FCC Issues Latest Irma Update

The FCC says that over a third (38.9%) of cell sites in Puerto Rico are out of service. That is according to its Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) for Hurricane Irma for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It also said over 50% of cell sites are out in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

There are no comparisons to the day-before figures because since that report the FCC extended the reporting area to the entirety of both.

The FCC triggered the status reports for Irma on Sept. 6, as it had for Hurricane Harvey, and will certainly extend to Florida soon.

Related: Florida TV Ramps Up to Cover Irma With Full Force

DIRS is a voluntary web-based reporting system that communications outlets—broadcast, cable, wireless, wireline—use to keep the FCC apprised of the status of their communications infrastructure.

The FCC has limited information on cable and broadcast, but says that given widespread power outages it has reports that large percentages of cable and wireline subs are without service. According to what it said was limited information, no broadcasters are off the air in the affected areas.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.