Reinforcing and Evaluating Service Integrity, Local Infrastructure, and Emergency Notification for Today's Networks Act or the RESILIENT Networks Act
This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt certain rules, recommend best practices, and issue reports intended to promote the resiliency of communications networks during emergencies.
Specifically, the bill requires the FCC to adopt rules that provide for (1) coordination among communications providers during emergencies; and (2) coordination and outage information sharing between communications providers, public safety answering points (i.e., the points where emergency calls are routed), and certain public safety entities responsible for emergency management functions.
Additionally, the FCC must conduct a study to determine the feasibility of expanding the one-call notification system, used to identify the location of electric and gas transmission lines, to cover communications services.
The FCC must recommend best practices and establish a process for coordination and information sharing between communications providers and utilities during emergencies and planned power shutoffs. The FCC must also ensure that communications providers take measures to integrate backup power into their networks to maintain operation during emergencies.
Further, the FCC must report on any unique challenges or advantages of fifth generation (5G) wireless networks regarding their resiliency to withstand disruptions during emergencies.
The Government Accountability Office must conduct a performance audit of the FCC's efforts to restore communications services in Puerto Rico during, and following, the 2017 hurricane season, and the FCC must commence a proceeding to address the findings and recommendations of such audit.