Getting Back On-The-Air During Emergencies

Hurricane season is upon us, and as ever, broadcasters play a vital role in providing important information and emergency support to their communities. The FCC and the Department of Homeland Security have three programs to assist in preparing your station for disasters. NAB encourages you to take full advantage of these.

DIRS: All broadcasters should participate in the FCC's Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS). The DIRS program allows radio and television stations to keep the FCC and other government agencies informed of their operational status during a disaster. Enrolling in this program allows stations to automatically update their status online rather than answering phone calls from government officials on the status of their station. Additionally, stations enrolled in DIRS can seek government help in locating fuel, a generator or other critical supplies during an emergency. For more information, please click here.

You can enroll in DIRS by going to the FCC Web page. If you are currently enrolled, you should make sure your contact information is up-to-date here. For further information please contact John Healy at john.healy@fcc.gov or (202) 418-2448.

ULS: Broadcasters should also update their contact information in the FCC's Universal Licensing System (ULS). The FCC relies on the information in ULS to contact broadcasters that have been rendered inoperable and may need assistance during times of emergency. For more information on this system, please click here.

Priority Communications Services: The FCC and the Department of Homeland Security administer three priority services that help registered users receive priority access to telecommunications services during emergencies to facilitate restoration of service:

(1) the Wireless Priority Service (WPS) program can facilitate your station personnel's priority access to mobile networks that become congested during emergencies. Click here to find out more information and learn how to enroll.

(2) the Government Emergency Telecommunications Services (GETS) program facilitates a similar function for congested landline networks. Please click here for more information or how to enroll.

(3) the Telecommunications Services Priority (TSP) is an FCC program that directs telecommunications service providers (both wireline and wireless) to give preferential treatment to enrolled users when they need to add new lines or have their lines restored following a disruption of service, regardless of the cause. More information and how to enroll are available here.

These programs can help reduce the time you are disconnected from telecommunications services during emergencies. NAB strongly encourages broadcasters to take advantage of these opportunities and enroll in all of these programs to help you stay on the air during emergency situations.

The June 16, 2014 TechCheck is also available in an Adobe Acrobat file.