The FCC's 2016 nationwide test of the emergency alert system showed the system to be “significantly improved” from the 2011 nationwide test, said a preliminary report on the test released Wednesday by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. “The Nationwide EAS Test was successful,” said the bureau. “Initial test data indicates that the vast majority of EAS Participants successfully received and retransmitted the National Periodic Test (NPT) code that was used for the test.”
The FCC Wednesday pulled a draft emergency alert system order from the next day's commissioners' meeting agenda, after industry and agency officials said it was controversial. Five other agenda items also were pulled, though four were adopted on circulation.
Chairman Tom Wheeler is leaving the FCC on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, he confirmed Thursday morning before the commissioners' meeting. That would leave the commission with one Democratic member, Mignon Clyburn, who earlier this week told us that she will stay during her term, and two Republicans, Mike O'Rielly and Ajit Pai. That is assuming that Jessica Rosenworcel is not reconfirmed; she is not expected to be.
Commissioner Mike O'Rielly expects "a lot of change" at the FCC when Republicans take control of the agency under incoming President Donald Trump. O'Rielly said he's looking forward to action in four main areas: removing "regulatory underbrush" that has been around a long time; fixing the commission's organization and procedures; moving a "pro-growth, pro-innovation agenda" -- for instance, by addressing tower siting for next-generation wireless; and undoing "bad policies" adopted by the current commission on partisan votes, including the FCC's net neutrality and broadband reclassification order. The specific agenda will flow from who Trump installs at the helm, O'Rielly said.
Senate Democrats are signaling that Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel’s time at the FCC may not be up despite her upcoming forced exit. “I hope she'll be renominated and the Senate lives up to its word,” Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., told us in a statement Monday. Members of the upper chamber left town early Saturday without reconfirming her, which means she will have to leave the agency by Jan. 3, as expected (see 1612080056). That would create a 2-2 partisan split among remaining members.
CTIA questioned the need for new rules for wireless emergency alerts, as proposed in an FCC Further NPRM, in comments in docket 15-91. Some other comments posted earlier also sought changes (see 1612080017) or expressed concern. “The Commission is proposing a number of unnecessary and burdensome mandates that have not been studied, found to be feasible, or demonstrated to provide meaningful improvements to the functioning of the WEA,” CTIA said. “Should the Commission stray from the highly effective path it has employed for WEA and adopt infeasible and unnecessary requirements for CMS [commercial mobile service] providers to comply with as part of their participation, CMS participants may be forced to reconsider their support of the voluntary WEA system.” Carriers need flexibility or otherwise may be unwilling to voluntarily participate in the WEA program, CTIA said. “Adoption of aspirational proposals may force CMS Providers to opt out of participation in the WEA system.” San Francisco, meanwhile, said the FCC should reconsider whether subscribers can opt out of receiving all alerts. “While recognizing the desire of an individual to customize the type of notifications one receives, the City recommends Imminent Threat alerts be exempt from the opt-out option,” its Emergency Management Department commented. The city backed “the expedited processing of earthquake-related Imminent Threat Alerts as any delay limits the effectiveness of such an alert.” AT&T said the FCC should be mindful of the technical limitations of alerting technology. “In some instances, the FNPRM’s proposals could be categorized as ‘nice to have,’ others would require carriers to make significant capital investment for network structure that is, at least for the foreseeable future, usable by WEA only, and still others are simply not achievable with current technology or even within the design limits of the WEA system itself,” AT&T commented. The FCC proposes to abandon its technology-neutral approach by expanding the attestation requirements imposed on carriers, Verizon commented. “But existing requirements already inform consumers whether a carrier’s services and devices support alert capabilities, which is what Congress intended and what consumers want and need to know.” The agency should delay new requirements on the capability of alerts “pending stakeholder efforts to address the significant technical challenges,” the carrier said. The FCC should limit itself to new enhancements to alerts that are “realistic and achievable,” T-Mobile commented. “Unfortunately, however, several of the FNPRM’s proposals represent wishful thinking that could lead to unintended consequences, including endangering the smooth functioning of WEA. Unrealistic technology mandates, tight timeframes, and potentially high compliance costs run the risk of undermining the program.” New York City’s Emergency Management Department said carriers should be able to make alerts better if given enough time through further enhancements. “NYCEM strongly encourages the Commission to adopt rules that take a 'long view' of system improvements, even if the adopted implementation timeframe is several years,” the city said. Microsoft weighed in on several issues, including a proposal to require WEAs for tablets. “The Commission must define which mobile devices would be considered a tablet and thus subject to WEA requirements,” Microsoft said. “Although the Further Notice references the iPad, a wider variety of device form factors is currently available in the marketplace. It may be difficult to define a tablet by any singular feature.”
APCO supported a proposal to require wireless carriers to disclose to potential customers at the point of sale whether they provide wireless emergency alerts, while public broadcaster representatives worried about costs. The FCC sought comment on additional changes as part of an NPRM approved in September, which accompanied an order making changes to the rules (see 1609290060). “Promoting consumer choice and providing better notice regarding WEA at the point of sale could lead to increased use of the system, which would benefit public safety,” APCO commented in docket 15-91. “Point of sale disclosures should include information such as how WEA capabilities vary by device, network technology, or geographic area. This is especially important for providers who elect to participate ‘in part.’” APCO also supported in general an FCC proposal to require carriers to file annual WEA performance reports. They would address geo-targeting, latency, availability and reliability. “Testing is fundamental to public safety communications, and the annual performance reports will increase transparency and improve the system’s trustworthiness and effectiveness,” APCO said. “For similar reasons, APCO supports the creation of a uniform format for alert logging and the collection of more detailed system integrity data.” Noncommercial broadcast stations can require updated or new equipment to continue receiving WEA messages if specifications change, said from PBS, CPB and America's Public Television Stations. The FCC should work to make sure federal funding remains available to cover "any reasonable costs" that public TV stations incur "to accommodate further changes to the specifications for WEA messages," the comments said. "PTV stations depend on funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce to cover the costs of updating their equipment or software to implement new capabilities required by the Commission with respect to the processing and transmission of WEA messages." Without the updates and the funding to make them, the public stations could be unable to receive WEA messages, they said.
The FCC added five items to the agenda for the Dec. 15 commissioners' meeting to go along with orders and Further NPRMs on both real-time texting (RTT) and the emergency alert system (EAS). The latter two were on a Nov. 22 tentative agenda, which said the other five were also possibilities if not approved on circulation (see 1611220064). The five new items on the agenda issued Thursday are: an NPRM to update rules to ease the deployment of recently proposed nongeostationary-satellite orbit and fixed-satellite service orbit systems; an order evaluating a "Wireless Network Resiliency Cooperative Framework" submitted by wireless industry members; an order updating Freedom of Information Act regulations under a 2016 FOIA law; an order addressing a petition of reconsideration of a slamming and deceptive marketing fine of Long-Distance Inc.; and an item combining two orders regarding the assignment of licenses held by Maritime Communications/Land Mobile. The items that already were on the agenda before Thursday, on EAS and RTT, could be controversial (see 1612080054 and 1612070065).
Similar to the draft emergency alert system order scheduled for a vote at next week’s commissioner meeting (see 1612070065), the outlook also remains unclear for the second big item -- an order on a common standard for the transition from text technology (TTY) to real-time text (RTT), industry and FCC officials said. Last month, Chairman Tom Wheeler indicated he wouldn’t seek a vote on any items that had commissioner objections (see 1611170054). Agency officials said it's unclear if that's anything like a new rule and whether Wheeler would still move ahead as long as he can get three votes in support. The FCC didn't comment.
Though the draft emergency alert system order set for next week's FCC meeting agenda is largely free of provisions that were opposed by Republican commissioners and the pay-TV and broadcast industries, internal tensions on the eighth floor could keep the item from being approved, agency and industry officials told us. The item still includes the provisions that would make state EAS plans more uniform that were proposed in the NPRM, but reporting deadlines and cybersecurity requirements would be relaxed, and a controversial proposal to change the rules for pay-TV “force tuning” would be shifted to a Further NPRM, they said. That still may not leave the item with a clear path to being approved, an FCC official said.