In response to the massive cellphone service disruptions following Hurricane Sandy, the Federal Communications Commission is holding hearings to examine ways to keep cellphone towers from being knocked out by future storms.

Senator Charles Schumer has been pushing the FCC to come up with new plans to keep lines of communication open during power outages, severe storms and other disasters.

Schumer says the FCC will work with telecommunications companies and first responders to maximize reliability and minimize costs.

The FCC says the first hearings will be held here in the city starting early next year.

Topics to be discussed include keeping WiFi service operating and finding backup power sources for cellphone communications.

One in four consumers in areas hit hard by Sandy lost service because of the storm.