Questions about the origination of the recent false missile alert in Hawaii should be answered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency rather than the FCC, said FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief Lisa Fowlkes and several senators at a Commerce Committee hearing Thursday (see 1801240046), which FEMA officials didn't attend, despite being invited.
The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council’s request for an en banc rehearing of its case for multilingual emergency alert system rules should be rejected because the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s ruling (see 1712080070) doesn’t conflict with other court decisions or raise novel issues, the FCC said in a respondent brief. The decision “applied settled principles of law” and the MMTC petition for rehearing should be denied, the agency said. The original rule committed to gathering information on multilingual alerts, and members of the public who don't understand English have other ways to get emergency information, the agency argued. MMTC plans for multilingual EAS alerts would have required a massive restructuring of the system, and rejecting such a plan was reasonable, the regulator said. “The panel determined that the agency was reasonable in seeking to obtain a complete record before concluding its examination of what is a complex and difficult issue.”
A false alarm warning about a ballistic missile headed for Hawaii is likely to be Senate Commerce Committee members' primary focus during a Thursday hearing on emergency alert systems, but it's likely other issues also will factor into the debate, lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews. The committee planned the hearing in direct response to the Hawaii alert, which caused panic there Jan. 13. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell. The panel is just one element of the expected congressional scrutiny of the incident; a House Communications Subcommittee framed a planned Feb. 16 FCC oversight hearing as targeting ongoing issues with emergency alerts (see 1801160054 and 1801170050).
The full FCC issued a hearing designation order for the license renewal applications of two commonly owned and located AM stations in Virginia with a history of long periods of silence, the HDO said. Birach Broadcasting’s stations WBVA(AM) Bayside and WVAB(AM) Virginia Beach were silent for the vast bulk of time between 2008 and 2017, operating for a few days each year to avoid breaking commission rules against staying silent for a year, the HDO said. WBVA was operating for less than 200 days in that span, WVAB just under 400, the HDO said. The policy against allowing extended periods of silence by licensees “is to ensure that scarce broadcast spectrum does not lie fallow and unavailable,” the order said. The hearing on Birach’s stations will use an expedited process (see 1708030026) approved last year for stations that have long been silent, the HDO said. The proceeding will be a “paper hearing” because the FCC has “found no substantial issues of material fact or any credibility issues regarding this renewal application,” the HDO said. The hearing won’t involve discovery, though the FCC requested copies from Birach of program logs and emergency alert system records. The company has 30 days after the HDO is published in the Federal Register to turn over the records, and 60 days to file a response, the order said.
CTIA raised concerns on a draft order that would set a Nov. 30, 2019, deadline for launching geo-targeted wireless emergency alerts, set for a vote at next week’s FCC meeting. CTIA officials met with Public Safety Bureau staff and aides to commissioners, said a filing in docket 15-91. “CTIA expressed general support for the Draft Order’s goal of enhancing the geo-targeting capabilities of the Wireless Emergency Alert system,” the group said. “CTIA also expressed significant concern about the Commission’s aggressive timeline for implementing the enhanced WEA geo-targeting requirement. CTIA stated that, if adopted, the wireless industry will work intently to meet the … deadline.”
Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said Monday he was asked by Chairman Ajit Pai to help build support on Capitol Hill for addressing FCC auction authority. “I’ve pushed as hard as I possibly can and will continue,” O’Rielly said, saying he testified on the importance of a fix and discussed it in Hill meetings. Sometimes Congress needs an “incident” to happen before it's willing to move, he told reporters. He also said he's confident the FCC's net neutrality repeal won't be overturned by lawmakers or courts.
Local governments are urging the FCC to require more accurate geo-targeting of wireless emergency alerts. The WEA system “is urgently in need of life‐saving technology updates,” said Oregon governments led by the city of Portland Bureau of Emergency Management. “Our region faces a range of natural, human‐caused, and technological hazards and where the public may need to be informed quickly to take action to stay safe, including 9‐1‐1 outages, flooding, winter weather, the release of hazardous materials, wildfires, civil disturbances, boil water notices, dam failures, public health emergencies, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions,” they said in a filing Thursday in docket 15-91. “For example, the Eagle Creek Fire last September in the Columbia River Gorge reached the edge of the metro region and for a time was the top fire priority in the country.” The District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency told the FCC it's concerned the commission still hasn't imposed device-assisted, geo-targeting capability requirements. “Now is the time to act on WEA geo-targeting improvements that are precise within one-tenth of a mile,” the department said.
The Senate Commerce Committee plans a Thursday hearing on emergency alert systems, in response to the false alarm about a possible ballistic missile headed for Hawaii that caused panic there Jan. 13, as expected (see 1801170050). FCC Homeland Security Bureau Chief Lisa Fowlkes, CTIA Senior Vice President Scott Bergmann and NAB Chief Technology Officer Sam Matheny are to testify. The Senate Commerce hearing will examine “policy concerns surrounding the use and effectiveness” of emergency alert systems, including wireless emergency alerts, because of the Hawaii incident and other “recent system failures,” the committee said Friday. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell. Meanwhile, Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, is working with Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and several members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on legislation aimed at developing best practices for states and municipalities to improve their emergency alert processes. The House Communications Subcommittee is planning its own hearing (see 1801160054).
Though ATSC 3.0 will enable advancements in emergency alerts, it can’t address the problems of an outdated, underfunded emergency alert system (EAS) operated by personnel who may be undertrained, said Advanced Warning and Response Network (AWARN) Alliance Executive Director John Lawson at an FCBA event on ATSC 3.0 Friday. Panelists at the event also spoke about the upcoming trials of ATSC 3.0 technology and the process remaining for the new standard to go into effect.
The FCC should react to the recent false missile alert in Hawaii by developing best practices for the emergency alert system, studying improvements to the system and committing “right now” to having changes in place before summer, said FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel Thursday at an NAB event on how broadcasters can prepare for emergencies (see 1801160054). “We need to look at everything from state training and practices to improved user interfaces for public safety that can reduce the likelihood of error.” Broadcasters told us preparation and funds are important to staying on-air (see 1712220028).