California’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) may conduct an end-to-end wireless emergency alert test June 27, 11 a.m. to noon PDT in San Diego County, the FCC said. The Public Safety Bureau conditionally granted a waiver Friday in docket 15-91 to permit commercial mobile providers to participate. A backup test would happen July 12 between the same hours. It’s the second in a series to assess feasibility of using WEA with the early earthquake warning system, which requires notifications to be sent within seconds of earthquake generation. Cal OES says data from tests will help to refine integration, decrease latency and increase accuracy, the bureau said. While conditioning waiver on appropriate public outreach, the bureau found “good cause to permit Cal OES to test the feasibility of using WEA to warn the public of such destructive events.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) won't be ready to support recent improvements to wireless emergency alerts by Monday, the FCC Public Safety Bureau said. In April, the commission reminded carriers (see this publication, May 1) that revised rules for wireless emergency alerts, approved in 2016 (see 1609290060), were to take effect May 1. That notice said IPAWS expected to be ready to support the new features on June 10. IPAWS recently notified the FCC it won’t meet that deadline, the notice said. One of the features is the ability to conduct state or local tests. “Until such time as IPAWS will support and deploy the State/Local WEA Test option, alert originators may not conduct an end-to-end WEA test to the public without first obtaining a waiver of the Commission’s rules,” Friday's publican notice said: “The Bureau will issue a Public Notice announcing when IPAWS is available to fully support these WEA enhancements and providing further guidance on their use.”
Two state bills about 911 testing cleared a California Senate panel at a Tuesday meeting. The Energy and Utilities Committee unanimously cleared AB-956 to clarify automatic dialing devices may be used once a year to test 911 for data accuracy and emergency alert capabilities, and AB-1079 to allow phone companies to share phone numbers without consent to public safety for testing 911 response and emergency alert systems. The Assembly-passed bills need a full Senate vote.
Emergency alert system participants must renew their identifying information in the EAS test reporting system (ETRS) by July 3, before the planned Aug. 7 2:20 p.m. EST national EAS test, the FCC Public Safety Bureau said in a public notice Monday (see Ref:1905230030]). ETRS is open now and accepting 2019 filings, the PN said. The August test will involve only the legacy “daisy chain” system and won’t include the Integrated Public Alert Warning System, the PN said. The backup date for the test is Aug. 21, the PN said.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau approved limited waiver for the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) to test its wireless emergency alert system. The test is to start June 22 at 11 a.m. EDT, with a backup of the same time the following day. “In light of the heightened attendance and security expected for the National July 4th Celebration this year, we are persuaded by the HSEMA Letter that the proposed WEA test will help prepare the District of Columbia Government and HSEMA, as well as tourists and residents alike, in the event of an incident or emergency during the festivities,” said a Wednesday order: “We are also persuaded that there is value in allowing the end-to-end WEA test to use a ‘live’ WEA event code, as opposed to the State/Local WEA Test code, because of the importance of ensuring the reliability of WEA as a means of providing critical information in the event of an emergency.”
The 2019 national test of the emergency alert system is scheduled for Aug. 7, said the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a letter to the FCC posted Thursday in docket 15-94. Aug. 21 is the backup. Though the letter gives the initial test date as taking place in 2016, FEMA officials told us that’s a typo. “This year FEMA proposes to originate the test via the National Public Warning System composed of the FEMA designated Primary Entry Point (PEP) facilities,” the letter said. “The intent of conducting the test in this fashion is to determine the capability of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to deliver messages to the public in event that dissemination via internet is not available.” Due to the use of this method, the test won’t include the richer message text and multilingual options available when messages are delivered using the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System. “As in past years the national EAS test message will look and sound very much like the regular Required Monthly Test (RMT) messages broadcast every month by all EAS Participants,” the letter said.
ATIS said Thursday it has completed changes to wireless emergency alerts standards. The FCC last year imposed a Nov. 30 deadline for carriers to more accurately “geotarget” alerts (see 1801300027). The new version of WEA will more precisely target warnings, ATIS said. It also made changes: “1) defining a set of requirements for the behavior of the mobile devices when a WEA alert message is received; 2) defining the interface between the Federal Alert Gateway and the Commercial Mobile Service Provider Gateway for WEA alerts; and 3) providing a Public Warning System Specification, describing the use of the Evolved Packet System Public Warning System for the delivery of … messages.” The new standards were “delivered on time to meet deadline-driven FCC requirements,” said ATIS President Susan Miller.
The California Public Utilities Commission should ensure working communications during emergencies, the CPUC Public Advocates Office (PAO) said in a Tuesday motion in docket R.18-03-011. The commission should require communications providers to ensure that calls and data are transmitted without delay in emergencies, install backup generators or battery power at wireless facilities in areas with high fire risk, develop plans for alternative methods to support 911 centers, and enhance their emergency alert and warning systems, the office said. “Californians deserve access to reliable telephone services, especially during emergency situations,” said PAO Director Elizabeth Echols. “Given the danger posed by wildfires and other natural disasters in California, now is the time to establish essential public safety and consumer protection standards to ensure that communication systems are available and reliable in emergency situations.” The office participated Monday at a CPUC communications forum (see 1905200052).
The Assembly passed a proposed tweak to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) changing a requirement that businesses give consumers two or more ways to submit information requests. Members voted 73-0 Monday to send to the Senate AB-1564, under which businesses would be required to give either a toll-free number or an email and physical address, plus a web form if it has a website, for consumer information requests. The Assembly amended but left pending AB-1138, which would prohibit social media sites from allowing children under 13 to sign up without parental consent. The amendment would let companies use any FTC-verified method to comply. The Senate Appropriations Committee placed another privacy bill (SB-564) in the committee suspense file. The bill lays out when an individual has a cause of action against someone who distributes sexually explicit material depicting the person, and related procedures and requirements. The committee plans to weigh that and Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s (D) proposed tweaks to CCPA (SB-561) at a Thursday hearing. The committee also Monday placed on suspense SB-603, a bill to authorize a small independent phone corporation to initiate a rate case at the California Public Utilities Commission through either an advice letter or application. The Assembly unanimously passed AB-956 Monday to clarify automatic dialing devices may be used once a year to test 911 for data accuracy and emergency alert capabilities. It would let phone companies share personal information without prior consent for the purpose of issuing an emergency alert or testing the alert system.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau approved a waiver allowing the Denver Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to do an end-to-end wireless emergency alert test. The proposed test will be May 8, starting at 11 a.m. MDT, with a backup date of May 16, said a bureau order Wednesday. “In light of the threat of tornados and the coordination with the annual test of the outdoor warning siren system, we are persuaded by the Denver OEM … that the proposed WEA test will help educate the public about WEA and improve the proficiency of Denver OEM in sending a WEA message in coordination with alerts distributed via the outdoor public warning system,” the bureau said: “We are also persuaded that the proposed end-to-end test of WEA has value now.” The bureau imposed conditions, including a “comprehensive multimedia campaign” to alert the public about the test before it occurs. The District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency sought a waiver for commercial mobile service carriers to do a live WEA test at the National Mall at 11 a.m. June 22, with a backup date of June 23. The District’s third WEA test is to prepare for the July 4 celebration that’s expected to include President Donald Trump, said D.C. “If the President participates, the District of Columbia anticipates increased attendance and, potentially, counter protests or demonstrations.” The test message is to read, “This is a test of the District of Columbia Wireless Emergency Alert. No action is required.”