By Fawn Johnson
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday said it will revise a rule requiring wireless companies to maintain enough generators or batteries to sustain cell phone and pager service in the event of a major power failure.
In a notice to a federal appeals court that has been reviewing the rule, the FCC said it wouldn't override a recent White House decision to reject the backup power requirement, even though the commission has the authority to do so as an independent agency.
The FCC instead will issue a new proposal "with the goal of adopting revised 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," the notice said.
The earlier FCC proposal stemmed from discussions among public safety experts and government officials in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when communication networks were disrupted for long periods in certain areas because of power failures.
The FCC's continued action is important to cell phone companies and paging services that will have to abide by the backup-power requirements.
Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) and USA Mobility Inc. (USMO) joined in a lawsuit with CTIA, an association of wireless carriers, to challenge the FCC's earlier rule. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit put the lawsuit on hold until the White House weighed in.
The White House's Office of Management and Budget saidlast week that the FCC didn't seek or evaluate public comments before issuing the rule, which would have required all remote cellular sites to have eight hours of emergency backup power.
The earlier FCC rule also included extensive reporting requirements detailing carriers' cell sites that OMB said were unlawfully burdensome to companies without more analysis.
-By Fawn Johnson, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9263; fawn.johnson@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 03, 2008 18:45 ET (23:45 GMT)