FCC OKs Revised WEA Rules Over O'Rielly, Industry Concerns

The order also requires participating carriers to deliver the alerts to more granular geographic areas and creates a new class of alerts, public safety messages, to “convey essential recommended actions that can save lives or property,” such as information on emergency shelter locations or boil water orders, the FCC said. The order also requires carriers to send out alerts in Spanish and will “make it easier for state and local authorities to test WEA, train personnel, and raise public awareness about the service,” the FCC said.

Commissioners also approved a Further NPRM seeking comment on whether WEAs should be available in languages beyond English and Spanish and ways to improve consumer education about WEA.

Industry commenters led by CTIA raised concerns about the new rules, especially on the timing of new requirements and on the importance of a continuing public-private cooperation (see 1609140037). For example, the order allows carriers to include embedded links in alerts within 30 days of when the order is published, requiring them to be able to do so within a year, FCC officials said.

“We wanted to bring in as much capability as we could when the technology platforms that providers operate could support it,” said Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson. Alert originators need to have a firm date when they know alerts will include embedded links and other new features, he said.

Commissioners repeatedly cited the New York Police Department recent use of an alert to help catch suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami in connection with the recent New York and New Jersey bombings (see 1609210037) in discussing the order Thursday. “Move by @FCC doesn’t cover all we asked for following recent NY/NJ bombings, but it's a crucial step to protect Americans & help save lives,” tweeted Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who urged the FCC to approve enhanced requirements for alerts (see 1609260042).

O’Rielly complained about the timelines in the order. “I cannot support requiring participating wireless providers to add functions that are not based on what can reasonably be achieved with existing technology in realistic timelines,” O’Rielly said. “Today’s order requires certain components to be completed in 30 months and others in a year. While people will undoubtedly say these timelines are sufficient, these solutions will need to go through the standards process, device and network development, testing, and be deployed into the marketplace. That’s not likely to happen within these tight time frames.” O’Rielly said “oddly enough,” the FNPRM proposes “far more lenient deadlines” for further changes.

Standards bodies already are swamped preparing for the launch of 5G. O’Rielly said. “I certainly wouldn’t want to see 5G deployments stuck on the sidelines in order to incorporate not-ready WEA solutions into the development of 5G networks and devices.” The FCC also seems “completely oblivious to the potential unintended consequences of unproven technologies” in requiring carriers to embed active links in the alerts.

O’Reilly said a growing number of alerts could do more harm than good. “My colleagues have claimed that the bombing in New York is illustrative of how the WEA system works and can be improved,” he said. “But, after the alert was issued to be on the lookout for the suspect, there were articles and social media posts about how it frightened and annoyed some recipients.”

Commissioner Ajit Pai voted for the entire order, saying it moves the industry toward more granular alerting and “over-alerting” has been a major concern. “Citizens and public safety officials alike are opting out of the system altogether,” he said. Pai cited letters from Seattle, Houston (see 1609230022) and Harris County, Texas.

In the recent bombing in New York's Chelsea neighborhood, city officials broadcast three alerts, Pai said. “Those messages were broadcast far beyond that neighborhood,” he said. “To ensure that this kind of overshoot doesn’t happen in the future, New York City’s public safety officials urged the FCC to adopt a device-assisted, geo-fencing approach, which would ensure that … messages are delivered only to areas where they’re relevant.”

Since it was put in place in 2012, the wireless emergency alert system “has been a tremendous success that has literally saved lives,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in the news conference after the meeting. “Whether by giving advanced notice to people to seek shelter before an oncoming tornado or transmitting amber alerts that led to the safe return of dozens of missing children.” The system can work better, Wheeler said.

Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel expressed full support for the order and notice. “In the wake of the recent bombing in Manhattan, the wireless emergency alert system enlisted millions of New Yorkers to be the eyes and ears of law enforcement,” Clyburn said. “Thanks in large part to this valuable tool, the suspect was swiftly captured. This first of its kind message is a poignant example of the innovative ways WEA can be utilized to help save lives.”

“While we support efforts to enhance this important voluntary system, we are concerned that the FCC’s technically unrealistic timeline adopted today may impede the delivery of emergency alerts,” said CTIA Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Scott Bergmann in a statement. “We are committed as an industry to support consumer safety with this voluntary program, and urge the FCC to work with all stakeholders to ensure enhanced capabilities reach consumers in a manner that safeguards existing alert capabilities and wireless networks.”

Verizon reported on a discussion with an O’Rielly aide, initiated by the aide, on implementation deadlines. “We discussed the need for a minimum 12-18 month period for new standards development -- possibly longer if standards bodies have limited resources,” the carrier said in a filing posted Thursday in docket 15-91. “After standards are complete, incorporating them into new LTE handsets would take approximately 12-18 months, and additional time beyond that would be needed to distribute the newly-capable handsets to consumers.” Also posted Thursday, a Federal Emergency Management Agency FCC filing raised concerns about including URLs in WEAs (see 1609290072).