FCC goes back to drawing board for backup-power rules: Court battle ‘moot’

The backup-power court battle could be about to flame out. But regardless of what happens with litigation on the issue, the Federal Communications Commission plans to revisit how wireless companies deploy backup power at cell sites.
The wireless industry said it supports the Federal Communications Communication’s suggestion that the case be thrown out. The FCC made the suggestion in light of the agency’s decision not to override the Bush administration, which rejected the reporting requirements for the new rules. The agency has vowed to launch a new proceeding on the backup-power issue.
“Petitioners agree with the commission’s recommendation that the cased should be dismissed as moot, but add that, of course, the FCC’s rule should be vacated,” stated cellular association CTIA, Sprint Nextel Corp. and USA Mobility Inc. in a letter filed at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The three parties appealed the FCC’s backup-power rule last year, arguing the agency overstepped its authority in approving guidelines designed to address communications failures such as those associated with Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. In July, the three-judge panel court said it would issue a decision after the Office of Management and Budget determined whether the backup-power rule’s information collection requirements complied with the Paperwork Reduction Act.
The Office of Management and Budget’s disapproval of backup-power reporting requirements in late November that the obligations were far more costly and time-consuming than the FCC projected – did not bode well for the FCC insofar as the court appeal.
The FCC told the court on Dec. 3 it would not reject OMB’s ruling, as the commission – as an independent regulatory agency – had the legal right to do.
Now, however, the FCC said it will initiate a new rulemaking “with the goal of adopting backup-power rules that will ensure that reliable communications are available to public safety during, and in the aftermath of, natural disasters and other catastrophic events while at the same time attempting to address concerns that were raised regarding the prior rules.”
It is unclear whether the FCC will revise only backup-power reporting guidelines or make further modifications as well.
The FCC’s backup-power rule called for a minimum of 24 hours of emergency backup power for telecom assets inside central offices and eight hours for other facilities such as cell sites, remote switches and digital loop carrier system remote terminals. There are about 200,000 cell sites in the United States, with tower companies operating about 115,000 sites and operators controlling 85,000 sites.