Articles Posted in Emergency Alert System

FEMA has indicated that the audio of the November 9th national EAS test is being shortened from its original two and a half minute length to thirty seconds. Originally, the government had indicated the entire test would run as long as three and a half minutes, but current indications are that the shortened audio will reduce the length of the overall EAS test to 45-60 seconds.

While FEMA’s reasoning behind the change is not currently known, I note that the National Cable and Telecommunications Association filed a request with FEMA on October 21, 2011 seeking to delay the national test because many cable systems are not ready for it. The problem is that because the proposed test will use the Presidential Emergency Action Notification code, the video will state that “This is an Emergency Action Notification,” and will not give any indication that it is a test. While the audio will make clear that it is a test, those unable to hear the audio (for example, the deaf/hard of hearing or people in a bar where the TV is on but the sound is turned down) could reasonably conclude that an actual emergency is occurring.

While TV broadcasters will generally be inserting a visual crawl indicating that it is only a test, many cable systems do not have that technical capability. NCTA has therefore asked that the test be delayed while the cable industry explores how best technically to insert a visual message over the EAS test assuring viewers that it is indeed only a test.

Given the massive amount of effort that has gone into setting up and preparing for this first ever national EAS test, as well as in notifying the public that there will be a test, delaying it could generate more confusion than just proceeding with the test. It is therefore possible that FEMA’s decision to shorten the test is a pragmatic compromise between either delaying the test or scaring the daylights out of the deaf and hard of hearing community. Presumably, a shorter message is less likely to cause confusion, as it won’t seem as unusual as an emergency message that runs for over three minutes. At a minimum, it will shorten the period of panic, as those watching will see normal programming resume in less than a minute.

Whether the system can be fully tested by the shorter message is already being debated, and some confusion is now unavoidable, given that that the public and first responders have already been told to expect and plan for a test that runs well over three minutes. At the moment, FEMA is trying to get the word out about the shortened test, hoping to reduce that confusion before November 9th arrives.

UPDATE (1:25pm): The FCC has released a new EAS Handbook in light of the shortened test. The Public Notice announcing the new handbook can be found here, and the new EAS Handbook can be found here. The Public Notice indicates that this new version supersedes the version released last week and should be used for all matters related to the November 9 National EAS Test.

By: Paul A. Cicelski

As I mentioned last week, the FCC has been creating an online reporting system for EAS Participants to use to report their results in connection with the first ever nationwide EAS test, which is set to take place on November 9, 2011. In addition, the FCC has been preparing a new EAS Handbook that is designed to be used during the nationwide EAS test in place of the old Handbook. The FCC has now completed both tasks and issued a Public Notice today announcing the activation of the online reporting system and the release of the Handbook. The reporting system and the Handbook can be accessed on the FCC’s Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau’s EAS Nationwide Test Landing Page.

With respect to the reporting system, the FCC is asking that EAS Participants populate the database in advance of the test with items like station call letters, license identification numbers, geographic coordinates, EAS assignments (i.e., LP or NP status, etc.), EAS monitoring assignments, and the emergency contact representative of the EAS Participant. The FCC is also requesting that EAS Participants input immediate test results, (e.g., was the EAN received and was it passed on) on the day of the test. While the FCC is encouraging rapid online reporting of each Participant’s test results, it is mandatory that the information be submitted to the FCC within 45 days following the test (either online or on paper).

The FCC has created three separate forms which, together, request the following information:

• Form 1: Prior to November 9, please provide background information on your facilities and equipment.
• Form 2: On November 9, please provide information on whether you received the alert and whether you passed on the alert.
• Form 3: Between November 10 and December 24, please provide more detailed information on the success or failure of the test. (Please note that there is a conflict in dates between the FCC’s form page on the website which indicates that the deadline is December 24, while the FCC’s Public Notice indicates that the deadline is December 27).

According to the FCC, the new EAS Handbook “provides EAS Participants with instructions for participating in the first nationwide test of the EAS, scheduled for November 9, 2011, at 2:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. A copy of the Handbook must be located at normal duty positions or EAS equipment locations where an operator is required to be on duty and must immediately be made available to staff responsible for participating in the test.” Importantly, the FCC specifically notes that the “handbook will supersede all other EAS Handbooks only during the operation of the Nationwide EAS Test on November 9, 2011.”

Don’t forget that a great deal of additional useful information on the national test can be found at the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations’ EAS Alert website and at the National Association of Broadcasters’ EAS National Test website. Both will greatly assist EAS Participants in successfully completing the national test.

As reported previously, FEMA, along with the FCC and NOAA, will conduct the first nationwide Emergency Alert System (EAS) Test on November 9, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. The EAS has never been tested on a national level. Needless to say, it is important for EAS Participants to educate the public in advance of the test so as to avoid panic when the test airs.

The FCC and FEMA have produced public service announcements (PSAs) to increase public awareness of the test. The National Association of Broadcasters recommends that all EAS Participants air one or more of these PSAs, starting at least a week prior to the test, and then increase the frequency of the PSAs as the November 9 deadline draws near. Video and audio PSAs that can be used to educate the public are located on the FCC’s National EAS Test website.

In addition, the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations and the NAB have put together very useful EAS websites here and here that can greatly assist EAS Participants in conducting the national test. The NAB has put together a checklist that provides tips to ensure that EAS equipment is ready for the test, and outlines specific actions EAS Participants should take before and after the test. Also, FEMA has put together a just released “EAS Best Practices Guide” that provides helpful information for improving the effectiveness of EAS going forward. On the day of the test, stations should follow the procedures set forth in the FCC’s soon-to-be-released new EAS Handbooks, and disregard prior versions of the Handbooks.

The FCC is currently in the process of completing an electronic EAS reporting system to allow EAS participants to electronically report on their experience in participating in the national test (what went right and what went wrong at their facility). As soon as it becomes available, the FCC is encouraging EAS Participants to log in and populate the system with as much “pre-fill” information as possible in advance of the test so as to facilitate the rapid submission of reports by EAS Participants once the test has concluded.

While EAS Participants are not required to submit their EAS test reports electronically, the FCC is encouraging electronic filing to provide the FCC with “real time results” from the test. As soon as practicable following the test, the FCC is urging EAS Participants to let the FCC know whether they (1) received the Emergency Action Notification and (2) if required to do so, were able to rebroadcast the test. Within 45 days following the test, all EAS Participants must provide a comprehensive and detailed diagnostic report to the FCC on the results of their participation in the test. This mandatory report can be filed either electronically or on paper.

Perhaps the most important action EAS Participants can take beyond educating the public (and hopefully state and local officials) in advance of the test, is to make sure that their EAS equipment is functioning properly and is actually attended by someone when the national test message is received on November 9. While the equipment is designed to automatically receive and retransmit test messages, nothing beats having someone there to monitor the process and ensure the test is relayed smoothly.

Stay tuned for further details on the test as they become available, including a discussion of the soon-to-be-operational FCC national test filing database and the not-yet-released EAS Handbooks to be used during the national test. Both should be made public any day now.

Paul A. Cicelski

As I reported last month, my colleague Dick Zaragoza and I filed a Petition with the FCC asking for a further extension of the deadline for EAS Participants to implement the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) standard for the Emergency Alert System (EAS).

We filed the Petition on behalf of representatives of all EAS Participants, which included the State Broadcasters Associations, representing all fifty States and the District of Columbia, the National Association of Broadcasters, the Broadcast Warning Working Group, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the American Cable Association, National Public Radio, the Association of Public Television Stations, and the Public Broadcasting Service. Today, the FCC released an Order agreeing with the need for an extension and changing the CAP deadline from September 30, 2011 to June 30, 2012.

The extension means that the thousands of EAS Participants across the country now have additional time to acquire and install the equipment needed to become CAP-compliant. In its Order, the FCC agreed with the arguments made in the Petition by the broadcast and cable industries that a later deadline was necessary in light of the regulatory uncertainty that remains regarding what is necessary for CAP compliance, particularly because the FCC’s EAS Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (released in May and which we reported on here) will undoubtedly lead to significant EAS rule changes that could alter the requirements for EAS Participants in a way that would impact the manner in which they will go about buying, installing, testing and operating new CAP-compliant EAS equipment. In short, the extension will enable EAS Participants to review and adapt to the final rules adopted or altered in the EAS proceeding.

According to the FCC’s Order, the extension is warranted because “until the Commission has completed its rulemaking process, it cannot meaningfully impose a deadline by which EAS Participants must be able to receive CAP-formatted alerts.” The Commission further stated that no one “can comply with section 11.56 yet, because the Commission has not finalized all the key technical specifics necessary for receiving CAP-formatted alerts” and that it is “unlikely that the Commission can address all of the issues raised in the Third FNPRM and ensure that the corresponding Part 11 rule amendments are adopted and effective prior to the current September 30, 2011 deadline.” Primarily for these reasons, the FCC extended the deadline to allow “adequate time to evaluate the impact of any changes to Part 11 before being required to comply with regulations the full impact of which cannot yet be known.”

On another positive note, the Commission’s extension of the CAP-compliance deadline may allow the first-ever National EAS Test scheduled by FEMA and the FCC (set for November 9, 2011) to run more smoothly. The hope is that, as argued in the Petition, the extension of the CAP-compliance deadline until June of next year will allow participants in the scheduled November 9, 2011 National EAS test to focus on the success of that test instead of being concerned with the functioning of newly-installed EAS equipment. For those interested in more background on the National EAS test, we previously reported on it here and here). With this most recent extension of the EAS CAP deadline, we hope we will be able to later report that the national test went smoothly.

As we reported last month, the federal government has decided to conduct the first-ever national test of the Emergency Alert System. On June 9, 2011, FEMA and the FCC announced that the nationwide test is scheduled to occur on November 9, 2011, at 2pm Eastern Standard Time.

In an effort to answer questions about the test, the FCC has launched a helpful “Emergency Alert System Nationwide Test” information page which can be found here. The page includes a countdown clock (117 days and counting!) and provides the who, what, when, where and why regarding the first national test.

Last month we also reported that the FCC has implemented a rulemaking proposing sweeping changes to the Part 11 EAS Rules in order to codify the obligation that EAS Participants begin formatting EAS messages using the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP). The FCC’s Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking raises a host of questions, the most immediate of which is whether the current September 30, 2011 deadline for implementing CAP should be extended. For the vast majority of EAS Participants trying to meet that deadline, the answer to the FCC’s question appears to be a resounding “yes”. Among other issues, installing new EAS equipment just a month before the first national EAS test is likely to result in a national test beset by the “teething pains” of getting the new equipment functioning smoothly.

If you wish to respond to this or any of the other CAP-related questions being considered by the FCC, remember that comments are due at the FCC next Wednesday, July 20.

Last week, the FCC released its long-awaited Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the goal of which is to modify Part 11 of the FCC’s Rules in order to allow for Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) delivery of the “next generation” Emergency Alert System (EAS). A copy of the NPRM can be found here.

EAS Participants (e.g., radio and television stations, wired and wireless cable television systems, DBS and SDARS services) have been anxiously waiting for the FCC to release this NRPM since at least the end of last year. The primary reason for this, as we previously reported here and here, is that CAP-compliant EAS encoders/decoders must be purchased, installed and operational by September 30 of this year. The hope of EAS Participants has been that this proceeding will provide them with much needed guidance to make informed decisions regarding what equipment they should obtain and install to ensure compliance with CAP and the revised Part 11 rules. The NPRM also gives EAS Participants the opportunity to comment on the proposed rules and to provide input regarding how CAP and next generation EAS will impact their operations going forward.

The NPRM is a lengthy 203 paragraphs (with an additional 18 pages of proposed new rules) and it asks for public comment on many items related to revising and streamlining the FCC’s Part 11 rules and how the FCC should codify the requirements for processing emergency alerts using CAP. A few of the NPRM’s highlights are summarized below.

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