The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced a sweeping reorganization of field operations within its Enforcement Bureau that it says will help it to more effectively deal with radio interference stemming from the widespread deployment of ever-advancing technologies.
In an Order issued in July 2015, the Commission has adopted a new structure for its field service operations to better ensure the effective and efficient use of available personnel. As part of the revamped structure, a number of Enforcement Bureau offices will be closed, including those located in Anchorage, Buffalo, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Norfolk, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Juan, Seattle and Tampa.
The FCC says that it will continue to maintain a “field presence” in Alaska and Puerto Rico, and will periodically rotate field agents through Kansas City. The agency will also station rapid deployment teams in Columbia and Denver to supplement field enforcement efforts when necessary.
Perhaps most notable in the Commission’s Order restructuring the Enforcement Bureau’s field enforcement activities is a requirement that “all Bureau field agents shall have electrical engineering backgrounds.” This requirement appears to be part of the Commission’s overall effort to update its employee skill set and equipment to “address the likely issues that will accompany new and expanded uses of spectrum.”
