Rosenworcel Asks Providers Their Plans for Sending WEAs in Different Languages
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent letters to the nation’s nine largest providers of wireless emergency alerts seeking information on how alerts can start to support languages beyond English and Spanish, said an agency news release. “Today, Wireless Emergency Alerts supports…
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messages only in English and Spanish,” said Rosenworcel, posted in Tuesday’s Daily Digest: That means “many non-English speakers in the United States continue to lack crucial information about imminent dangers and other emergencies. I believe that language should not be a barrier to getting critical information that could save lives.” Rosenworcel also sent a letter to New York State Attorney General Letitia James (D), who raised the issue. The letters to providers ask what their practices are to ensure WEAs are accessible to as many subscribers as possible. “Can machine translation technologies that are available today be used in emergency communications for translating alert messages into the most commonly spoken languages in the U.S.?” the letters ask: “If not, what steps remain to make this a reality? Are there other ways to enhance WEA’s accessibility for those who are not proficient in either English or Spanish?” The letters went to AT&T, Cellcom, C-Spire, Dish Network, Google Fi, Lively, T-Mobile, UScellular and Verizon.