Ladies & Gentlemen: You will recall that back on January 24th, immediately following the passage of the Parity Act in the House of Representatives, a subsequent piece of legislation, HR 588 was also passed. The bill directs the FCC to study Network Resiliency During Times of Disaster. I suggested to you that, since the bill touched upon communications during time of disaster, it might have some applicability to Amateur Radio. I asked Ed Hare and Mike Corey to explore the possibilities: to determine if we might wish a seat at that table; if we might add value in the study; and tangentially, if we might apply for some of the grant funding flowing from the bill. Ed, Mike, and Martin Ewing have completed their analysis, and their preliminary thoughts are contained in the attached memo [HR558 report 20170307.docx]. In quick summary, we believe that there is a role for Amateur Radio and ARRL in this study if the legislation passes the Senate and is signed by the President. Their recommendations (excerpted from the report) are as follows: Recommendations This Bill represents an opportunity for ARRL to demonstrate to government agencies the value of Amateur Radio. Doing so would draw on various ARRL departments, from our legislative and lobbying efforts to our organized emergency-communications operations, both staff and field to the technical resources of the ARRL Laboratory and amateurs developing digital networking capability in the field. In general, the following are the first steps in taking advantage of the opportunities provided by this pending legislation: Contact legislators to encourage the passage of this legislation and to educate them about the value of Amateur Radio * Encourage legislators to ask the FCC to include ARRL and Amateur Radio in any programs or recommendations it develops * Assess the current state of the NTS and ARES, to determine how they should be changed to make better, organized use of modern high-speed digital communications systems * Consider what rules changes may be needed to allow Amateur Radio to play a useful role in the implementation of this legislation * Contact various Amateurs that are currently doing various high-speed digital work and networking and determine how they may fit into any ARRL work that may be undertaken. * Explore the possibility of ARRL applying for grants provided by the legislation to study the topic since this is a research funding. I will ask Ed and his colleagues to rough out a plan for implementing their recommendations. As an organization, we are fortunate that, with the investment in Parity Act legislative activities, ARRL and the Amateur Radio community are better-known and more visible on Capitol Hill than before. This ought to be helpful in obtaining a seat at the table, and perhaps even in obtaining grant funding. I say "rough out" because, in advance of assurance of the bill's passage, I don't want to invest too much time and effort prematurely. But I've asked them to be ready to respond if the bill appears headed for passage. So the timing of the first recommendation, "Encourage legislators..." ought to be evaluated by others more familiar with the overall legislative goals of the organization so as not to divert attention from the Parity bill activity. Please call or email if you have questions or thoughts. Gallagher 03/07/17