The Federal Communications Commission said Friday (September 30) that, effective immediately, federal, state and tribal agencies can get read-only access to information in its Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) and voluntary Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS).
Under NORS, “providers [wireline, cable, satellite, wireless, interconnected VoIP] are required to report network outages that last at least 30 minutes and satisfy other specific thresholds,” while DIRS is a voluntary web-based system in which providers volunteer operational status and restoration information during national disasters.
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The FCC said the new access was the culmination of its effort to share critical outage information to improve situational awareness, and presumably response, across government agencies.
The goal was to “save lives while also safeguarding the confidentiality of the information,” the FCC said.
Agencies must apply for the access, however, including a formal request on agency letterhead and an explanation of why they need the information and how it will be used. ▪️
