PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 11-1648 Released September 29, 2011 THE FCC’S PUBLIC SAFETY & HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU ANNOUNCES A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: INTRODUCING THE DISASTER INFORMATION REPORTING SYSTEM (DIRS) TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF COMMUNICATIONS Washington, DC – On October 5, 2011, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. EST, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau will host a roundtable discussion in the Commission Meeting Room of the Federal Communications Commission building to enable interested parties to identify ways to bring the DIRS into the next generation of communications. The format of the roundtable will be a facilitated discussion led by Commission staff. During the roundtable, staff will solicit input from attendees on issues such as: · The value of information currently provided by DIRS to communications restoration efforts during disasters; · Ways to increase voluntary participation in DIRS; · Extending DIRS to obtain more detailed data about the effects of a disaster on broadband communications services; · Adding information from over the top voice and video service providers; and · What, if any, additional information from DIRS participants might be beneficial to the restoration process. If you are interested in participating, please contact Jane Kelly, Cybersecurity and Communications Reliability Division, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau at (202) 418-2832. Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Please include a description of the accommodation you will need, to include your contact information. Last-minute requests will be accepted, but may not be possible to fill. Please send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418- 0530 (voice), or (202) 418-0432 (tty). Audio/video coverage of the roundtable will be broadcast live with open captioning over the Internet from the FCC’s Web page at www.fcc.gov/live. The FCC’s webcast is free to the public. Those who watch the live video stream of the event may e-mail event-related questions to livequestions@fcc.gov. Depending on the volume of questions and time constraints, the moderator will work to respond to as many questions as possible during the roundtable. 2 NEWS MEDIA CONTRACT: Lauren Kravetz, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, (202) 418-7944, or lauren.kravetz@fcc.gov. - FCC -