Providers Urged to Participate in Voluntary Disaster Information Reporting System Exercise June 10 – 12

Providers Urged to Participate in Voluntary Disaster Information Reporting System Exercise June 10 – 12 

On May 28, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it will conduct a voluntary Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) exercise from June 10 to June 12, 2024. DIRS is a web-based system through which the FCC collects operational status and restoration information from communications providers during major disasters and subsequent recovery efforts.

As outlined in our January 30, 2024 e-Lert, DIRS reporting has been voluntary. However, the FCC adopted new rules to make DIRS reporting mandatory for cable communications, wireline, wireless, and interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers. In addition, our April 10, 2024 e-Lert, discusses how the FCC’s Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks to expand DIRS reporting requirements to broadband internet access service providers.

With the recent changes to the outage reporting requirements, JSI is emphasizing the importance of the DIRS exercise. Although participation in this exercise is voluntary, it is recommended that you take part. This exercise will help ensure that you are able to access and submit reports using the new DIRS system, train new employees to become familiar with the DIRS reporting process, and update DIRS contact information before DIRS participation becomes mandatory 30 days after OMB approval or November 30, 2024 at the earliest.

The legacy DIRS system was decommissioned in favor of a new platform, accessible directly at  https://dirs.fcc.gov.  Current DIRS users without an existing FCC Commission Registration System (CORES) account must create a CORES account before accessing DIRS. Current DIRS users with an existing CORES account will not need to create a new DIRS account.

New DIRS users must first register in CORES, and then create a new DIRS account. The username and password you establish in CORES are also used for DIRS. Detailed information on creating DIRS accounts, as well as using the system, can be found in the user’s guide, available at  https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/DIRS-UserGuide-122023.docx.

What will this exercise entail?

The exercise will begin with the FCC sending a mock activation letter on June 10th to all registered DIRS participants. The activation letter will list pre-selected counties that form the disaster area for this exercise. Providers will be asked to report data on any communications assets in the affected area. If a provider has no communications assets in the affected counties, it can still participate in the exercise by reporting mock data for the pre-selected counties. Providers will report the initial data sets by 10:00 AM EST on June 11, and their updated report will be filed by June 12 at 10:00 AM ET. Finally, the FCC will send a deactivation letter by 3:00 PM ET on June 12, informing all participants that the exercise has been completed.

Providers that want to participate in this voluntary exercise should email michael.caiafa@fcc.gov and john.healy@fcc.gov by June 3 with the following information in excel format: 1. Name of the provider; 2. Names of all participants from the provider; 3. Email and phone numbers of all participants from the provider; and 4. Specific geographic areas (counties, state) that the provider would like to have included in the disaster area for this exercise (optional).

Should you participate in this exercise?

JSI strongly encourages providers to participate in this DIRS exercise. As stated above, DIRS reporting will be mandatory later this year. This is an opportunity for you to be fully registered and prepared in the event of a DIRS activation in your service territory. If you have questions about the exercise or the new or proposed rules, please contact Lans Chase or Kim Waldvogel.