FCC Seeks Comment on Again Delaying EAS Deadline for New Standard
The FCC asked whether it should extend for a second time a deadline for all radio and TV stations and subscription-video providers to start using a new government standard for emergency warnings. In a long-awaited rulemaking notice released Thursday afternoon, the commission asked dozens of questions on certification of emergency alert systems as complying with the new standards from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, deadlines and what’s technically needed to trigger alerts. The FCC tentatively concluded that existing EAS equipment can be used for the new standards and expects to start an inquiry on broadband alerting later this year.
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The rulemaking on applying Part 11 equipment certification rules to FEMA’s Common Alerting Protocol was early expected to have been ready in late 2010 (CD Nov 19 p5), and cable operators and broadcasters have said it may take time to implement CAP once those rules are finalized. The Public Safety Bureau circulated the rulemaking notice May 11, and it was adopted Wednesday. “We're pleased that we're able to get this notice out” so it can be fully considered before the current deadline of Sept. 30, bureau Chief James Barnett said in a brief interview Thursday. The NAB is reviewing the proposed rules, a spokesman said.
The new rulemaking asked whether the compliance deadline should be after the agency implements new certification rules, “to ensure that all EAS devices process CAP-formatted messages in a consistent and standardized manner.” The current deadline, previously extended to Sept. 30, is pegged to FEMA’s adoption of CAP, which occurred exactly a year earlier. The FCC asked whether EAS participants should be able to meet the new rules by getting messages in the new format and converting them into an older one to be used on legacy systems. “It appears that, depending upon the legacy EAS devices that an EAS Participant has deployed, use of such an intermediary device may provide a cost-effective method” to be compliant “without having to replace its existing EAS equipment,” the commission said. It sought comment on that.
If a proper certification system is in place, the rulemaking asked how long it would take equipment makers to “design, certify, and market” their gear: “Similarly, how much time do EAS Participants require to acquire, deploy and test such equipment and to train personnel to use the equipment?” The rulemaking tentatively found that it will allow what it called a “transitional approach” to CAP, where protocol used by legacy alerting gear is allowed. Switching now to an entirely “CAP-centric” system “could be detrimental” to states and the National Weather Service, the two most-frequent types of EAS users, the commission said.
CAP compliance would be required to be in place nine months after revised certification rules are made, under one scenario the commission gave. It asked for other time frames, too. “Are there other factors, such as the time required for EAS Participants in rural or underserved areas to obtain” Internet Protocol connectivity “that we should take into consideration in establishing a new deadline, or should these situations be assessed on a case-by-case basis” through waivers, the rulemaking asked. EAS participants are DBS, all broadcasters including satellite radio, and wireline and wireless cable systems. The FCC said a notice of inquiry on broadband alerting “to initiate a comprehensive examination of the potential for broadband technologies to enhance alerts and warnings” will come this year.