The FCC Public Safety Bureau approved waiver of wireless emergency alert rules for an April 2 test at 1 p.m. by the South Carolina Emergency Management Division. The test is the first of the WEA system in the state and is focused on a 10-mile emergency planning zone around the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station, noted Tuesday's order.
The FCC cleared the U.S. Virgin Islands to do a live-code wireless emergency alert and emergency alert system test March 14 at 10 a.m. local time in the Caribe Wave 2019 tsunami warning exercise. In a Wednesday order in docket 15-91, the Public Safety Bureau granted a waiver request by the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (see 1903050027). The proposed test “will help to educate the public, improve VITEMA’s ability to distribute EAS and WEA alerts in the event of a natural or man-made disaster, and help build confidence in the emergency warning systems in the U.S. Virgin Islands following the devastating hurricanes of 2017,” said the bureau. It conditioned waiver upon full implementation of VITEMA’s outreach plan.
Stressing the importance of testing alerts before hurricane season, the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) sought FCC waiver for a live-code wireless emergency alert and emergency alert system test March 14 at 10 a.m. local time in the Caribe Wave 2019 tsunami warning exercise. The U.S. Virgin Islands has been rebuilding communications infrastructure since the 2017 hurricanes, said Monday's petition in docket 15-91. "It is important to test the system now, well before the start of hurricane season (June 1), rather than wait until May 2019 for the FCC’s end-to-end-testing rules to become effective." The test will cover only the territory and will include EAS participants and major and local cellular networks including Sprint, AT&T, Viya and AirVoice VI, said VITEMA. It's working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System on preliminary closed-circuit tests with the IPAWS Laboratory before the test.
The House passed the Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement (Pirate) Act (HR-583) Monday on a voice vote. The bill, first filed last year (see 1805080072), would increase fines for illegal pirate operations from $10,000 per violation to $100,000 per day per violation to a $2 million maximum. It would streamline FCC enforcement to empower state and local law enforcement agencies to undertake anti-pirate operations. The House's swift consideration of HR-583, sans a House Commerce Committee markup, fits with earlier expectations that committee leaders were aiming to fast-track consideration of the measure and others that got bipartisan support during the last Congress (see 1901170042). The House passed the previous version of the Pirate Act in July (see 1807230047). “Protecting our public airwaves from illegal pirate radio disruptions is crucial to safeguarding important public safety communications, including our nation’s Emergency Alert System and critical aviation frequencies,” said House Commerce ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., and House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio, in a statement. HR-583 “gives the FCC the tools it needs to take down these illegal broadcasts and increases the penalties for these bad actors.” NAB President Gordon Smith hailed House passage, saying the bill “strengthens the FCC’s ability to combat illegal pirate radio operations.”
FCC proposals to relax interference protections for Class A AM stations wouldn’t serve the public interest, said Cumulus Media, posted Thursday in docket 13-249. The proposals would reduce the stations’ contours, it said. That “would substantially impair the ability of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to implement the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Modernization Act,” it said. IPAWS “falls entirely within the regulatory jurisdiction of another federal agency” and so shouldn’t be impeded by the FCC, Cumulus said. The reduced interference protection also would make it harder for Class A AM's to reach rural and tribal areas lacking broadband access, it said.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called for further action on wireless emergency alerts Wednesday, especially from carriers, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project and Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions. Pai noted a 3GPP working group last month approved technical specifications set for a vote during 3GPP’s quarterly plenary meeting in March. Also in March, ATIS is expected to wrap up standards for improved geo-targeting, he said. “Recognizing that there is still more work to be done, I urge all principals … to remain vigilant in their work to ensure that the benefits of enhanced wireless emergency alerts are made available by November,” Pai said. “The American people want, expect, and deserve the best possible public safety services -- including the most precise targeting available for wireless alerts.” Commissioners a year ago approved an order 5-0 imposing a Nov. 30 deadline for carriers to more accurately “geo-target” wireless emergency alerts (see 1801300027). The order requires participating carriers to deliver WEAs to the target area specified by the alert originator with no more than a one-tenth of a mile overshoot. “I agree with my colleague,” Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel told us. “The American people deserve the best possible public safety services and it’s important that the FCC do everything within its power to make this a reality. We may not know where or when the next disaster will strike, but we can be prepared with tools to respond quickly and effectively.” The wireless industry shares Pai’s goal of enhancing the WEA system’s “proven lifesaving capabilities through more granular geographic targeting,” said Matt Gerst, CTIA vice president-regulatory affairs: “CTIA’s member companies will continue to work diligently and collaboratively to meet this goal as expeditiously as possible.”
The FCC Public Safety Bureau approved limited waiver of wireless emergency alert rules to permit carriers to participate in a March 4 Dallas test, with a March 8 backup. This will be the “first live test” of the WEA system there and will target a message “to a targeted polygon encompassing the Central Business District,” the bureau said Tuesday in docket 15-91. “We are persuaded by Dallas [Office of Emergency Management] that the proposed WEA test will help educate the public about WEA and improve the proficiency of emergency managers in the use of WEA before the initiation of an actual alert during an emergency.” The 30-minute exercise starts at 10 a.m. CST. The bureau also approved waiver for a three-part test March 19 in Montgomery County, Texas. The backup is March 26.
AM broadcasters and engineers differ on specifics of how the FCC should change interference protections for AM stations but want fast action, in comments in docket 13-249. Comments originally were due Jan. 22. Now, the agency moved the deadline to Feb. 8 (see 1901290043), said a public notice Tuesday.
Three coordinators of state and local 911 systems said they didn't get warning or immediate direct information from CenturyLink as a network outage last month disrupted such systems nationwide. Officials in Washington state, Colorado and Wyoming's state capital told us they relied on their own information, news reports and Twitter in the early stages as they decided how to respond to problems including static, loss of automatic location data and, in Washington state, hours-long 911 outages.
State broadcaster associations representing all 50 states and Puerto Rico wrote Capitol Hill leaders to support the Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement (Pirate) Act (HR-583). The bill, refiled last week (see 1901170042), would increase fines for illegal pirate operations and streamline FCC enforcement to empower state and local law enforcement agencies. The House passed a previous version in July (see 1807230047). “For years unauthorized pirate radio stations have harmed communities across the country by undermining the Emergency Alert System, interfering with airport communications, posing direct health risks and interfering with licensed stations’ abilities to serve their listeners. The time has come to take significant steps to resolve this vexing problem,” the broadcasters wrote, released Tuesday. “We are reaching the point where illegal pirate stations undermine the legitimacy and purpose of the FCC's licensing system.”