FCC Holds Line on Most Wireless Alerts Requirements in After-Hours Order
The FCC reaffirmed its schedule for geo-targeting of wireless emergency alerts to “best approximate” the target area, and said the nation’s five largest carriers have to provide “clickable” embedded references by Nov. 1. It said smaller carriers must still meet the same geo-targeting requirement as their larger peers but will get an extra 18 months to meet the embedded messages requirement. The order was released about 8 p.m. Wednesday, the deadline day.
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The commission also addressed a Competitive Carriers Association waiver on WEAs in a nighttime order in September, the Friday before the Labor Day Weekend. Observers questioned why it was handled after hours (see 1709050053).
Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the FCC had been too slow to impose the new rules. “The very steps we address here could have saved life and property as wildfires made their way through Northern California and hurricanes made landfall in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico,” she said. Rosenworcel cited complaints about WEAs lodged by Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, both D-Calif. (see 1710180064).
The FCC has more planned and soon will take up rules on improving the ability to geo-target alerts accurately, said Chairman Ajit Pai. “Staff has been carefully studying the record compiled in response to last year’s NPRM, and I intend to provide my colleagues with a proposal for action in the near future.”
On several fronts, the regulator rejected industry requests for leniency. CTIA asked the commission to defer mandating implementation of embedded references until after feasibility testing is complete and the requirements for compliance are clarified. The CCA also sought more time members.
The FCC declined to provide more time for Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular, but smaller carriers get 18 additional months. The original WEA order “explicitly made clear that the embedded reference requirement can be enabled through software updates,” the FCC said. But the agency also said providing more time for smaller operators makes sense: “As CCA notes, smaller and regional wireless providers within its membership do not participate in the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions’ standards-setting process and may need additional time to review and implement these standards.”
CCA lost on its bid for more time to meet the requirements. “Although CCA asserts that many of its members cannot comply with the standard because they are still transitioning from 2G and 3G to 4G technologies and because the standards applicable to ‘best approximates’ are still in development, we reject CCA’s contention that its ability to meet the basic geo-targeting standard is affected in any way by a particular technology such as cell broadcasting,” the FCC said.
CCA is pleased with partial waiver, said President Steve Perry. Additional time helps members “meet WEA obligations in this voluntary program without placing a further undue strain on their day-to-day businesses” and “ensure that consumers continue to receive wireless emergency alerts during disasters and emergencies,” Berry said.
“The wireless industry has worked hard to enhance the WEA system since carriers first voluntarily deployed WEA in 2012, including support for embedded ‘clickable’ references and geo-targeting below the county level,” said Matt Gerst, CTIA assistant vice president-regulatory affairs. “CTIA and our member companies look forward to continuing to evaluate additional enhancements.”