New best practices recently released by the wireless industry group CTIA outline steps for local governments to help maintain and restore wireless services during natural disasters and emergencies.
The guidelines call for better coordination and communication between wireless service providers and local governments to prevent outages and to restore wireless services faster when outages occur.
“Wireless industry coordination with emergency response officials is critical before, during and after natural disasters to maintain and restore wireless communications for communities impacted by emergency situations,” Scott Bergmann, the vice president of regulatory affairs at CTIA, said.
The best practices call for wireless providers, local governments, and states to compile indexes of local ordinances that could impact wireless service restoration efforts — and to identify expedited processes for obtaining waivers. Additional recommended steps include streamlined permitting during declared emergencies, workarounds for travel restrictions and road closures for certain vehicles, and a notification system to communicate with stakeholders during disasters.
“These best practices will help the wireless industry and local governments ensure that wireless is there when people need it most,” Bergmann said.
The best practices also call for a “playbook” for local governments and wireless providers to facilitate service restoration of wireless services after disasters. Additionally, the guidelines call for public education campaigns to promote awareness about access to wireless networks in natural disasters, as well as awareness about resilience and restoration efforts.