The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau upheld a $12,000 fine against Delta Radio for Emergency Alert System deficiencies and other violations at its WROX-AM station in Greenville, Miss. The bureau didn’t accept Delta’s argument that the stations’ rule violations weren’t “willful” just because the station owner moved away from Mississippi and the employees he relied on to run the station never told him the EAS equipment hadn’t been installed.
The FCC imposed $43,600 total fines on 9 radio stations and a TV broadcaster. KLEA(FM) and KLEA(AM) Lovington, N.M., and KRCQ(FM) Detroit Lakes, Minn., were fined $14,000 total for missing deadlines to request license renewals and operating without FCC permission, in Media Bureau notices of apparent liability. The bureau renewed their licenses. Fined in Enforcement Bureau forfeiture orders were Class A TV station K43FO Las Vegas; KODL(AM) The Dalles, Ore.; KIGS(AM) Hanford, Cal.; the former licensee of KICA(AM) and KKYC(FM), both serving Clovis, N.M.; WNVA Norton, Va.; and the former operator of KEVT(AM) Cortaro, Ariz. Those stations failed to test emergency alert systems, operated in unauthorized locations and broke other FCC rules, but the Enforcement Bureau cut some of the original penalties.
Wireless carriers may take their case to Congress if the FCC mandates that within a year they must meet E-911 location accuracy standards at the public safety answering point (PSAP) level, carrier sources said. But the order is a work in progress. Some commissioners fear no carriers can meet that deadline and that the order would be challenged in court. Carriers are in a holding pattern on a Hill strategy until the FCC acts, most likely at its Sept. 11 meeting.
The FCC set Sept. 19 for the next meeting of the Commercial Mobile Service Alert Advisory Committee in the commission meeting room. The group hopes to circulate a final report on Emergency Alert System warnings on cellphones in September, with approval expected before Oct. 12.
The Society of Cable Telecom Engineers approved an alert messaging standard for systems delivering emergency alerts to cable set-top boxes, digital cable ready TVs and PVRs, it said. The revised standard is at www.scte.org.
Wireless carriers and equipment makers told the FCC it should defer any decision on tougher E-911 location standards until an industry-public safety group can gather and meet to study the changes’ technological feasibility. The companies hope that the FCC will set up a working group modeled on the Commercial Mobile Service Alert Advisory Committee, which is looking at emergency alerts sent to cellphones. Comments were due this week in a second comment round on how to increase the accuracy of wireless E-911 (CD July 9 p5).
Public safety groups, supported by radio-maker Motorola, cautioned the FCC not to prohibit or restrict paging by public safety agencies using emergency response frequencies. The FCC is considering whether to restrict VHF public safety frequencies to just two-way voice calls. The FCC said in seeking comment on that proposal it has received interference complaints in the past about interference from paging, particularly to channels set aside for mutual aid.
Broadcasters and minority advocates agreed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency must do more to educate people about emergency alert systems (EASs), said a summary of a June 14 meeting brokered by the FCC. “There was some confusion about who played what role and general concern that FEMA” must do more outreach. Officials from NAB, the Independent Spanish Broadcasters Association, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) and Florida Association of Broadcasters met, summoned by the Public Safety Bureau to work toward a compromise on relaying alerts in languages other than English in disasters, storms and other emergencies. The meeting was mandated by an FCC order asking the parties to work out a way for broadcasters to carry alerts in languages other than English when foreign-language stations go off the air (CD July 13 p5). NAB officials told the meeting that they liked Florida’s model, in which the state emergency operations center uses Spanish-speaking interpreters to issue EAS alerts in that language. MMTC and other officials “strongly disputed that voluntary programs were sufficient to ensure adequately comprehensive multilingual EAS alerts and urged the Commission to take a more aggressive approach immediately,” the notes said. “Only NAB and Florida participants thought that voluntary programs would be sufficient to achieve universal or even widespread availability of multilingual EAS alerts.” A Florida broadcast official said disaster planning funds can be tough to get, adding that the state’s satellite-based alert distribution method “is relatively cheap,” said the note. Reacting to participants’ suggestions that the FCC involve more industries on EAS, the Public Safety Bureau said it will meet with cable operators, satellite providers and wireless cable companies.
BALTIMORE -- Public safety licensees shouldn’t expect waivers from the FCC if they blow 2008 deadlines on striking a deal with Sprint Nextel and reconfiguring 800 MHz radios, FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief Derek Poarch warned Association of Public Safety Communications Officials. Parties to rebanding, including Sprint Nextel and public safety licensees, must work more efficiently to finish the job in 2008, as stipulated, he said.
The FCC should follow through on a recommendation that channels in the 900 MHz band be allocated to public safety for paging, the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council said in a filing at the FCC. “Paging systems, possessing inherent redundancy, can be more reliable than voice/cellular systems,” the council said. “Significant efficiency is gained by group pages transmitting critical information to alert thousands of units at the same time.” The recommendation was by the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks. The council said all public safety groups should be allowed to benefit. “Digital paging capability in the 900 MHz band will provide meaningful assistance to public safety agencies beyond emergency medical response,” the council said. “The fire services need efficient means to notify responding members, particularly where agencies rely upon volunteer forces that must be summoned from work or residence. It would be counter to the Commission’s history and commitment to public safety communications to limit access to particular public safety responsibilities.” The channels are in the business and industrial/land transportation (B/ILT) bands at 896- 901/935-940. In a May filing, the Enterprise Wireless Alliance said public safety applications should be accommodated in areas where spectrum capacity exists, adding that the paging operation can conform to rules on B/ILT use.