points where emergency calls are routed) regarding disruptions to their mobile service.

action_date: 2020-09-18
text: 
This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take certain actions following an activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System, which is used by communications providers to report the operational status of their service and infrastructure to the FCC.
 
Specifically, the FCC must issue a preliminary report following an activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System for at least seven days, which includes information on (1) the number and duration of any outages of internet and mobile services, and (2) the approximate number of users affected by such outages. The FCC must then conduct at least one public field hearing in affected communities and issue a final report that includes recommendations on how to improve the resiliency of affected communications or networks recovery efforts.
 
Further, the FCC must initiate a rulemaking to determine under what circumstances it should require service providers to alert public safety answering points (i.e., the points where emergency calls are routed) regarding disruptions to their communications service.

action_date: 2020-09-21
text: 
This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to report on certain activations of the Disaster Information Reporting System (the system through which communications providers report their operational status during times of crisis) and to adopt specified rules related to network outage reporting.
 
If the system was activated for at least seven days, the FCC must issue a preliminary a report that includes (1) the number and duration of any service outages, (2) the approximate number of users or the amount of infrastructure potentially affected by a service outage, and (3) the number and duration of any outages at public safety answering points (PSAPs) that prevent the PSAPs from receiving and routing emergency calls to emergency service personnel. The FCC must also hold at least one public field hearing in the area affected by the event, and it must issue a final report that includes recommendations on how to improve the resiliency of affected communications or networks recovery efforts.
 
The FCC must also determine the circumstances under which it shall require certain service providers to notify a PSAP of a communications service disruption that prevents the origination of 9&#8211;1&#8211;1 calls or the delivery of information that allows the PSAP to identify the number of or locate a 9&#8211;1&#8211;1 caller. Further, the FCC must require this notification to be made and specify the appropriate timing of the notification.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-09-22
text: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2020-09-21
text: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2020-09-21
text: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4611-4612)
action_date: 2020-09-21
text: Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
action_date: 2020-09-21
text: DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5918.
action_date: 2020-09-21
text: Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4611-4613)
action_date: 2020-09-21
text: Mr. McNerney moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
action_date: 2020-09-18
text: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 422.
action_date: 2020-09-18
text: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 116-522.
action_date: 2020-09-18
text: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 116-522.
action_date: 2020-07-15
text: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
action_date: 2020-07-15
text: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2020-03-10
text: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote .
action_date: 2020-03-10
text: Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2020-02-27
text: Subcommittee Hearings Held.
action_date: 2020-02-18
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
action_date: 2020-02-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
action_date: 2020-02-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-02-14
text: Introduced in House