The FCC proposed fining a cable operator $39,000 for not installing emergency alert system equipment, not disclosing to the agency the removal of the EAS gear and not filing annual basic signal leakage reports. SCI Cable received three Enforcement Bureau notices of apparent liability Wednesday for various systems in Kansas (http://xrl.us/bmdefe, http://xrl.us/bmdefg and http://xrl.us/bmdefi). A company executive had no comment.

"The status quo in cybersecurity is not acceptable,” a senior Homeland Security Department official said at a hearing Wednesday of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., agreed cybersecurity is an urgent national defense issue. Meanwhile, committee Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Maine, pushed for modernization of the country’s emergency alert system.

The National Public Safety Telecom Council’s Broadband Working Group took a stab at clarifying definitions of “mission critical voice” for broadband emergency alerts. “The effort to establish an accepted definition for mission critical voice was undertaken by NPSTC because as public safety transitions to the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Wireless Network, voice communications may transition from today’s Land Mobile Radio (LMR) channelized narrowband voice systems to voice over the broadband network. If this transition is to be accomplished, it is imperative that those companies who will be developing the technology to provide voice over broadband fully understand all of the requirements that make up public safety mission critical voice,” the working group said in a news release Friday with its report (http://xrl.us/bmcbj7). The group said its effort “is not designed to provide a road map for those who desire to build mission critical voice into wireless broadband technologies, but has been written to provide a basis for a common understanding of the meaning of and the multiple requirements of mission critical voice."

William Burgess, president of the Nebraska Sheriff’s Association, urged Congress to approve spectrum bill S-911 by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Rep. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. A nationwide interoperable public safety wireless broadband data and voice network is critical to enable communications with other states, the federal government, tribal and local authorities, he said. It’s important that the system start out as an interoperable data system, he said. Work can then be done as the technology develops, to move and integrate voice communications to that system on a voluntary basis, he said. Wireless broadband enables features that would help first responders address all types of emergencies quickly, such as database searches, real-time video links, public alert broadcasts and more, he said. With broadband video, first responders will be able to view the accident scene before arriving and know better what to expect, he said. Quick action from Congress is needed, he said, noting Nebraska is subject to a wide range of severe weather.

South Korea will require wireless Internet service operators and cable broadcasting service providers to provide immediate warning notification according to disaster severity degrees, the nation’s National Emergency Management Agency said in an Aug. 22 notification to the World Trade Organization Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade. The WTO circulated the notification Aug. 29. The notification was made because a relevant international standard doesn’t exist or the technical content isn’t in accordance with relevant international standards and because the technical regulation may have a significant effect on the trade of other WTO members. Warning types will include typhoon, flood, downpour, earthquake and others, it said. Global mobile device manufacturers will have to install public warning system-user equipment (PWS-UE) to provide warning notification in devices that are manufactured in or imported to South Korea, that country said. A draft revision calls for PWS-UE installed in devices to provide warning notification in Korean as soon as natural disasters, man-made disasters or other severely urgent disasters happen, it said. “Reception and presentation of warning notifications to the users shall not interrupt any voice calling and warning notifications shall be popped-up on the monitor under any circumstances.” The size of the warning notification is up to a maximum of 180 bytes, which is 90 characters in the Korean language, it said. PWS-UE will provide alerting indication through an audio attention signal or vibration at the discretion of the wireless Internet and cable providers, it said. Comments are due Oct. 28. Jan. 1, 2013, is the proposed date of entry into force.

Wireless cell sites in Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island were particularly hard hit when Hurricane Irene swept up the East Coast over the weekend, according to numbers released by the FCC late Monday. It said 210,700 wireline customers didn’t have service by its latest count. Two TV stations and 10 radio stations remained down and a million cable customers had no service. But first responder communications didn’t take the same huge hit they did six years ago as a result of Hurricane Katrina, the FCC said.

The 5.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Virginia Tuesday, leading to a overload in wireless networks throughout the region, highlights an issue still to be addressed by the FCC -- the inability of wireless customers to make emergency 911 calls during the period they didn’t have service. Advocates of a national wireless public safety network were quick to cite the incident as further proof they need access to the 700 MHz D-block. But some observers said the inability get through to 911 services raises far more troubling questions. One former FCC official said the equation is simple, if people can’t connect to the network they can’t call 911.

Government officials and industry executives are seeking technical and coordination improvements to the emergency alert system so that the first-ever nationwide test of EAS is smooth. Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FCC and state emergency agencies spoke on a webinar Monday organized by FEMA. “Are You Ready for the Nationwide Emergency Alert System Test” was its title. Government officials and executives from the broadcasting and cable industries said they're making progress on improvements from earlier smaller-scale tests, and that some issues remain. And Chief Jamie Barnett of the FCC Public Safety Bureau said in a separate message to broadcasters that there will be more, “periodic” nationwide EAS tests.

Aug. 15 NATOA webinar on building fiber to the home, 2 p.m. -- http://xrl.us/bkz58c

A proposal to delay FCC enforcement of emergency alert system rules doesn’t go far enough for many broadcasters seeking a longer extension, while EAS equipment makers said the plan makes sense. The comments in interviews came after the Federal Emergency Management Agency asked the commission to delay by four months until Jan. 31 penalizing broadcasters that can’t encode and decode alerts in FEMA’s new format (CD Aug 8 p3). Public TV stations, state broadcasters and the NAB, among those seeking a delay, want it to apply to the rules taking effect, their representatives said. Executives of equipment makers said FEMA’s proposal could be a workable compromise for their industry and for all EAS participants.