The FCC unanimously approved four items at its May open meeting, including modernization of the Disaster Information Reporting System, consolidating a decade-old filing structure long flagged as a bottleneck for radio during active disaster recovery.
The third report and order collapses 10 separate DIRS reporting forms into a single dynamic form and adds a one-click option to indicate no change in status from the prior day’s report. The item also strips fields and worksheets the commission determined are non-essential to disaster response, eliminates the requirement to file a final report 24 hours after DIRS is deactivated, and exempts those that do not own or operate their own facilities from filing obligations entirely.
Chairman Brendan Carr drew a direct line from the update to what he witnessed in Western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. “One thing that stood out to me in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene was how many resources were still being tied up by outdated paperwork filing requirements,” he said. “In the middle of a disaster recovery effort, the FCC should be focused on helping crews reconnect communities, allowing them to clear barriers that slow down recovery efforts.”
Carr said the changes would benefit rural providers in particular. “This will be especially important for small rural providers that may already be stretched pretty thin during times of emergency,” he said.
Commissioner Olivia Trusty credited the post-Katrina policy environment with creating DIRS in the first place and said the system was overdue for an update. “When providers should be focused on the maintenance and restoration of communications services, they should be met with a simple and functional system that’s easy to navigate,” she said.
Commissioner Anna Gomez highlighted DIRS’s role in connecting federal, state, local, and tribal emergency managers to real-time infrastructure data. The item also expands providers’ ability to voluntarily report precise facility locations affected by disasters, along with corresponding network coverage impact information.
The next FCC open meeting is scheduled for June 25.
