The FCC will conduct field hearings to explore the resiliency of U.S. networks following network disruptions from Hurricane Sandy. The commission said last week that the hearings will start early next year and will be held throughout the country, starting in New York. The FCC said the hearings will explore "power and fuel dependencies, emergency permitting, resource sharing protocols, 911 accessibility" and will lead to recommendations on how to strengthen the country's networks. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, 25 percent of cell sites in a 10-state area were knocked out of service, though the nation's Tier 1 carriers restored the vast majority of service within a week of the storm making landfall. Many observers, including former federal officials, criticized the carriers for not providing adequate backup power at their cell sites. Article