Public TV stations this month will begin rolling out digital emergency alert system (DEAS) gear, with 20 stations in eastern coastal states integrated into the DEAS network by the end of May, APTS said. By year-end all public TV stations will have equipment to receive and retransmit the signal, it said. The DHS provided a $4.5 million grant for DEAS gear; maintenance will cost $1 million annually, APTS said. The new system will use datacasting to send signals to FEMA wireless receivers at specific locations, APTS said. Unlike broadcast signals, they can be sent by local stations to targeted receivers in safety agencies, other broadcasters and similar settings. Signals also can be received and retransmitted over other digital networks including cellphones. The FCC is considering rules and technical standards for commercial mobile providers to carry DEAS provided by public TV stations. The new alert system initially will distribute only alerts from the President but eventually will expand to enable use by governors and local officials and reach thousands of sites, said APTS Pres. John Lawson.
The Mont. House Appropriations Committee killed a bill (HB-33) that would have assessed a monthly 25 E-911 fee on active wireless prepaid accounts. The panel indefinitely tabled the bill for study between legislative sessions. The committee indefinitely tabled for study a bill (HB-821) requiring creation of an automated statewide emergency alert system for first responders and their collaborating agencies. The panel killed the bill because of questions about whether the state’s computer network can instantly and reliably deliver emergency alert messages to many recipients at the same time.
The FCC approved HD Radio multicasting in a long-awaited order (CD March 22 p15) formalizing a policy that let hundreds of stations each broadcast multiple streams on an experimental basis. Under new rules approved Thurs. at the FCC meeting, a single HD Radio FM station can transmit multiple in-band on-channel (IBOC) streams. After years of delay, nighttime AM HD Radio is authorized.
The Dept. of Transportation hopes this year to run initial field tests of its Next Generation 911 project but needs a location, Laurie Flaherty, a leader of the program for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), said Tues. Key decisions on the program will be made the next few months, Flaherty told the National Emergency Number Assn.’s annual D.C. meeting.
The Tenn. Senate passed a “robo-call” telemarketing bill (SB-125) barring use of automatic dialing and announcing systems to call anyone on the state or national no-call list. The robo-call curb would include political bodies. Exemptions include use by employers to reach workers, use by schools to reach students and parents and use by safety agencies sending emergency alerts. The Tenn. House Utilities & Banking Subcommittee advanced another telemarketing bill (HB-390) that would prohibit telemarketers from concealing their identities from caller ID subscribers. Violators could be fined up to $2,000 per offending call.
The FCC ended probes of 3 TV stations for failing to use visual cues to make emergency programming accessible to hearing-impaired viewers, said Enforcement Bureau orders. KFMB-TV San Diego and Fla. stations WBBH-TV Ft. Myers and WZVN-TV Naples-Ft. Myers agreed to consent decrees under which they'll use live closed captioning in emergencies. The bureau fined WTBQ(AM) Warwick, NY., $9,600 for breaking emergency alert system and other rules.
The FCC last week noted $123,000 in new radio fines. Of that, Enforcement Bureau penalties totaling $51,000 were issued in connection with emergency alert systems, listener contests and other matters. The remainder involved fines by the Media Bureau against 15 stations for late filing of license renewals and other violations. The broadcasters’ licenses were renewed.
The Cal. PUC unanimously adopted rules to implement a 2006 video franchise reform law shifting franchising from municipalities to the PUC. The law required the PUC to have in place by April 1 an administrative structure for processing video franchise applications. The PUC said it can accept franchise applications now. Verizon said it plans to be among the first providers to seek a state video franchise. The rules (Case R-06-10-005) provide for a 30-day review period to check applications for all the information required by law. The order gives the Div. of Ratepayer Advocacy unrestricted access to any video franchise information possessed by the PUC but won’t allow any challenges to video franchise applications during the 30-day review period. The PUC said the 30-day timeline precludes consideration “even of limited protests.” The rules also require state-franchised video providers to file reports on service deployment, with the PUC authorized to enforce the franchise law’s anti-bias and buildout provisions. The rules say formal inquiries on bias and buildout violations can be launched on the PUC’s own motion or in response to a municipal govt. complaint. The order bars subsidizing video services from phone service revenues. Penalties in this order range from fines of up to 1% of an offending provider’s monthly gross revenues to revocation of the state franchise for chronic or flagrant rule violations. The rules leave it to municipalities to address public access channels and emergency alert system requirements and to enforce consumer protection standards. PUC Comr. Rachelle Chong said the rules directly reflect the statute and triggered controversy mainly because they mark a new way of doing video franchising. She said the law put the PUC in a new position, more ministerial than regulatory; that’s very different from how the PUC exercises authority over telecom carriers.
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Media consolidation critics again clashed with broadcasters and industry advocates at the FCC’s latest media ownership hearing, held here Fri. Unlike L.A. and Nashville hearings attended by droves of TV and music industry workers, no industry dominated comments from the public. Majority commissioners opened with brief comments, and Comrs. Copps and Adelstein made longer speeches. Trying to set a tone, Comr. Copps criticized media coverage of state legislatures. “There are only about 500 reporters covering statehouses across the country,” he said: “That works out to about 10 per state, with only a handful, sometimes as few as 2, in some smaller states.” Further newsroom consolidation will mean even fewer statehouse reporters, he said. Union representatives echoed Copps during a public comment period.
The FCC fined Eagle West Communications $8,000 for failing to make sure its Mesa, Ariz., emergency alert system was working. The Enforcement Bureau forfeiture order was issued Fri.