The deadline was extended an additional month for comments on an FCC NPRM on strengthening state and local involvement in the emergency alert system, said a Public Safety Bureau public notice released Thursday. Comments are now due June 8, replies July 8, the PN said. The extension was granted after requests from the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations and the Broadcast Warning Working Group (see 1604290032). Though NASBA had asked for a 45-day extension, the bureau said 30 days was sufficient.
Florida's St. George Cable agreed to pay $2,500 for failing to install and maintain operational emergency alert system equipment, to operate its cable system within required signal leakage limits, to immediately suspend operations as directed by the FCC Enforcement Bureau and to register the cable system with the FCC, the bureau said in an order and consent decree Friday.
The cable industry is leveling both barrels at FCC-proposed set-top box rules. The American Cable Association and NCTA said they likely would pursue legal redress in response to agency implementation. "I've seen very few things I'm this confident contravene the express wishes of Congress," NCTA CEO Michael Powell said Thursday in a call with media.
CTIA representatives warned the FCC it’s premature for the agency to focus on wireless emergency alert (WEA) rules in the context of 5G when 5G is still evolving. “CTIA and members also noted the uncertainty regarding the timing of ubiquitous deployment of 5G networks and its implications for WEA,” said a filing on the meeting in docket 15-91. The FCC proposed at its November meeting to allow longer WEA messages, inclusion of hyperlinks and narrower distribution of alerts (see 1511190053). CTIA and its members also warned about an FCC proposal to embed information in alerts. “CTIA and carriers explained their concerns over network congestion that could result from an untold number of wireless subscribers simultaneously attempting to access embedded URLs or phone numbers from a WEA message,” the filing said. “The parties discussed the complexity that would be introduced in trying to manage the impact on wireless providers’ networks.” While the proceeding “provides an opportunity for all stakeholders to consider ways to further enhance the WEA system, the Commission should only adopt rules that maintain the simplicity and success of the WEA program for wireless providers, local alert originators, and wireless subscribers,” the filing said. Representatives of AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon met with staff from the FCC Public Safety Bureau.
The FCC is giving an early glimpse at the emergency alert system (EAS) test reporting system (ETRS) to be launched later this year. In a public notice Monday, the Public Safety Bureau released some details on the ETRS format and features. The bureau said the ETRS' aim is increased EAS reliability through accurate charting of "what happened in a particular test," plus letting state alert originators and State Emergency Communication committees plan for how an alert will propagate for purposes of identifying problems like single points of failure or coverage gaps. The bureau said a PN announcing the ETRS launch will include a URL for ETRS registration. Monday's PN included screen captures and descriptions of the various ETRS pages and how they will work, walking through the identifier fields and EAS designations of the forms there. Form Two, for day-of-test reporting, has to be done within 24 hours of a nationwide EAS test or as required by the bureau, it said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is planning a nationwide emergency alert system test on Sept. 28, said a letter to FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson filed Monday in docket 15-94. A previous nationwide test in 2011 had numerous glitches (see 1111180055). FEMA didn't comment Monday.
LAS VEGAS -- Disney believes the studio’s animated content in high dynamic range “isn’t necessarily” enhanced by resolutions higher than 1080p, Cynthia Slavens, director of the Disney-owned Pixar Animation Studios, told us Saturday at the NAB Show’s Future of Cinema Conference. In animated HDR content, “for us, we are very content with a 1080 image,” Slavens said.
Trade groups representing broadcasters, tech companies and others jointly filed a petition for rulemaking Wednesday asking the FCC to allow broadcasters to begin using the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard. “This enhanced digital IP-based standard will create the bedrock for continuing innovation by the television industry for decades to come,” said the petition filed by America's Public Television Stations (APTS), CTA, NAB and a group of broadcasters and electronics companies called the Advanced Warning and Response Network (AWARN) Alliance, which was officially formed Tuesday (see 1604120069).
Broadcasting groups focused on transitioning to the ATSC 3.0 standard joined with consumer electronics companies to form a group focused on using the new standard for advanced emergency alerting. Called the AWARN Alliance after the proposed Advanced Warning and Response Network, the new entity will support “rapid deployment” of the AWARN system, which can deliver “rich media” such as graphics or video containing emergency information to consumer devices, the group said in a Tuesday announcement. The alliance includes ATSC advocates Pearl TV; Pilot, the former NAB Labs; LG Electronics and Sinclair. The AWARN Alliance will officially launch at the 2016 NAB Show, the group said. The group said it will be headed by John Lawson, formerly of America’s Public Television Stations and an architect of AWARN.
FCC fines and enforcement advisories are “a step forward” on pirate radio, but the commission should increase equipment seizures to truly reduce the amount of unlicensed operators, broadcasters and their lawyers said in interviews Tuesday. That day, the Enforcement Bureau issued a $15,000 forfeiture for unlicensed Broward County, Florida, station WBIG. Now, the FCC should seize the equipment of pirates like WBIG, broadcasters said. The bureau has been stepping up pirate radio enforcement, though a whistleblower was said to claim priorities had shifted away from such activities amid tight budgets, covered in a Special Report on FCC partisanship (see 1512150014).