Communications Status Report for Areas Impacted by Hurricane Ian October 2, 2022 The following is a report on the status of communications services in geographic areas impacted by Hurricane Ian as of October 2, 2022, at 12:00 p.m. EDT. This report incorporates network outage data submitted by communications providers to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS). Note that the operational status of communications services during an event may evolve rapidly, and this report represents a snapshot in time. The following counties in Florida and South Carolina are in the current geographic area that is part of DIRS (the “disaster area”) for today’s report. The area of interest for this activation includes the following counties in Florida and South Carolina. Florida: Baker, Bradford, Charlotte, Clay, Collier, Desoto, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Marion, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, Union, Volusia. South Carolina: Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Chester, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dorchester, Fairfield, Florence, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lee, Lexington, Marion, Marlboro, Orangeburg, Richland, Sumter, Williamsburg, York. 1 911 Services The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) learns the status of each Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) through the filings of 911 Service Providers in DIRS, reporting to the FCC’s Public Safety Support Center, coordination with state 911 Administrators, and, if necessary, direct contact with individual PSAPs. Florida: Sanibel Police Department Headquarters has been rerouted to another PSAP with location information. Hardee County Sheriff’s Department and Highlands County Sheriff’s Department have been rerouted to admin lines without location information. South Carolina: No PSAPs affected The following chart shows the trend in the effects on PSAPs since the storm’s landfall: Number of PSAPs Affected in the Disaster Area by Date 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 28-Sep 29-Sep 30-Sep 1-Oct 2-Oct 911 Unavailable Available W/O Location Rerouted W/O Location Rerouted with Location 2 Wireless Services The following section describes the status of wireless communications services in the disaster area as reported in DIRS. The chart below shows trends: Percent of Cell Sites Out of Service in the Disaster Area by State and Date 20% 18% 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% 28-Sep 29-Sep 30-Sep 1-Oct 2-Oct FL SC The current status of wireless communications services by county is shown by the following chart and map. Percentage of Cell Sites Out of Service by County 10/2/2022 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% FL-LEE SC-LEE FL-LAKE FL-CLAY FL-POLK FL-BAKER FL-DUVAL FL-UNION SC-HORRY SC-JASPER FL-GLADES FL-COLLIER FL-HARDEE FL-NASSAU FL-DESOTO FL-HENDRY FL-MARION FL-FLAGLER FL-ORANGE FL-VOLUSIA SC-SUMTER SC-MARION FL-PUTNAM SC-CHESTER FL-PINELLAS FL-OSCEOLA FL-MONROE SC-BERKELEY FL-MANATEE FL-ST.JOHNS SC-FAIRFIELD SC-KERSHAW SC-CALHOUN FL-SEMINOLE SC-BAMBERG SC-RICHLAND FL-SARASOTA SC-FLORENCE SC-COLLETON SC-HAMPTON SC-BEAUFORT FL-BRADFORD SC-BARNWELL SC-ALLENDALE FL-CHARLOTTE FL-HIGHLANDS SC-LANCASTER SC-LEXINGTON SC-MARLBORO SC-CLARENDON FL-OKEECHOBEE SC-CHARLESTON SC-DORCHESTER SC-DARLINGTON SC-CHESTERFIELD SC-ORANGEBURG SC-GEORGETOWN FL-HILLSBOROUGH SC-WILLIAMSBURG 3 The following table provides cell sites out of service by county. 3.6% of the cell sites in the affected area are out of service. The information shown was provided by communications carriers providing services in Florida and South Carolina. Florida Cell Cell Sites Cell Cell Sites Cell Sites Sites Out Up but Cell Sites Sites Percent Out Due to Out Due to Due to On Back- State Affected Counties Served Out Out Damage Transport Power up Power FL BAKER 26 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 FL BRADFORD 35 3 8.6% 0 3 0 0 FL CHARLOTTE 114 23 20.2% 2 8 13 40 FL CLAY 169 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 FL COLLIER 219 16 7.3% 0 5 11 23 FL DESOTO 26 10 38.5% 0 3 7 1 FL DUVAL 754 2 0.3% 2 0 0 4 FL FLAGLER 90 4 4.4% 0 1 3 2 FL GLADES 29 5 17.2% 0 0 5 5 4 FL HARDEE 39 13 33.3% 0 5 8 9 FL HENDRY 56 3 5.4% 0 0 3 3 FL HIGHLANDS 80 13 16.3% 0 8 5 7 FL HILLSBOROUGH 1,297 26 2.0% 0 13 13 25 FL LAKE 235 8 3.4% 0 0 8 6 FL LEE 394 77 19.5% 1 50 26 67 FL MANATEE 222 21 9.5% 1 8 12 14 FL MARION 306 4 1.3% 0 1 3 2 FL MONROE 99 4 4.0% 0 3 1 1 FL NASSAU 103 1 1.0% 0 1 0 0 FL OKEECHOBEE 59 1 1.7% 0 1 0 5 FL ORANGE 1,128 53 4.7% 4 4 45 41 FL OSCEOLA 257 11 4.3% 0 5 6 4 FL PINELLAS 587 11 1.9% 0 10 1 3 FL POLK 486 20 4.1% 0 13 7 20 FL PUTNAM 85 2 2.4% 0 2 0 0 FL SARASOTA 225 20 8.9% 0 10 10 29 FL SEMINOLE 296 24 8.1% 1 1 22 6 FL ST. JOHNS 239 6 2.5% 0 5 1 1 FL UNION 16 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 FL VOLUSIA 421 63 15.0% 0 13 50 38 TOTAL 8092 444 5.5% 11 173 260 356 South Carolina Cell Sites Up Cell Cell Cell Sites Cell Sites Out Cell Sites but On Sites Sites Percent Out Due to Due to Out Due to Back-up State Affected Counties Served Out Out Damage Transport Power Power SC ALLENDALE 14 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC BAMBERG 26 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC BARNWELL 40 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC BEAUFORT 233 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC BERKELEY 228 0 0.0% 0 0 0 4 SC CALHOUN 37 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC CHARLESTON 581 0 0.0% 0 0 0 3 SC CHESTER 53 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC CHESTERFIELD 75 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC CLARENDON 67 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 5 SC COLLETON 106 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC DARLINGTON 63 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC DORCHESTER 152 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC FAIRFIELD 75 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC FLORENCE 153 0 0.0% 0 0 0 7 SC GEORGETOWN 104 1 1.0% 0 1 0 2 SC HAMPTON 32 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC HORRY 449 4 0.9% 0 3 1 2 SC JASPER 85 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC KERSHAW 96 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC LANCASTER 104 0 0.0% 0 0 0 1 SC LEE 52 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC LEXINGTON 388 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC MARION 43 0 0.0% 0 0 0 1 SC MARLBORO 44 0 0.0% 0 0 0 2 SC ORANGEBURG 148 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC RICHLAND 590 0 0.0% 0 0 0 1 SC SUMTER 143 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 SC WILLIAMSBURG 99 0 0.0% 0 0 0 1 SC YORK 234 0 0.0% 0 0 0 0 TOTAL 4,514 5 0.1% 0 4 1 24 The number of cell site outages in a specific area does not necessarily correspond to the availability of wireless service to consumers in that area. See Improving the Resiliency of Mobile Wireless Communications Networks, Order, 31 FCC Rcd 13745, para. 10 (2016) (recognizing the difficulties in accurately depicting the ongoing status of a wireless provider’s service during emergencies). Wireless networks are often designed with numerous, overlapping cell sites that provide maximum capacity and continuity of service even when an individual site is inoperable. In addition, wireless providers frequently use temporary facilities, such as cells- on-wheels (also known as COWs), increase power at operational sites, initiate roaming agreements, or take other actions to maintain service to affected consumers during emergencies or other events that result in cell site outages. Cable Systems and Wireline (Combined) Cable and wireline companies reported the following number of subscribers out of service by state in the disaster area; this may include the loss of telephone, television, and/or Internet services: Florida: 606,553 South Carolina: 9,845 6 The following chart illustrates the trends in the number of subscribers out of service in the disaster area: Total Number of Wireline/Cable Users Affected in the Disaster Area By State and Date 900,000 800,000 700,000 600,000 500,000 400,000 300,000 200,000 100,000 0 28-Sep 29-Sep 30-Sep 1-Oct 2-Oct FL SC Broadcast: Television stations status: • 1 TV station is reported as being out of service. FM Radio stations status: • 12 FM stations are reported as being out of service. AM Radio stations status: • 4 AM stations are reported as being out of service. Special Temporary Authority (STA)/Waivers/Extensions The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may grant Special Temporary Authority (STA) to permit immediate or temporary operation of certain radio facilities during emergencies or other urgent conditions, as well as waivers to support emergency communications and service restoration. • Wireless Telecommunications Bureau grants the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) an emergency request for a temporary waiver of Section 97.307(f) of the Commission’s Rules 7 • Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau extend licensing and regulatory deadlines for 30 days following President Biden’s declaration of emergency for the State of Florida • Wireless Telecommunications Bureau grants an emergency waiver of sections 96.67(c)(2) and (3) of the Commission’s rules governing the Citizen’s Broadband Radio Service to Federated Wireless, CommScope, Inc., and Google LLC • Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Extend Filing and Regulatory Deadlines in Additional Areas (SC and GA) Affected by Hurricane Ian • Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau issue a verbal waiver for Florida public safety officials to use 700 - 800 MHz interoperability channels • International Bureau grants verbal special Temporary Authority (STA) for two weeks to repair of antennas and other facilities. The purpose of this STA is to allow the provider to operate with facilities that are not covered by their current authorization while they are fixing facilities caused by Hurricane IAN. 8