The FCC approved revised rules for wireless emergency alerts (WEA) and sought comment on future changes. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly partly dissented, objecting to some policy calls. The order, as expected (see 1609220008), increases the maximum length of WEA messages from 90 to 360 characters for 4G LTE and future networks and requires participating wireless providers to support inclusion of embedded phone numbers and URLs in all WEA alerts, said a Thursday news release.
The second-ever nationwide test of the emergency alert system Wednesday (see 1609270058) went smoothly, according to early results, as expected (see 1609130060). That indicates the system of relying on a combination of Common Alerting Protocol and daisy-chained stations to disseminate the alert is reliable, EAS officials, broadcasters and equipment makers told us Wednesday. Some stations took longer than others to broadcast the alert and some didn't do so at all, but those errors were infrequent and scattered, and didn't occur to an unexpected degree, said Ed Czarnecki, senior director-strategy and government affairs at EAS gear maker Monroe Electronics. The first nationwide EAS test in 2011 had several issues.
Wednesday's nationwide test of the emergency alert system (EAS) will “be an opportunity to assess the readiness of America’s core public alert and warning infrastructure,” said Public Safety Bureau Deputy Chief Lisa Fowlkes in a blog post Monday. The test is set for 2:20 p.m. EDT, and will include bilingual alerts, a new nationwide location code and a new test alert code (see 1609260079). “The rapid dissemination of authoritative information can save lives,” the blog post said: State and local emergency planners should use the occasion of the nationwide test to ensure that their local government agencies are familiar with EAS, that 911 call centers are included in their alerting plans, and that they are familiar with their state's emergency communications coordinator. “We encourage all stakeholders to stay informed and involved in the future of alerting,” Fowlkes said. Meanwhile, the Public Safety Bureau denied a request from EAS equipment manufacturer Gorman-Redlich for a waiver from rules requiring stations to upgrade their equipment to be able to broadcast the new EAS nationwide location code, said an order in docket 15-94 released Tuesday. Gorman-Redlich argued “certain manufacturers” are unable to upgrade their equipment, and doing so would be a financial burden to broadcasters. Gorman-Redlich wasn't specific enough about the costs that would be incurred and why the equipment couldn't be upgraded, and its waiver request was so broad it would have covered most radio stations in the country, the order said.
Wireless emergency alerts must allow photos and other media, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told the FCC. “In light of the need to respond in real time to terror threats, we can’t afford to have an emergency wireless response system that is stuck in the 90’s,” Schumer said in a statement Sunday. “In the era of Instagram, Facebook and SnapChat our Wireless Emergency Alert System needs to get as smart as our phones and be updated so it can deliver photos and other media that has information that can save lives. … To maximize safety, the FCC should quickly update our emergency alert system by increasing the number of maximum characters permitted and allowing for pictures to be attached.” He sent FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler a letter Monday backing the agency’s efforts in this regard. “It is clear the WEA system provides immeasurable support to emergency management and law enforcement agencies across the nation,” Schumer, a member of Democratic leadership expected to take over as Democratic Senate leader next Congress, told Wheeler. “Significant improvements must be made in order to allow agencies, such as the [N.Y. Police Department], to fully capitalize on the system. Accordingly, I applaud your efforts to improve the system and I ask you to expedite enhancements, such as extending the character limit to the maximum, allowing the use of multimedia images, and improving locational accuracy, so that citizens can be as informed as possible during times of risk.” Commissioners vote on a wireless emergency alerts item at their Thursday meeting, which many cities and officials have commented on, given WEA was used to alert New York area residents to authorities' ultimately successful search earlier this month for a bomber (see 1609230022).
The FCC and the Federal Emergency Management Agency will do a nationwide emergency alert system (EAS) test Wednesday at 2:20 p.m. EDT, FEMA said in a reminder news release (see 1609130060). The test will be similar to more commonplace EAS tests -- “this is a national test of the Emergency Alert System. This is only a test” -- except the message will indicate the nationwide scope, FEMA said.
After recent bombings in New York and New Jersey, “as well as the heightened risk of similar events occurring in the District,” the Washington, D.C., Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) is leaning on the FCC to move forward on changes to wireless emergency alert rules. Wireless alerts “should be capable of sending messages that include pictures, links, and telephone numbers” to more granular areas “using technology that already exists in each handset,” HSEMA said in a letter to the FCC in docket 15-91. HSEMA also said alerts should be available in multiple languages. New York City officials made similar arguments to the FCC; commissioners are slated to vote on updated rules Thursday (see 1609220008). New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neil also said the FCC should change the rules, in a letter citing the recent Chelsea bombing allegedly by Ahmad Khan Rahami, a subject of WEA alerts. The name and photograph of the alleged bomber “appeared on social media, news media, via e-mail, and text messages,” the letter said. “In contrast, the Wireless Emergency Alert message only contained his name and an instruction to ‘see media for pic,” O’Neil said. “With the technology available today the suspect's photograph should have immediately appeared on people's handsets. This is a major gap in the system.” O’Neil said alerts also must be sent in languages other than English: “There are more than 200 languages spoken in New York City alone, and [the New York Police Department] takes the issue of language access very seriously.” Others filing recently in the docket supporting WEA enhancements include Houston; Los Angeles; Nassau County, New York; San Francisco; and Seattle. CTIA also filed additional comments. The FCC should not use recent requests that device-based geo-targeting be included in the upcoming wireless emergency alert order to impose new rules, CTIA said in a filing. The agency needs to seek comment first, the group said. “The Commission should absolutely move forward with a technically feasible and appropriate proposal in a Further Notice, and should make clear that nothing in the upcoming Report and Order will preclude service providers from pursuing technically feasible device-based geo-targeting methods in the interim,” CTIA said. “These filings, however, raise additional technical questions that have not been resolved or fully vetted in the record before the Commission. Therefore, using them as a basis for new rules in the forthcoming Report and Order unnecessarily raises both technical and procedural issues.”
Recent events point to the importance of 911 and public safety answering points, and the risk of cyberthreats, said FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson Friday at a meeting of the Task Force on Optimal PSAP Architecture. TFOPA is preparing a follow up to its report released earlier this year on how to speed the U.S. transition to next-generation 911 (see 1601290051). TFOPA has done a lot of work and has lots more to do, Simpson said.
The FCC should launch a rulemaking on creating a Class C4 FM allocation, Commissioner Ajit Pai said Thursday in a speech at the 2016 Radio Show, prepared remarks show. “Class C4 FM stations would have more power than Class A FM stations but less power than Class C3 FM stations.” A C4 allocation would allow hundreds of Class A FM stations to upgrade to Class C4 FM stations, Pai said. “They could broadcast with increased power and provide service to more Americans so long as they didn’t impact the existing service contours of other stations.” The FCC received positive feedback on the idea and the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council supports it, Pai said. “An NPRM would allow us to ask the right questions, explore the advantages and disadvantages of the proposal, and receive the views of all stakeholders.” Pai also urged the wireless industry to expand the activation of FM chips in smartphones. The Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council recommended activated FM chips as a way to further disseminate emergency alert system messages, Pai noted. “I wholeheartedly support CSRIC’s recommendation and will continue to urge the wireless industry to activate FM chips in smartphones.” Pai also praised FCC efforts to open windows for FM translators, saying it received 671 applications and granted 624 during the first window. In the ongoing second window, the commission received 268 applications and granted 200 of them, Pai said. Pai also said he would push for the FCC to take up more aspects of the AM revitalization proposal in 2017.
CTIA is raising concerns about the FCC’s proposed new rules for wireless emergency alerts, saying the agency must give industry ample time to adapt to any rule change. Commissioners vote on revised WEA rules at their Sept. 29 meeting (see 1609080083). Industry objections are raising at least some concerns among the commissioners, though it's unclear how much the rules will be tweaked before next week’s vote, agency and industry officials told us.
The New York Police Department’s unprecedented use Monday of a 90-character Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) to help catch suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami in connection with the weekend’s New York and New Jersey bombings typified how “new technology can be utilized to improve public alerting,” said John Lawson, executive director of the AWARN Alliance, in a Wednesday statement.