FCC Begins Complete Review of Emergency Alert Service
- The New York State Broadcasters Association
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
At its August meeting, the FCC opened a proceeding looking at a complete review of the current Emergency Alert Service. This includes broadcast EAS and the Wireless Emergency Alerting (WEA) system. The FCC is considering a complete review of the entire system. It asks commenters to:
Identify goals that the system is designed to serve
Develop objectives for an effective national system
Design a system to serve needs of alerting authorities
Determine the kind of information that should be delivered
Determine how information is best conveyed to the public
Analyze public expectations when receiving information
Consider to modernize the system
In evaluating the current EAS system, the FCC is requesting specific information on issues such as:
Which government agencies should be allowed to initiate alerts. What happens in cases with overlapping jurisdiction, where multiple agencies send out a message for the same event?
Should the government require video alerts at both the federal and or state level? What are the costs?
Should private, non-government entities, such as utilities, companies dealing with hazardous materials, or nuclear power plants, be authorized to send alerts?
What is the best way to geographically target alerts?
Should EAS alerts be made available on tablets, streaming services, gaming devices, and other platforms that are being used but do not have any EAS requirements?
Should EAS alerts be delivered directly to all connected TV sets and devices?
The answers to these questions could lead to profound changes in the current EAS system for broadcasters. Comments are due to the FCC 30 days after the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is published in the Federal Register. Reply comments will be due 45 days after the date of publication. NYSBA will be following this closely.
You can see the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking here.
