FCC Draft Order Based on Lessons From National EAS Test
A draft FCC emergency alert system order would implement lessons learned from the first national EAS test, following a June 26 NPRM in docket 04-296, said an agency official. The item was circulated Feb. 2, said the commission's list of circulates. A subsequent national EAS test hasn’t been announced.
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The first nationwide EAS test showed the need for more standardized approaches (see 1411100038">1411100038) for emergency alert manufacturers and broadcasters, said Ed Czarnecki, senior director-strategy and regulatory affairs at Monroe Electronics, which manufactures alert systems. There were differences in textual displays of the alert, geocodes, timestamps and how the alert was handled, he said. A vendor shouldn’t interpret an alert geocoded for Washington, D.C., as being for the entire U.S., he said. “These are how things become complicated.” In 2011, the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent out a test alert code with a timestamp off by three minutes, said Czarnecki. These issues shouldn’t be “left to the interpretation of any particular manufacturer or broadcaster,” he said. The test was an exercise to "identify strengths and opportunities for improvements" of EAS, a FEMA spokeswoman emailed Thursday. Millions of Americans heard and saw the test message, she said. Audio quality, state monitoring assignments and designations and EAS device configuration could be improved, the spokeswoman said.
Monroe Electronics is fielding software update version 2.6 to address issues the commission had with harmonizing alerts and time, Czarnecki said. “We’re hopeful that other manufacturers are going to be equally as proactive.” He said broadcasters and government agencies need to properly maintain their EAS equipment, including making sure device clocks are synced.
The draft order could also focus on FEMA’s planned exercise of the national primary test (NPT) code in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee March 18, Czarnecki said. FEMA tested the code over the summer in West Virginia, but this is “the first time they’re attempting a test like this through multiple states,” he said. “The FCC could ask whether this NPT code should be a code of unlimited duration. Should it have the same priority" as the emergency action notification, he asked. The EAN is of particular interest for broadcast and IPTV companies because it hasn’t been used, he said. The draft order proceeding started before these FEMA tests and doesn’t directly address them, an FCC official said.
The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council hopes the order will deal with multilingual EAS alert broadcasting, which MMTC has been seeking action on since 2005, (see 1407090046), said the council's general counsel, David Honig. “We’ve been through seven pleading cycles and we’re still waiting.”
The commission is juggling several EAS issues, including standardization of how equipment treats national EAS codes of EAN and NPT, changing the functionality of the NPT to “more closely emulate the EAN,” the resilience and cybersecurity of the EAS system and adding three event codes requested by the National Weather Service, Czarnecki said. “These are four pretty hefty items on the agenda. Each one has a very strong priority.”