WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has announced that it will vote on a proposed Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that takes steps to improve the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) by requiring targeted cybersecurity improvements to protect the system from cybercriminals and our nation’s adversaries.

The Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which has not been adopted or implemented by the agency, also proposes additional ways to improve EAS and WEA to make them more helpful to alerting authorities, less burdensome for participating communications providers, and better able to save lives.

As part of those improvements, the FCC said it will consider whether it should eliminate what the agency calls “outdated and unnecessary alerting requirements by proposing to allow the implementation of EAS capabilities via software instead of hardware and retire the 90-character-maximum versions of WEA messages.”

In the past, the NAB has pressed the FCC to allow software implementations.

Last year, the NAB is requested the Federal Communications Commission make changes to Emergency Alert System (EAS) rules that would allow but not require EAS participants to use software-based EAS encoder/decoder technology instead of a legacy physical hardware device to process EAS messages.

In that April 2025 filing, the NAB urged the FCC fast-track the request because hardware supplier Sage Alerting Systems, one of two hardware suppliers, has recently stopped production of devices and because the “the current legacy ecosystem is not sustainable.”

In 2025, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that launched a reexamination of the nation’s alerting systems to explore ways to make them more effective, efficient, and better able to serve the public’s needs.

The proposed Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) is the result of that inquiry. It aims to preserve the public’s trust in EAS by requiring targeted cybersecurity improvements that will help protect against hijacking by cybercriminals and foreign governments.

More specifically, the FCC described the changes as follows:

• Improve EAS’s integrity by proposing to require the authentication of all alerts before they are transmitted.
• Bolster the reliability of emergency alerts by proposing to establish a universal alert identification number to improve the detection and blocking of duplicate alerts and ensure that WEAs are consistently sent to members of the public who newly enter an alert’s delivery area until the emergency ends.
• Improve geographic accuracy by proposing to eliminate outdated WEA geotargeting exceptions that often cause alerts to be received in the wrong locations and expand geotargeting options for EAS.
• Make alerts more effective by seeking comment on requiring EAS and WEA to display symbols that match the type of emergency and improving the ability of earthquake alerts to grab the public’s attention.
• Remove outdated and unnecessary alerting requirements by proposing to allow the implementation of EAS capabilities via software instead of hardware and retire the 90-character-maximum versions of WEA messages.

The proposed Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released on June 4 2026 is not a final, adopted action. It has been circulated for tentative consideration by the Commission at its Open Meeting on June 25. The issues referenced and the Commission's ultimate resolution of those issues are subject to change, the agency stressed.

The full document is available here.

BALTIMORE—Sinclair will make the first public showing of a NextGen TV-enabled Android media tablet with integrated ATSC 3.0 receiver and antenna during the public-safety convention APCO 2025, to be held July 27-30 at the Baltimore Convention Center.

The broadcaster, exhibiting with the AWARN Alliance and Digital Alert Systems in booth 3065, is debuting the media tablet during the annual gathering of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials to underscore the important role ATSC 3.0 can play in keeping the public informed during emergencies—whether at home watching TV or on the move.=

“We’ve had our eye on APCO for this demonstration because we want to show public safety officials—particularly public-safety communications officials—what 3.0 can do in the home and on the go in a public safety context,” Patrick McFadden, senior vice president for global public policy and communications at Sinclair, said.

But why should a tablet that can already connect to a cell tower or Wi-Fi network need ATSC 3.0 to receive emergency messaging? It boils down to resiliency, McFadden said.

“I’m not taking a shot at the wireless carriers, but their networks are just designed differently than ours,” he said. “If you look at some of those counties in Western North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, 60 to 70% of the cell sites went out of service. Our station in Asheville never went off the air.

“That resilience and reliability is tremendous for the TV viewer, but what about someone who’s out of their home when the emergency happens or someone who’s been evacuated?” he asked, rhetorically. “If we can combine our resilience with the ubiquity of mobile devices, that’s a pretty huge public-safety benefit.”

McFadden declined to identify the company responsible for making the NextGen TV-enabled tablet but said Sinclair has been “working with a number of manufacturers” to develop 3.0 mobile devices, including tablets and phones.

In October 2020, Sinclair subsidiary ONE Media Technologies surprised the industry when it unveiled production samples of the Mark One NextGen TV-enabled smartphone. Since then, it has rolled out the next-generation Mark Two smartphone.

Like the Mark One, the tablet shown next week at the gathering is not available for purchase, he said, adding, “I would characterize it as a precommercial trial.” However, the broadcaster has ordered “a large number of these devices,” a sign that the tablet is beyond the proof-of-concept stage. “We’re confident that the market will advance as 3.0 moves forward,” McFadden said.

Besides the NextGen TV-enabled tablet, Sinclair will show the Mark Two 3.0-enabled smartphone as well as NextGen TV dongles that work with mini devices. All of these devices will be used to demonstrate to the more than 5,000 show attendees what emergency alert messages and advanced emergency information could look like on these devices, he said.

Broadcasters in North Carolina, including PBS North Carolina and Capitol Broadcasting’s WNGT, along with several technology developers and vendors demonstrated a few years ago the ability of ATSC 3.0 digital broadcast paging to transmit emergency call data to first responders in the field.

Sinclair’s APCO 2025 demonstration of the version 3.0 tablet and phone, however, will focus on the consumer-facing side of emergency communications, not first responders. “One of the great things about 3.0 is it can do both [communicate to first responders and the public],” he said. “Broadcasters’ use of 3.0 to communicate emergency alerts and information to the public is a valuable service we can provide to the communities we serve, and we want to make that clear to those attending APCO.”

Of course, having the ability to receive an over-the-air TV signal on a tablet beyond emergency alerting and information is important to both the public and broadcasters. “Obviously, the way people consume video has evolved and will continue to evolve, and the opportunities for us to reach viewers wherever they are is hugely significant for the industry,” he said.

WASHINGTON—As the battle over funding for public media continues in Congress, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee has recommended level funding of $40 million for fiscal year 2026 for the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS).

The Trump administration has been trying to both eliminate future funding for public media and to claw back funding that was previously approved funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The NGWS money is intended to help public broadcasters beef up their emergency alerting capabilities. America’s Public Television Stations immediately applauded the Committee’s decision.

In a statement, Kate Riley, president and CEO of APTS said that the group is "grateful that the committee recognizes the essential role that public television plays in the nation’s civil defense, public safety and homeland security. The committee’s approval of continued funding of $40 million for the Next Generation Warning System will help ensure public broadcasters are able to continue to meet their public safety missions and provide the highest level of resilient and reliable public safety and homeland security services to communities throughout the country.”

“We look forward to working with the full House Congress to ensure that this critical funding moves forward through the appropriations process,” she added.

The group also stressed that public television’s digital infrastructure provides the backbone for emergency alert, public safety, first responder, and homeland security services in many states and communities, including many local stations that serve as their states’ primary Emergency Alert Service (EAS) hub for severe weather and AMBER alerts.

“In addition, public television is one of two technologically diverse pathways that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and state and local public safety officials use to send Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) messages to cell phone subscribers,” Riley said. “The encrypted messages ride over the public television broadcast spectrum and infrastructure directly to cell phone providers who in turn send them to their subscribers. Sending these messages over the public broadcasting pathway ensures they can reach every corner of the country, even if internet service is compromised or unavailable. These geo-targeted messages can reach subscribers wherever they are in the event of an emergency.”

APTS also highlighted how they have been working with public safety officials around the country on a federal, state and local level.

“We have worked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to demonstrate the effectiveness of these ground-breaking services in flood control and evacuation, rural school shooting scenarios, large crowd management, over-water emergency communications and other lifesaving applications where broadband or cellular service are not fully functional,” Riley said, adding that public stations had also partnered with California Office of Emergency Services to reduce the early earthquake warning standard from 30 seconds to less than 3 seconds.

In addition, public stations built a Statewide Emergency Communications Network with the State of Tennessee and public media stations in Florida created an emergency network that delivers up-to-the minute weather and news reports during severe weather events in Florida and South Carolina, APTS reported.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission is proposing a fine of $369,190 against Corridor Television L.L.P., owner of KCWX in Fredericksburg, Texas, for “willfully and repeatedly violating” FCC rules regarding emergency alerts.

“Specifically, we find that Corridor failed to participate as required in three Nationwide Tests of the EAS … one time each year·in 2018, 2019 and 2021,” the FCC reported in a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture released Jan. 8. “We also find that Corridor failed to file 2018 EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) Form Three” and “we find that Corridor submitted incorrect or misleading information, without a reasonable basis for believing such information to be correct and not misleading, in five ETRS filings subsequent to each Nationwide Test of the EAS in 2018, 2019 and 2021.”

Corridor, which owns the license for KCWX, is wholly owned by Global Information Technologies., a privately held, Texas-based company owned by Saleem and Carmen Tawil.

The owners have 30 days to pay the fines or to file papers asking the levies be reduced or eliminated.

The full Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture can be found here.

The AWARN Alliance last month appointed Dave Arland as its new executive director, succeeding longtime leader and ATSC 3.0 advocate John Lawson.

Much like ATSC 3.0, the alliance has had its share of ebbs and flows as NextGen TV continues its slow, steady march in terms of markets covered and sets sold—especially with a tipping point in NextGen TV sales anticipated to be at hand.

Arland comes to the alliance at a crucial time for NextGen TV generally and advanced emergency alerting and information in particular. Nearly 80% of U.S. households are now covered by an ATSC 3.0 signal. But like most everything else 3.0, advanced alerting can’t reach its full potential until a workable 1.0 sunset becomes reality.

The new executive director has a full plate of AWARN priorities to tackle—from shoring up alliance membership and advising the incoming administration on the benefits of 3.0-based emergency alerting to demonstrating to policymakers and citizens the benefits of NextGen TV-based warnings with real-world implementations and educating newsrooms about how they can leverage advanced alerting to better serve the public.

Arland opens up about these and other important issues in this Q&A. An edited transcript follows.

TVT: What are your top priorities for the AWARN Alliance as its incoming executive director?

Dave Arland: I think there are probably three things we need to do. The first is to recognize that, as with any transition, something of this magnitude takes time. For those of us involved in ATSC 3.0, it feels like it’s been a long time. But I’m old enough to remember the first digital TV transition that took many times longer than this, and we didn't have the capability to do new things. So, I think the first step is to position advanced emergency alerting and information as something that can ride the second wave of ATSC 3.0—if you view the first wave as just getting on air.

We’re almost at 80%. Right now, 76% of households in America can see at least one ATSC 3.0 signal. There are lots of numbers in this transition, but that’s an important one. So, the first step is just to understand that we’re up next, from a batter-up perspective. You can’t do any of this without being on the air.

So, at least stations are on the air, and they’re starting to add new functionality like high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos. The AWARN capability, generically, is tied to the fact that ATSC 3.0 broadcasts are such that they are also connected to the internet, so you’ve got over the top and over the air. One of the advantages of being connected is that you can know where your receiver is, so you can deliver alerts and information to an individual set or receiver based on where it is.

The second step is to find a way to better demonstrate what we're talking about here. It’s been a lot of concepts up to this point, and I know that there are some broadcasters who are pretty close to being able to deploy some of this technology. Being able to demonstrate this is a key ingredient for the future—almost like Hansel and Gretel and the breadcrumbs. I think broadcasters have to be shown this is a new capability.

Once we are able to demonstrate advanced emergency alerting and information, the third thing is to show broadcasters that this can be another way to enhance their public-service mission. One of the things we’re given as broadcasters is spectrum with the trade-off being that we have to serve the public. Providing an enhanced way to do that generically, under the umbrella term of AWARN, is certainly one key benefit that can be added. So, ATSC 3.0 has better picture quality, better audio and also enhanced capabilities, particularly for stations with news departments to reach people with additional, relevant information.

All of us know emergencies are going to continue to happen. Whether it’s the fires in Hawaii, the floods in North Carolina, the hurricanes that strike the coasts—where I live the tornados we’re always on the lookout for—those things are going to continue to happen. Alerting can be better from a television perspective, and that’s what we hope to demonstrate, especially because there are more people buying sets that have the ability to receive ATSC 3.0 signals.

TVT: While you mentioned the importance of the internet connectivity of NextGen TVs with respect to delivering geo-targeted emergency alerts and information, there is also an important over-the-air component to 3.0. Before the OTA aspects of 3.0 can be fully leveraged, the 1.0 logjam needs to be cleared somehow. Do you expect resolution to this issue anytime soon?

DA: I’m hopeful that a change in leadership at the FCC will mean a focus on the future for over-the-air broadcasting. It’s the sort of thing that requires some important decisions from the FCC in concert, obviously, with broadcasters.

We have done what we pledged to do, which was to collaborate and to make it work as best we can. But that only goes so far. You can't get to 100% in terms of household reach with the current setup—not while also transmitting 1.0. So, there’s got to be a way forward.

I think that’s part of the mission the Future of Television Task Force was working on. I know that report hasn’t come out yet. Hopefully it will come out soon, and then there will be a way forward with the new commission so that broadcasters see some certainty [regarding a 1.0 sunset].

All of these things are interconnected. There is an order of business in the sense that you have to be transmitting to make this work. You have to have receivers that people are actually using and buying and tuning, and you have to have antennas that are connected to those receivers in order for it to be optimal.

Even with all of those things, it is a medium that requires electricity. If the power is out everywhere, the real benefit is warning people in advance that something is coming. The more specific the warnings going out, the more people are likely to pay attention. I look at advanced emergency alerts and information as a way for stations to put modern technology to use in a manner that enhances what they’re already doing.

TVT: President-elect Donald Trump regularly stated when concluding his rallies that one of his goals is “to make America safe again.” Will you, as the new leader of the AWARN Alliance, reach out to the incoming administration to bring it up to speed on advanced emergency alerting and how it fits into that stated goal?

DA: Yes, I will, and I think that story needs to be told, but it has to be something where I can pull an arrow out of the quiver. We have to be able to show policymakers something beyond the concept. The concept is a good concept, and it’s what the standard is built upon. But it’s got to be more than conceptual.

People have to understand how this is going to help their local communities, or, if I’m a broadcaster, how it’s going to help me retain viewers.

TVT: You bring up demonstrations. A few years back, News-Press & Gazette demonstrated at NAB how 3.0 advanced alerting could be used. In that case, it was a demo related to the mudslides in Santa Barbara, California. Is that the type of thing you have in mind?

DA: That’s part of it. The approach should be two-pronged. That was demonstrating the concept, but it’s also necessary to demonstrate the actual implementation. I think we’re close to being able to implement advanced emergency alerting and information. At least that’s my hope based on the people who’ve been working on this for some time. That’s where the rubber meets the road.

It will also have to involve people in TV-station newsrooms, the people who are actually going to hit the button and let the public know of an emergency—whether that’s the meteorologist, the weather team, an assignment editor or whomever. They need to warm up to this idea, and we need to let them know it exists and what’s possible.

TVT: How healthy is AWARN Alliance membership? I think the alliance lost some broadcaster group members a little more than a year ago.

DA: That’s one of our challenges, to try to bolster the membership and get people involved—some of whom never left, some of whom left for whatever reason.

Maybe they just weren’t seeing the progress they hoped for. Maybe they had other priorities. I don’t know.

But, you know, I'm actually very bullish on it, because I think it is logical now that we have so many stations transmitting NextGen TV. Most of those are connected in some way to a newsroom that would be monitoring and making people aware of emergencies.

TVT: Why did you take on the AWARN Alliance leadership role?

DA: I was asked if I would consider it. I'm sort of a human Venn diagram in the sense that I represent—and I’m going to continue to represent—the Indiana Broadcasters Association. I work for Pearl TV, and I work for ATSC itself.

So, I already have a pretty good working relationship with many of the people who have been plugged into AWARN, as well as the people who set the standards and the broadcasters who implement them—all the way down to the local level.

I’m also co-chair of the EAS committee of the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations. I’ve been in front of the FCC, talking about making sure our state EAS plans are understood, and working through their process. I also work with the National Weather Service locally.

There’s a lot of potential benefit from having somebody who speaks the lingo, is involved with the transition and came out of an electronics background. That’s why I was interested and the AWARN steering committee agreed—hence the offer and the acceptance.

WASHINGTON—The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced today it has awarded 30 grants to date through the first round of the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) grant program, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Stations in Alabama, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia are the latest to receive funds to upgrade equipment for public safety.

“Public media stations play a vital role in emergency alerting in communities across the country,” CPB CEO Patricia Harrison said. “The Next Generation Warning System grant program helps public media organizations, especially in rural areas, to replace and upgrade their infrastructure so that they can continue to keep their communities safe.” 

The NGWS grant program, which prioritizes public stations, provides funding for media organizations to upgrade their equipment and for training to enhance alerting and warning capabilities, including the ability to use NextGen TV broadcast technology and comparable digital broadcast technology for radio stations.

“FEMA is committed to building resilience by rapidly disseminating emergency communications to the public through diverse integrated pathways,” FEMA IPAWS Director Manny Centeno said. “FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) provides a suite of tools and resources for local authorities to effectively send emergency communications to the public. We continue developing the Next Generation Warning System concept as we improve continuity and leverage new technologies, such as ATSC 3.0, that can reach the public wherever they are.”

Stations recently receiving NGWS funding are:

• Alabama A&M/WJAB-FM, Normal, Ala., up to $246,263 to replace a 30-year-old transmitter, providing a stronger signal that reaches more underserved communities with emergency alerts.
• Tri-State Public Media/WNIN, Evansville, Ind., up to $161,481 to replace and upgrade critical broadcasting infrastructure to ensure emergency alerts can be sent to rural and underserved communities.
• Smoky Hills Public Television/KOOD-TV, Bunker Hill, Kan., up to $1,761,843 to update the main transmitter tower to ATSC 3.0 so that central and western Kansans will have access to enhanced emergency communications when the market transitions to the newest broadcast standard.
• Red River Radio/KDAQ-FM, Shreveport, La., up to $80,642 to replace critical resiliency infrastructure, including three emergency generators, that will ensure rural and underserved communities have access to emergency communications.
• Mid-South Public Communications Foundation/WKNO-TV and WKNO-FM, Cordova, Tenn., up to $1,657,012 to replace a transmitter and two emergency generators to ensure the rural agricultural communities in Tennessee, Mississippi and eastern Arkansas receive timely emergency communications.
• Blue Ridge Public Television/WBRA-TV, Roanoke, Va., up to $1,122,074 to replace critical broadcast infrastructure that will strengthen their signal in the mountainous region to reach more rural communities with targeted emergency alerts.
• Last month, CPB received about 170 station applications totaling more than $109 million for the second round of NGWS funding. The total amount of NGWS grant funds available in Round 2 is $48 million, approved by Congress in fiscal year 2023.

FEMA has awarded CPB a total of $136 million in fiscal year 2022, 2023 and 2024-appropriated funds to establish and implement the NGWS grant program.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—As expected, the Federal Communications Commission voted at its August Open Meeting to establish a new alert code for delivering critical alert messages to the public over television, radio, and wireless phones that will help save missing and endangered persons. The vote was unanimous. 

In announcing the vote, the FCC noted that in 2023, more than 188,000 people went missing who fall outside of the criteria for AMBER Alerts. The new alert code adopted on August 7 will be particularly beneficial to Tribal communities, where American Indians and Alaska Natives are at a disproportionate risk of violence, murder, or vanishing.  

The new missing and endangered persons alerts within the nation’s Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alert system will help law enforcement agencies galvanize public attention to missing and endangered people of all ages who do not qualify for AMBER Alerts, including those who meet the criteria for Ashanti Alerts. 

The FCC reported that the move will also support efforts to raise critical public awareness of missing Indigenous persons. 

In particular, thousands of missing Indigenous women have disappeared from their homes. According to FBI statistics, in 2023, there were 10,650 reported missing American Indian/Alaska Native persons of which 3,269 were 18 years old or older.  

In addition, the new code can help mobilize public responses to missing Black persons who make up roughly 35% of missing persons over 18 years old despite being 12% of the U.S. population.

Tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies originate alerts using the Emergency Alert System by selecting from a group of event codes based on the nature of the situation.  For example, “CAE” signifies a Child Abduction Emergency, otherwise known as an AMBER Alert.  The new “MEP” alert code for missing and endangered persons who do not meet the criteria for an AMBER Alert will enable a more rapid and coordinated response to these incidents.  

In addition to the new Emergency Alert System code for TV and radio alerting, the new rule will facilitate alerts on wireless phones, the FCC said.  Missing and endangered persons alerts will be sent through the Wireless Emergency Alert system through the use of existing alerting methodologies, which will ensure a swift implementation of the new code.  The FCC expects these wireless alerts will utilize the existing Imminent Threat class and the Public Safety Message WEA alert class.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has awarded up to $1.37 million to four public broadcasters to upgrade equipment to deliver enhanced emergency alerting.

To date, CPB has issued 17 grants through the first round of funding for the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) grant program, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The latest public broadcasters to receive the grant include KMOS PBS in Warrensburg, Mo., PBS Fort Wayne (Ind.), KTOO Public Media (KTOO TV/FM) in Juneau, Alaska, and Kodiak Public Broadcasting/KMXT-FM in Kodiak, Alaska, CPB said.

“Public media stations have long played a vital role in emergency alerting in communities across the country,” said CPB president and CEO Patricia Harrison. “The Next Generation Warning System grant program helps public media organizations, especially in rural areas, replace and upgrade their infrastructure so that they can continue to keep their communities safe.” 
FEMA selected CPB in 2022 to establish and administer the NGWS grant program, which funds public media stations to upgrade their equipment and receive training to enhance alerting and warning capabilities, including the ability to use NextGen TV broadcast technology and comparable digital broadcast technology for radio stations. The program prioritizes public media stations serving rural, tribal and underserved communities.

Grant details include:

• KMOS PBS, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, Mo., up to $880,085 to replace aging broadcasting infrastructure and provide increased technical capacity to partner with local, state and federal emergency management officials in emergencies.
• Fort Wayne PBS, WFWA-TV, Fort Wayne, Ind., up to $185,086, to improve the reliability and resiliency of the broadcast station’s warning system and support the installation of several updated equipment components.
• KTOO Public Media, KTOO TV/FM, Juneau, Alaska, up to $252,209 to improve the station’s resilience and warning system infrastructure. KTOO is the local primary distribution point for Juneau and reaches tribal and other populations in outlying communities.
• KMXT-FM, Kodiak Public Broadcasting, Kodiak, Alaska, up to $51,670, to buy encoders to improve common alerting protocol capability, fill gaps in alert delivery and provide backup power systems to improve its infrastructure and resilience.

In June, CPB launched a Request for Applications (RFA) portal on the CPB website for a second round of funding for the NGWS grant program. The total amount of NGWS grant funds available in this round is $48 million, approved in Fiscal Year 2023, CPB said.

“FEMA is committed to building resilience by rapidly disseminating emergency communications to the public through diverse integrated pathways,” said FEMA IPAWS director Manny Centeno. “FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) provides a suite of tools and resources for local authorities to effectively send emergency communications to the public. We continue developing the Next Generation Warning System concept as we improve continuity and leverage new technologies, such as ATSC 3.0, that can reach the public wherever they are.”

More information on the grant program is available online.

More information on the CPB is available on its website.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has proposed that the FCC add a new alert option/code that would allow the system to deliver critical messages to the public over television and radio about missing and endangered persons.  

In announcing the proposal, Rosenworcel said that adding a new “Missing and Endangered Persons” alert code to the nation’s Emergency Alert System would help law enforcement provide timely alerts to galvanize public attention to missing native and indigenous persons, as well as other groups, and build on efforts to collect comprehensive data on these cases. The alert option would be similar to the use of AMBER Alerts to help locate missing children.

“Law enforcement agencies successfully use AMBER Alerts on TV and radio to help mobilize public attention and recover abducted children,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. “But we do not have a similar code in the Emergency Alert System dedicated to sounding the alarm over other missing and endangered persons, particularly the thousands of missing native and indigenous women who have disappeared from their homes never to be seen again. Creating a new ‘Missing and Endangered Persons’ alert category can close this gap, help ensure no person who is missing and in danger is left behind, and save lives.” 

“Violence against Native people is a crisis, and far too many families and communities have suffered as a result,” added Senator Ben Ray Luján (D), New Mexico in a statement supporting the proposal. “The federal government must take more decisive action to properly notify their loved ones and locate these individuals to keep families together. I’m glad the FCC is taking necessary steps to establish an alert code for missing and endangered persons that will broadcast critical information that could save lives and prevent more harm to Native communities and Tribal Nations."

The FCC said that the draft proposal of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the alerts was given to other commissioners on Feb. 21. They are expected to vote on it during the agency’s March 14, 2024, Open Meeting.

The draft proposal is expected to be publicly available on Feb. 22 at: www.fcc.gov/march-2024-open-commission-meeting.

The FCC also noted that alert originators, such as local public safety officials, use the Emergency Alert System by selecting from a group of fixed event codes based on the nature of the situation. For example, “CAE” signifies a Child Abduction Emergency, otherwise known as an AMBER Alert.  

If adopted by a vote of the full Commission, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, would seek public comment on creating a new “MEP” alert code for missing and endangered persons who do not meet the criteria for an AMBER Alert.  The proposal would also pose questions about the relationship of this potential new alerting category with the Wireless Emergency Alert system, which does not use event codes like the Emergency Alert System does. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Responding to a joint request filed by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and REC Networks (REC) on November 14, 2023 to delay implementation of new Emergency Alert rules, the FCC has granted some broadcasters a 90 day extension to comply with the requirement that an Emergency Alert System (EAS) Participant prioritize the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP)-formatted version of an EAS message.  

The FCC has earlier issued an Report and Order directing EAS participants to transmit certain messages in an IP-based format rather than the versions in the legacy EAS format, which usually convey less information. It also required EAS participants to replace the jargon that now automatically appears in the text of certain messages, including EAS test announcements, with plain language that will be more easily understood by the public and provide more accurate information for individuals who cannot access the audio message, the FCC said.

REC and NAB had asked for the 90 days extension until March 11 2024 to implement the rules because there was an unexpected delay in the delivery of a firmware update by an EAS equipment vendor, Sage Alerting Systems (Sage). 

The extension to March 11, 2024 is only applicable if stations and operations are using a Sage encoder-decoder. The FCC stressed that the deadline for compliance remains December 12, 2023 for those using an EAS encoder-decoder from any other manufacturer.

In granting the extension, the FCC noted that “We are persuaded that Sage’s delay in delivering the necessary update is beyond the control of EAS Participants and will impede its customers’ ability to meet the December 12, 2023  deadline.  As of November 14, 2023 (the date on which REC and NAB filed this Extension Request), Sage had not yet released the necessary update. The Extension Request observes that Sage serves `a significant market share of both low power and full-power FM stations’ as well as `numerous television and multiple video programming distributor EAS Participants.’ The Extension Request observes that `[m]any radio and television stations, especially low power and small full-power stations’ rely on contract engineers, but that `in many areas, there are few such engineers qualified to ensure the proper implementation of this firmware update,’ such that “it would be difficult for stations to obtain the necessary service by the current deadline,’ particularly considering that `hundreds, if not thousands, of EAS Participants must update their firmware by the same deadline.’”

The FCC had previously ruled that as of December 12, 2023, all EAS Participants, including radio broadcasters, television broadcasters, and operators of satellite, cable TV, and wireline video services, must start transmitting EAS messages in the IP-based format, when available, and replace the current jargon in the legacy format for the national alert originator code, national test code, and (except for cable systems) national emergency code with the plain language versions.

Operators of cable systems were given until March 12, 2024, to implement the plain language version for Presidential alerts (national emergencies) in existing set-top boxes if possible through a software upgrade and make such set-top boxes available to customers who request them.

The FCC also ruled that operators of cable systems have until December 12, 2028  to ensure that all set-top boxes in their systems can display the revised language for Presidential alerts.   

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Federal Communications Commission has announced that the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau is working with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to host a public roundtable on strengthening the cybersecurity of the nation’s public alert and warning systems. 

At the October 30 event, the agencies will bring together those involved in Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alert to discuss topics including cybersecurity risk management and incident reporting for alerting. 

“The Commission has recently taken a series of significant actions to improve the nation’s alerting systems, working closely with our government partners,” said FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.  “As part of this ongoing effort, we are pleased to partner with CISA to sharpen the focus on the security of America’s alerting infrastructure.  It is critical that these essential systems function in emergencies and that the public can trust the warnings they receive.”

Last October, the Commission proposed rules to protect against cyberattacks of the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts.  The roundtable will build upon the record in that proceeding, the FCC reported. 

In the runup to the event, the FCC also outlined a number of steps that it has recently made to strengthen emergency alerting. Those include:  

• Adopted rules to make Emergency Alert System messages clearer and easier to understand on television.  
• Entered into an unprecedented partnership with state and local governments to test Wireless Emergency Alerts on the local level, to help assess geographic accuracy. 
• Partnered with FEMA on the third nationwide test of Wireless Emergency Alerts and the seventh nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System.
• Proposed rules to establish reliability, accuracy, and speed benchmarks to improve the performance of Wireless Emergency Alerts.
• Announced that on October 19, the Commission will vote on new rules to enhance Wireless Emergency Alerts by making them available in numerous additional languages, including American Sign Language; supporting maps that show the location of an emergency; and providing the public with easy access to information about the availability of Wireless Emergency Alerts. 

 Further information about the upcoming roundtable is available here:  

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Federal Communications Commission has announced that the agenda for its October Open Meeting on Thursday, October 19, 2023 will include votes on its controversial plans for net neutrality, as well as votes on new rules for wireless emergency alerts, improved video accessibility, the E-Rate program for schools and libraries, the unlicensed use of 6 GHz band and other issues. 

The meeting is scheduled to commence at 10:30 a.m. in the Commission Meeting Room of the Federal Communications Commission, 45 L Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. and will be streamed live at  www.fcc.gov/live and on the FCC’s YouTube channel.

The FCC described the agenda items as follows:  

• Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet  (WC Docket No. 23-320). The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to reestablish the Commission’s authority over broadband Internet access service by classifying it as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act, which would allow the Commission to protect consumers by issuing straightforward, clear rules to prevent Internet service providers from engaging in practices harmful to consumers, competition, and public safety; establish a uniform, national regulatory approach rather than disparate requirements that vary state-by-state; strengthen the Commission’s ability to secure communications networks and critical infrastructure against national security threats; and enable the Commission to protect public safety during natural disasters and other emergencies. 
• Modernizing the E-Rate Program for Schools and Libraries (WC Docket No. 13-184). The Commission will consider a Declaratory Ruling that would clarify that the use of Wi-Fi on school buses is an educational purpose and the provision of such service is therefore eligible for E-Rate funding. 
• Broadband Connectivity and Maternal Health— Implementation of the Data Mapping to Save Moms’ Lives Act (GN Docket No. 23-309). The Commission will consider a Notice of Inquiry that will seek comment on its proposed plan to improve and enhance maternal health data in the Mapping Broadband Health in America platform, in order to ensure that future updates to the platform reflect input from stakeholders and other interested parties and improves the user experience. The platform was updated in June 2023 to incorporate publicly available data on maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity pursuant to the Data Mapping to Save Moms’ Lives Act. 
• Unlicensed Use of the 6 GHz Band (ET Docket No. 18-295); Expanding Flexible Use in Mid-Band Spectrum Between 3.7 and 24 GHz (GN Docket No. 17-183). The Commission will consider a Second Report and Order that would expand unlicensed use of the 6 GHz band by permitting very low power devices to operate in two sub-bands, a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would propose to expand very low power device operations to the remainder of the band, and a Memorandum Opinion and Order that would address a remand from a court challenge of a previous decision in the docket. 
• Connect America Fund (WC Docket No. 10-90); Connect America Fund – Alaska Plan (16-271); Universal Service Reform – Mobility Fund  (WT Docket No. 10-208); ETC Annual Reports and Certifications (WC Docket No. 14-58); Telecommunications Carriers Eligible to Receive Universal Service Support (WC Docket No. 09-197). The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on the use of high-cost program funding to continue supporting fixed and mobile services in Alaska. The accompanying Report and Order makes administrative changes to streamline high-cost program rules. 
• Wireless Emergency Alerts (PS Docket No. 15-91); Amendments to Part 11 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding the Emergency Alert System (PS Docket No. 15-94). The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would improve Wireless Emergency Alerts by making WEA messages available in additional languages, including American Sign Language (ASL); supporting maps that show the location of an emergency; making it easier to conduct public-facing WEA performance and public awareness tests; and providing alert originators and members of the public with access to information about where and how WEA is available within their communities. 
• Video Description: Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (MB Docket No. 11-43). The Commission will consider a Second Report and Order that will enhance support for individuals who are blind or visually impaired by expanding audio description requirements to additional market areas. The Order would help ensure that a greater number of individuals who are blind or visually impaired can be connected, informed, and entertained by television programming. 

ANAHEIM, Calif.—America’s Emergency Network (AEN) has announced that it is working with 6G-Datacast.tv to launch an Advanced Emergency Information service using Next Generation Television based on the ATSC 3.0 standard and an AI-programmed 24/7 “disaster channel” with actual emergency content from around the country. 

AEN and 6G-Datacast.tv are showcasing their collaboration at Disaster Expo USA with demos of how they bring life-saving capabilities to improve emergency preparedness and response.

As part of the collaboration, 6G-Datacast.tv is integrating its low latency CY4 protocol to make ATSC 3.0 battery-powered mobile receivers with Bluetooth, WiFi and USB/HDMI connectivity. These lightweight mobile devices will operate even when cellular networks and the electric grid fail, as they did in the Maui wildfire and many other disasters. 

“We are very happy to be working with 6G-Datacast.tv to leverage NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 to improve alerting and public safety,” says John Lawson, co-founder and president of AEN, LLC. “6G-Datacast has developed the ATSC 3.0 receiver we’ve been looking for. Battery back-up and connectivity with other devices in a small, mobile form factor are ideal for a resilient warning system. Plus, people can watch free [TV] with it.” 

“6G-Datacast.tv is excited to be working with AEN to execute on public alerting, safety and recovery missions,” said Stephan Sloan a principal in 6G-Datacast.tv. “Madeleine Noland’s leadership at ATSC has prepared the industry to deliver a new level of service to our communities. We have invested in development with ATSC ,and our CY4 protocol provides a low-latency, robust broadcast option for streaming data. Coupled with our portable receiver

America’s Emergency Network and 6G-Datacast.tv 2 with internal antenna and all-day battery power, public safety networks and informed citizens alike have a new, valuable option for alerting, communicating and recovery coordination.” 

Complementary with alerting, AEN-TV will leverage content from emergency managers and public safety agencies to create a 24/7 “disaster channel.” AI will be used to curate content, including CCTV and drone video, from among the approximately 2800 alert messages distributed across the U.S. every day. AEN believes home improvement retailers, generator and battery pack suppliers, insurance companies, utilities, and government agencies will be likely sponsors of the channel. 

At the Disaster Expo USA, September 27-28 at the Anaheim (CA) Convention Center, AEN and 6G-Datacsat.tv will demonstrate their capabilities using a 6G-Datacast receiver and a live ATSC 3.0 datacasting signal of emergency information. 

Related company Alert FM will demo its existing ShakeAlert system, already deployed on the West Coast, to provide earthquake early warning. 

AEN is in booth 772. Lawson is speaking on Thursday, September 28 at 11am PT in Seminar 4. 

BOSTON—WWOO-LD successfully showed a proof of concept for 5G broadcasts on Sept. 13 with a 1080p programming stream of content from France 24 and tests of emergency alert services. The organizers described the event as the first 5G broadcasts from a U.S. station to a smartphone. 

“In my career, I've seen broadcast technology go from film to 5G and we think that this small step could be the start of something big,” said Bill Christian, owner of the low power station WWOO-LD.

"This is a big thing," said Frank Copsidas, founder of Low Power TV Broadcasters Association (LPTVBA) and XGen Network. "It's 5G Broadcasting right to a cell phone. What does that mean? You can watch your shows on the phone, sure. But what it really means is what it means for first responders" and the best use of broadcast spectrum for the public interest and safety. 

Copsidas noted that the technology was still in its infancy in the U.S. but predicted that 5G broadcasting would be rolled out to the public in about a year from now. 

On June 12, Boston-based LPTV station WWOO-LD filed for an experimental license with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to test a 5G broadcast system and received approval in July from the FCC. 

Speaking via a remote video connection after the demo, FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington noted that the media landscape has changed dramatically in recent years with content being delivered over a variety of platforms to many different screens. 

“Broadcasters are now neither the primary creators nor the primary distributors in the media [landscape] and yet, broadcasters are made entrusted with public airwaves and consequently must discharge their vital public interest obligations [with an] ever narrowing slice of media revenue," Simington said. And so as broadcasters...[adapt to this], the Commission must help in clearing a regulatory path [that is] no longer solely grounded in primary video distribution.

"That's why…I was very pleased to hear that my colleagues in the Media Bureau acted quickly to grant temporary authority to engage in 5G broadcast testing," he added. "And I'm pleased to hear the interest already expressed by those in the vendor ecosystem and the public safety community in partnering to deliver new and innovative services across broadcast spectrum….5G Broadcasting represents an exciting possible evolutionary path and broadcast future.”

Prior to the demo, Lorenzo Casaccia vice president, technical standards & intellectual property at Qualcomm noted that 5G services have already been deployed in many parts of the world. 

“5G broadcast is also sometimes known as enhanced TV and [it]...is ready for primetime now," he said. "This technology can be easily deployed over commercial broadcasting networks available today in most parts of the world. And it can also leverage smartphones economies of scale, which is really a game changer for the broadcasting community.”

“In addition to 5G broadcast, [it is] opening doors to new business models, more flexible capacity and expanded customer reach for broadcasters,” he added. “It also brings many benefits for consumers. For instance, 5G broadcast gives us smartphone users access to linear TV on the go. So users can watch content like sports game broadcasts in real time. Another good example is reliable access to public safety information and timely warning in case of emergencies.”

“5G broadcast also does not require the users to have a SIM card to receive or casinos so it is truly free to air mobile TV,” he said. “Most importantly, 5G broadcast leverages all of the building blocks of existing cellular systems that are already built into billions of smartphones. This means that the barrier for inclusion in commercial device devices is lower, as there is no need for a separate system to be integrated by smartphone vendors in their products.”

Andrew Tao, vice president of operations at XGN, showed the reception of France 24 feed via an antenna to an set-top-receiver (STR) and a TV. 

“The 1080 picture it looks fantastic here in the studio,” said Copsidas. “And that's what 5g Broadcasting can do in its very infancy. A great solid picture.”

“We use the same transmitter,” Copsidas said for the 5G broadcasts. “We use the same antenna as we currently use. We just changed out some of the equipment before that to broadcast in 5G.”

As part of the demo, which is available on YouTube, Tao also provided a tour through the station showing some of the equipment in use including a variety of equipment from Rohde & Schwarz, which also supplied the transmitter. (The tour starts at the 38th minute in the YouTube Video. The launch event starts in the 29th minute.)

Tao also showed the broadcasts being received on a special smartphone created by Qualcomm for the test.  

After showing emergency alerts on the Qualcomm phones, Copsidas noted that the one to many architecture of broadcast allows them to alert all the cellphones capable of receiving the 5G broadcasts in under one second. “If it is an earthquake, you have three seconds,” to warn people he said. “So this could be a huge improvement.”  

He also said that they could also send encrypted data of videos and other information directly to the cell phones of first responders. 

Robert Verdone, the executive director of the southeastern Massachusetts 911 Center added that “this is exciting for the first responder community for sure. It takes the three aspects of one aspect of broadcast technology where we're able to communicate to the public on mass and brings it right into someone's hand and adds on to additional layers of being [able]...to communicate to the first responder community in the field...right into devices.”

Vendors involved in the tests included Nakolos, Qualcomm, West Pond, and Rohde and Schwarz, who provided the transmitter and broadcast chain. 

Copsidas acknowledged that “ATSC 3.0 is about eight years ahead of us, 12 years ahead of 5G broadcasting [in terms of development] and is a much more robust platform right now. For multiple streams for 4K broadcast with Dolby surround sound it can deliver an amazing user experience. 5G Broadcasting hasn't quite gotten to that stage.”

But, he added, it “goes into cell phones, and everybody has cell phones for emergency purposes. It really can notify people much faster and also deliver crucial emergency information quickly to everybody who has a cell phone. That's the big difference.”

He also stressed that with the thousands of low-power stations around the U.S. “we can cover the U.S. pretty well.” 

Others, notably Sinclair have argued that ATSC 3.0 represents a clearly superior broadcasting platform. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—As expected FEMA and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have announced that they will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) this fall on October 4. 

The agencies reported that the national test will consist of two portions, testing WEA and EAS capabilities. Both tests are scheduled to begin at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 4.

The agencies said that if the Oct. 4 test is postponed due to widespread severe weather or other significant events, the back-up testing date is Oct. 11.

The WEA portion of the test will be directed to all consumer cell phones. This will be the third nationwide test of the WEA system, but the second test to all cellular devices. The test message will display in either English or in Spanish, depending on the language settings of the wireless handset.

The EAS portion of the test will be sent to radios and televisions. This will be the seventh nationwide EAS test, the FCC said. 

This year the EAS message will be disseminated as a Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) message via the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System-Open Platform for Emergency Networks (IPAWS-OPEN).

The agencies said that the EAS portion of the test is scheduled to last approximately one minute and will be conducted with the participation of radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers and wireline video providers.

The test message will be similar to the regular monthly EAS test messages and will state: “This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.”

The FCC also reminded EAS Participants that they are encouraged to take steps, in coordination with their State Emergency Communications Committees, to prepare for the test. Those steps include: 

• Ensuring that a copy of the EAS Operating Handbook is located at normal duty positions, or EAS equipment locations, and is otherwise immediately available to operators; 
• Reviewing the EAS Operating Handbook for the actions to be taken by operators upon receipt of the test alert, and tailoring any actions as necessary that are specific to the EAS Participants’ facilities;
• Reviewing their State EAS Plan for monitoring assignments and ensuring that EAS equipment is accurately configured to monitor those sources; 
• Upgrading EAS equipment software and firmware to the most recent version;  and
• Manually synchronizing EAS equipment clocks to the official time provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology  if an EAS Participant’s equipment does not automatically synchronize to an Internet time source.

The FCC also noted that all EAS Participants are required to participate in the nationwide EAS test and make required filings in the Commission’s EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS).  EAS Participants were required to make their 2023 ETRS Form One filings on or before February 28, 2023.  In addition:  

• Any EAS Participant that must update ETRS Form One to ensure its accuracy (including changes resulting from transfers of control, updates to EAS equipment or software, or as required by any revision of its State EAS Plan filed pursuant to 47 CFR § 11.21) must submit an updated ETRS Form One on or before September 15, 2023. 
• All EAS Participants must file ETRS Form Two to provide “day of test” data on or before October 5, 2023.  
• All EAS Participants must file ETRS Form Three to provide detailed post-test data on or before November 20, 2023.   

ETRS Forms Two and Three will become available in ETRS on October 4, 2023, at the time of initiation of the 2023 nationwide test.

In addition, the FCC stressed that all EAS Participants – including Low Power FM stations (LPFM), Class D non-commercial educational FM stations, and EAS Participants that are silent pursuant to a grant of Special Temporary Authority – are required to register and file in ETRS, with the following exceptions:

• Analog and digital low power television (LPTV) stations that operate as television broadcast translator stations are not required to register and file in ETRS. 
• FM broadcast booster stations and FM translator stations which entirely rebroadcast the programming of other local FM broadcast stations are not required to register and file in ETRS. 
• International broadcast stations are not required to register and file in ETRS. 
• Analog and digital broadcast stations that operate as satellites or repeaters of a hub station (or common studio or control point if there is no hub station) and rebroadcast 100 percent of the programming of the hub station (or common studio or control point) are not required to register and file in ETRS.  However, the hub station (or common studio or control point) is required to register and file in ETRS. 

Filers can access ETRS by visiting the ETRS page of the Commission’s website at https://www.fcc.gov/general/eas-test-reporting-system.  

Filers may contact Bureau staff for assistance with ETRS filings via ETRS@fcc.gov.  

For further information regarding the nationwide EAS or WEA tests, contact Austin Randazzo, Associate Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, at (202) 418-1462 or Austin.Randazzo@fcc.gov. 

LYNDONVILLE, N.Y.—Digital Alert Systems today unveiled Version 5.1 for its DASDEC and One-Net platforms, bringing a new UI and upgraded operating system to units in the field.

Marking the first time Version 5 software has been available for older DASDEC-II and One-Net SE units, the latest version improves the experience of users and increases security of the overall architecture, the company said.

Version 5.1 builds on the new, fresher user interface introduced in Version 5 and showcased in the DASDEC-III device. Offering greater visual clarity, the new release highlights the security of the company’s download server and is a steppingstone to Version 5.2, which will include FCC-mandated changes, it said.

"With the updated user interface that our DASDEC-III customers have enjoyed now available for older DASDEC and One-Net units, Version 5.1 is a big step up for many broadcasters," said Bill Robertson, vice president of business development at Digital Alert Systems. "There's also a more powerful, more stable and updated operating system for even greater security. We're laying the groundwork to accommodate all the latest FCC mandates — new capabilities that will be available for free to all Version 5-series customers with our Version 5.2 release coming soon."

Available in mid-May, Version 5.1 is free to all customers who are either actively enrolled in the company’s Software Assurance Plan, have purchased a new DASDEC or recently took advantage of its UP-TRADE program. Costs for other users depend on hardware compatibility and the age of their current system, it said.

Version 5.1 requires a DASDEC or One-Net unit with a 64-bit processor to install and operate the latest code. All units shipped since 2016 have a 32-/64-bit processor, so owners of those devices can simply install Version 5.1 using Digital Alert Systems' secure field upgrade server. Once on Version 5.1, all in-version upgrades will be available at no charge, it said.

More information is available on the company’s website. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Following a vote by the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee to recommend reduced spending of $40 million for fiscal year 2024 for the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) supporting public broadcasting’s public safety infrastructure, the America’s Public Television Stations issued a statement highlighting the importance of the program that urged Congress to restore the funding.

“In these times of severe budget constraint, America’s public television stations are grateful that the subcommittee proposed $40 million to continue the Next Generation Warning System,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of APTS. “But this level of funding represents a $16 million cut from the current appropriation for NGWS, and we are hopeful that at least level funding will be approved in the final appropriation by Congress later this year.

“Public safety and civil defense are essential parts of public television’s mission to serve the American people,” he continued. “Public broadcasting stations reach 99% of the American population, and we are the only local media in many communities, making our work in alert and warning critical to the safety of people and communities throughout the country. Public television’s digital infrastructure provides the backbone for emergency alert, public safety, first responder, and homeland security services in many States and communities, including many local stations that serve as their States’ primary Emergency Alert Service (EAS) hub for severe weather and AMBER alerts.”

Butler also stressed that “public television has partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system that enables cell subscribers to receive geo-targeted text messages in the event of an emergency — reaching them wherever they are in times of crisis, even if the internet is disrupted. Between March of 2020 and January of 2022, over 13,000 WEAs were sent to millions of mobile devices using the WEA system. This program is critical to ensuring that public broadcasting station infrastructure can continue to reliably provide alert, warning and interoperable communications and incorporate enhanced technology in those lifesaving activities.” 

In addition “[p]ublic television stations have worked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to demonstrate the effectiveness of our public safety communications capability in flood control and evacuation, school shooting scenarios, large crowd management, over-water emergency communications and other life-saving applications,” he continued. “Public television stations have also partnered with the California Office of Emergency Services to reduce the early earthquake warning standard from 30 seconds to less than 3 seconds. We’ve built a Statewide Emergency Communications Network with the State of Tennessee, public media stations in Florida created an emergency network that delivers up-to-the minute weather and news reports during severe weather events in Florida and South Carolina, and we’ve pursued many other alert and warning initiatives across America.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—Playbox Neo has optimized integration of emergency alerts into its latest PlayBox Neo Suite, providing broadcasters with more flexibility when airing alerts and reducing the need for possible advertiser make-goods, the company said today.

Customized settings for Emergency Alert System (EAS) visual crawls and audio are received by PlayBox Neo Suite, which extracts the data directly within the AirBox Neo-20 streaming and broadcast playout module and the TitleBox Neo-20 character generator, it said.

Typically, a Digital Alert Systems DASDEC-III, is connected to a broadcaster’s local network. When it receives an EAS message, the EAS data is extracted and sent to the TitleBox Neo-20 system to be displayed on-screen as a text alert, it said.

The audio stream is decoded and sent to the AirBox Neo-20 where it is delivered on-air, overriding the current program audio. The workflow can feed multiple PlayBox Neo channel-in-a-box servers simultaneously, providing service for several channels, or main and backup, it said.

Logos for each channel can be added separately to the EAS feed, colors customized and the aspect ratio removed or changed to accommodate the emergency alert graphic – without disturbing the SDI signal. The alert also can be delayed, running just after a commercial break, it said.

One DASDEC EAS receiver can provide customized EAS alerts to several channels to establish consistent branding across each.

“If the broadcaster simply wants to let the EAS signal go through, they can,” Van Duke, Playbox Neo director of U.S. operations. “If they want to delay the alert five minutes, they can. Or, they can do an overlay over current programming with customizable graphic options. There’s less involvement with the SDI signal. There’s no going in and out of SDI. And each channel can be triggered with its own graphics and delay customization all from one application.”

The company has released an online video examining the workflow. 

More information is available on the company’s website. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—As expected, the Federal Communications Commission has adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that the agency believes will bolster the operational readiness and security of the nation’s public alert and warning systems, the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts.

The proposals closely mirror a draft proposal that was circulated prior to the FCC’s October 27 meeting when the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was approved. 

In the Notice, the Commission proposes to:

• Protect against cyberattacks by requiring Emergency Alert System participants, such as broadcasters and cable providers, to report incidents of unauthorized access to their Emergency Alert System equipment to the Commission within 72 hours.  This would allow the Commission to work with participants and other government agencies to resolve an equipment compromise before it is exploited to send false alerts.
• Promote security by requiring Emergency Alert System participants and the wireless providers that deliver Wireless Emergency Alerts to annually certify that they have a cybersecurity risk management plan and implement sufficient security measures for their alerting systems.
• Guard against false alerts by requiring participating wireless providers to transmit sufficient authentication information to ensure that only valid alerts are displayed on consumer devices.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking also seeks comment on the effectiveness of the agency’s current requirements for ensuring that Emergency Alert System equipment is ready to transmit alerts, and whether there are any alternative approaches that improve readiness, the FCC reported.

In addition, it refreshes the record on the Commission’s prior proposal to clarify that the agency’s Wireless Emergency Alert functionality requirements are not optional for wireless providers that voluntarily choose to deliver those alerts.

During the October 27 meeting the FCC also voted to launch a proceeding to explore repurposing up to 550 megahertz in the 12.7 to 13.25 GHz band (12.7 GHz band) for next-generation wireless services.  The FCC expects that this inquiry is the first step in providing for more intensive use of the 12.7 GHz band, unlocking a significant expanse of valuable mid-band frequencies that may play a key role in delivering on the promise of next-generation wireless services, including 5G, 6G, and beyond, the agency reported.  

In addition, the FCC proposed a plan to extend certain Universal Service Fund support to eligible mobile and fixed carriers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to ensure consumers have access to advanced telecommunications services in the face of hurricanes and other natural disasters. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has updated its Emergency Alert System rules so that alerts delivered over television and radio are more informative and easier to understand by the public, particularly people with disabilities.

In December of 2021, the FCC had proposed updating the rules to make them more accessible and launched a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry on the subject.  

In announcing the new rules, the FCC noted that the Emergency Alert System, which is used by government agencies to send alerts and warnings to the public over television and radio, consists of both a legacy system and an Internet-based system, with the latter offering superior messaging capabilities, the FCC explained. 

The updated rules require broadcasters, cable systems, and other Emergency Alert System participants to transmit the Internet-based version of alerts to the public when available, rather than transmit the legacy version of alerts.

The FCC said that the increased use of Internet-based alerts, in Common Alerting Protocol format, will produce higher-quality audio messages, improve the availability of multilingual alerts, and ensure that more of the alerts displayed on television screens contain all of the information provided by the government.

The updated rules will also replace the technical jargon that accompanies certain alerts, including test messages, with plain language terms so that the visual and audio messages are clearer to the public.

The update also means that people who are deaf or hard of hearing will have access to alerts in a viewable format that more closely matches the audible versions of these alert messages on television.  

In addition, people who are blind or visually impaired will have access on their radios to national alerts containing more detailed audio information.  Clearer and more accessible alerts will help all Americans prepare for and respond to emergencies. 

The new rules were approved by Chairwoman Rosenworcel, Commissioners Carr, Starks, and Simington. 

LYNDONVILLE, N.Y.—Digital Alert Systems has launched the DASDEC-III, the third generation of its award-winning DASDEC flexible emergency messaging platform. 

The solution, which comes equipped with the DASDEC Version 5 software, combines all the features of the previous DASDEC series plus capabilities that were once only available in the company's One-Net products, originally sold to cable and IPTV operators, the company said. 

With the DASDEC-III, the company has unified the two product families — DASDEC and One-Net — into a single product line. The DASDEC-III also has a more modular design, allowing for even more hardware and software customization to create tailored solutions for different messaging requirements, DAS explained.  

"Emergency messaging is continuously evolving, and we must follow this ever-changing environment," said Bill Robertson, vice president of business development, Digital Alert Systems. "The DASDEC-III's more modular approach is very appealing to customers as they can more easily craft the solution to their exact situation without being locked into a configuration that is more or less than what they really need. This customization is born from the truth that one size does not fit all."

Designed to fit roles in traditional broadcast radio and television, including the latest NEXTGEN TV, CATV, IPTV, campus, industrial, and emergency operation centers, the DASDEC-III has many features capable of transforming the old ways of doing emergency messaging. For example, with Digital Alert Systems' EAS-Net communications bundle, the DASDEC-III can eliminate all the complex wiring and logic associated with serial ports, audio wiring, and contact closures to multiple media keyers and switches. Linking a DASDEC-III to EAS-Net-compatible devices eliminates all those connections and devices and moves critical communications to a simple IP-based network. Using these more modern devices, facilities can eliminate a host of equipment and connections, thereby saving space, power, and, most of all, the headache of supporting multiple devices.

With the DASDEC-III, Digital Alert Systems has changed several wiring options, adopting the StudioHub wiring standard for audio connections in and out of the unit.  This makes DASDEC-III the only Emergency Alert System/common alerting protocol device to use StudioHub wiring, the company said. 

Using this method of wiring creates a quick and easy connection to many other audio devices with simple Cat 5/6 wires with RJ45 terminations. This creates a mechanically solid and dense wiring method without resorting to old, bulky XLR connections. The new unit also provides an HDMI output with scalable resolutions and embeds the emergency audio in the same output, DAS reported. 

The company also stressed that DASDEC-III with Version 5 software has a significantly improved user interface with an easier-to-follow menu structure and much less visual clutter. At the same time, the interface retains the basic operational outline so new users are less intimidated and previous users are instantly familiar. The new Version 5 represents the next phase of product development, where the company will continue to streamline the user interface well into the future.

Under the hood, the DASDEC-III features a newer, faster quad-core processor and a full 64-bit operating system, the company said. 

These qualities combine to create a more robust platform with a snappier response in addition to being more compatible with modern development tools and continued security enhancements.

"The DASDEC-III represents the latest in Digital Alert Systems' innovative design and dedication to our customers — and ultimately, to their customers," Robertson said. "With this new platform, we'll be able to continue supporting and developing more features and functions that are critical to today's emergency messaging workflows."

DASDEC-III with Version 5 is shipping now. Since the product is highly tailored to customer requirements, DAS encourages customers to contact the factory or a dealer to determine the best configuration. The unit will come fully assembled and ready to place into operation. Version 5 will be released for other customers later in the year.

More information about Digital Alert Systems is available at www.digitalalertsystems.com.

BOISE, Idaho—Evoca TV has demonstrated how emergency alert information can best be delivered to viewers who are watching streaming shows via the internet when those shows do not originate with a local television broadcaster, the company has announced.

Working with Digital Alert Systems, Evoca TV developed this capability after more than one year of investigation into possible strategies. Powered in part by ATSC 3.0, which includes a provision for advanced emergency alert messaging, Evoca TV offers a hybrid subscription TV alternative to cable television that relies on NextGen TV transmission and OTT distribution of content.

The significance of demonstrating the capability centers on delivery of timely local emergency warnings on streaming channels. In comments to the Federal Communications Commission, the motion picture industry and others objected to delivering such warnings on streaming channels, calling it “technically impracticable” to depart from existing methods that rely on local broadcasters.

“Typically, emergency alerts aren’t delivered to viewers who are watching through the usual conditional access systems. Multichannel providers rely on local broadcasters to trigger alerts on locally broadcast channels only. But because the Evoca solution is both an over-the-air and an over-the-top system, we’re able to deliver alerts directly to the viewer,” said Michael Chase, vice president of systems at Evoca.

“Our Evoca Scout receiver can insert emergency alert information right on top of programming being watched by a viewer, regardless of what that channel happens to be. Now, even viewers watching streaming programming will get alerts when local conditions are warranted. The system has the potential to deliver early warnings to viewers about severe weather or other impending dangerous events or disasters.”

“Since Evoca controls both the transmission and reception of signals that reach the viewer, we have the ability to offer a unique solution to enhance safety.”

Evoca integrated the Digital Alert Systems DASDEC platform into its network to provide emergency information across its ecosystem. Evoca’s encoding architecture processes local and national alerts, routing the information to the necessary devices based on specific criteria, it said.

“We found perhaps the most compelling aspect is the seamless way Evoca has blended the user experience,” said Bill Robertson, vice president of business development for Digital Alert Systems. “Regardless of the content’s origin – over-the-air or over-the-top – the customer is presented with emergency alerts in the same way.  We are very excited to be working with a truly pioneering company like Evoca.”

While demonstrating this capability is important, it’s simply one step. Evoca is now at work developing “even more reliable” ways to take advantage of 3.0’s emergency messaging capabilities, said Chase.

“We’re continuing to study the best approach to make certain that viewers who are tuned to any channel on the Evoca network can get an immediate notification should there be an emergency,” he said.

HUNT VALLEY, M.D.—Sinclair’s One Media 3.0 subsidiary has announced that it will be holding a three-part webinar series covering the delivery of Advanced Emergency Information using the NextGen TV broadcast standard, ATSC 3.0.

To be held virtually on consecutive Tuesdays in March (March 15, 22, 29 at 1:00 PM EST), the webinar series will take a deep dive into the new capabilities that the NextGen TV standard offers to warn and inform consumers of urgent events from weather to police actions to natural disasters and finding lost neighbors.

As the ability for broadcasters to create interactive services draws closer, Advanced Emergency Information (AEI) services are among the most compelling public services a broadcaster can offer, One Media noted. 

AEI also represents the best unique feature set broadcasters can field as they vie for users against much larger media platforms that have had interactive capabilities for many years. This series will examine opportunities AEI services can offer broadcasters to improve service to their communities and business health.

Webinars will have one hour presentation/discussion followed by 30 min audience Q&A.

Webinar #1: Tuesday March 15, 1 PM ET

As NextGen Broadcasters offer interactive services, AEI services can offer features not available from large digital platforms. This panel will examine what it will take to offer services unavailable today yet critical to broadcasters’ local communities.

Topics to include:

• How AEI and other interactive services will fundamentally change the relationship broadcasters have with viewers by making it interactive.
• How the return path for NextGen Broadcast services works.
• New research that anticipates consumer preferences and acceptance of AEI features
• Comparisons with digital services that also offer geo-targeted alerts and emergency information.
• What AEI services will look like from the user point of view (frame grabs).
• How AEI can enhance mobile/portability.
• How AEI can be expanded to provide urgent information and support a community in normal times.
• Preparing for interactive viewer relationships, calculating the benefit of long-term digital viewers.
• Portability to the app in the home, and through wireless carriers.
• How TV stations with no news departments can benefit from the technology.

Registration and a complete list of speakers and topics for all three webinars are available here. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Federal Communications Commission has adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would improve the clarity and accessibility of visual Emergency Alert System messages to the public, particularly to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

In addition, the FCC has adopted a Notice of Inquiry and has launched an examination of broader measures to enhance the system’s overall functionality and accessibility.

In the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted on December 14, the Commission proposed rule changes to improve the clarity and descriptiveness of the visual message that appears on television during nationwide Emergency Alert System tests in order to better inform members of the public who are unable to access the test’s audio message.

The FCC also proposed to require broadcasters, cable systems, and other Emergency Alert System participants to check for and use, when available, the internet-based version of alerts, which offer superior visuals, rather than the legacy “over-the-air” version when transmitting alerts to the public. 

In a Notice of Inquiry adopted on December 14, the Commission is seeking comment on whether the legacy Emergency Alert System architecture can be modified, augmented, or redesigned to enable government alert originators to relay more visual information as part of, or in parallel with, their alert message. 

The Commission is also seeking comments on ways to improve the legacy Emergency Alert System architecture to enable more functionality within the system as a whole.

In a statement on the need to improve the accessibility of the EAS system Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel noted that “late last week, a tornado tore through Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee,” providing “a stark reminder of just what devastating weather can do.”

“It is hard to know what kind of warning is adequate when freak weather like this comes along,” she admitted. “But we do know that we are seeing these kinds of storms with greater frequency.  And I think we have a responsibility to improve the warning systems we have, to get people the news they need in an emergency.” 

One problem with the existing system, she highlighted, was that when EAS alerts are displayed on the TV screen, “they have both an audio component and a visual component. In other words, they feature both a recorded message and a text crawl. But because of the legacy television architecture of EAS, the audio component may not always match the visual text. This can mean that in some circumstances, less information may be conveyed to either those individuals who have access only to the visual component or to those who have access only to the audio component,” which “can cause real confusion” and create problems for people with disabilities. 

To improve the system, Rosenworcel noted that “we propose to improve the script for visual text during nationwide tests of the legacy system” and make “changes to our rules that would bring similar clarity to nationwide tests using the newer, internet-based common alerting protocol, or CAP.  Then, because there is greater ability to include enhanced text with CAP alerts, we propose to require broadcasters to check to see if a CAP version of an alert is available when they receive an emergency alert over the legacy system.  Finally, we ask what additional steps can be taken to rethink the architecture of EAS and improve the functionality of the system as a whole.” 

As part of the inquiry into improving EAS, she stressed that “we're looking for all the good ideas here, both big and small, because we know first-hand they can make a difference.  In fact, the agency’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has been in close contact with FEMA, state and local emergency managers, carriers, and broadcasters in the states the tornado visited last week.  We know that improving outreach is vital and that keeping our alerting practices up-to-date is essential—and that is what we seek to do here.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The FCC is planning to vote on a proposal to improve the accessibility of the Emergency Alert System on December 14th at its December Open Meeting. 

In announcing the agenda of the meeting,  Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the FCC noted that “the Emergency Alert System (EAS) allows the President, FEMA, the National Weather Service, or state and local authorities to deliver warnings to TV viewers about dangerous weather and other imminent threats. Unfortunately, alerts sent using legacy broadcast technology have limited ability [to] relay text, which can create disparities between the information conveyed in the audio and visual alert messages, including during nationwide tests of the system. The Commission will vote on a proposal to improve the clarity and accessibility of EAS visual messages and tests, especially for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing or are otherwise unable to access the audio message.”

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the changes to the EAS system would “propose to require use of a predetermined script as the visual message for legacy EAS nationwide tests, and propose to revise the terminology associated with the codes for nationwide tests, in order to improve the clarity of these visual messages displayed to the public for CAP-based nationwide EAS tests,” the FCC said. 

It would also “propose to require that stations check for and use the available CAP versions of all State and Local Area alerts(which includes alerts issued by the National Weather Service) instead of the legacy EAS versions, to increase the use of CAP in light of CAP’s superior visual messaging capabilities.”

The Notice of Inquiry would “seek comment on how the legacy EAS architecture can be modified, augmented, or redesigned to enable alert originators to relay visual text that matches their audio message in legacy EAS alerts, as well as to enable more functionality within the EAS as a whole.”

Other items on the agenda include promoting competition in the satellite broadband market. “A new generation of low-orbit satellite systems can provide broadband services with dramatically higher speeds and lower latency than previous satellite broadband offerings,” Rosenworcel wrote. “This technology could be a game-changer for connecting the hardest-to-serve rural households on the wrong side of the digital divide. This December, we will consider revisions to the spectrum sharing requirements among these satellite systems. This proposal will not only facilitate the deployment of this new technology, it will promote competition and make it easier for new competitors to enter the market.”

The FCC will also be considering changes to the competitive bidding process for E-Rate.

The full agenda is available here. 

Deadly flooding in Germany and China, catastrophic wildfires in Greece and Turkey, and record typhoons in East Asia and India are all-too familiar to Americans coping with catastrophic wildfires, recurring tornadoes, and chronic flash floods. Reports of alerting failures from these danger zones were familiar as well. As usual, the need to improve alerting, both the technical delivery and the effectiveness of the alert messaging itself, is quickly forgotten – until disaster strikes again.

Fortunately, we now have the opportunity to break this deadly cycle, and it’s time we seized it.  Here are four realities that must drive action:

1. Relying on wireless alone is a recipe for disaster.
Mobile alerting systems, such as Wireless Emergency Alerts, or “WEAs” in the U.S., and systems used in Germany and elsewhere, have major benefits. They also have major vulnerabilities. For one, they usually provide limited information, just a few words or characters.

Perhaps the most dangerous vulnerability of wireless alerting generally is the unreliability of wireless networks. Cellular networks fail when power is cut or when towers literally burn up in forest fires. Whatever cellular infrastructure remains often becomes congested as first responders transmit and receive information, those in danger call for help, and survivors try to reach loved ones.

2. “Rich media” and research into using it are essential.
Government-funded research into the effectiveness of short message alerts delivered to mobile phones, such as WEA’s, revealed a major shortcoming. The paucity of information leads to the phenomenon of “milling.” Coined by the late Dr. Denis Mileti, milling describes the delay in taking protective action while alert recipients, often in denial, search for confirmation and more information. As many reports from Germany and the U.S. have described, the delay can be fatal.

Based on the concept of milling, it’s likely that if the alert contains images, live video, flood maps, escape routes, and/or other “rich media,” people are more likely to grasp the danger and act more quickly. But there is surprisingly little research into how best to structure and present longer-form alerts. In many ways, the challenges to improve alerting are as much about social science as they are technology.

3. Geo-targeting is needed to overcome the biggest alerting problem.
More than any other factor, over-alerting is the biggest problem with alerting today. If people receive false alarms or alerts intended for people in other areas, they become desensitized to them. Filings at the FCC by emergency managers to improve WEA’s over the years have focused on geo-targeting even more than richer information as their top priority. Location awareness and geo-fencing technologies are used in countless consumer applications. It’s time to build this tech into alerting systems.

4. The U.S. can – and should – lead globally for improvements
As the U.S. aspires to return to global leadership in climate change resilience, better alerting and crisis communications must be part of the toolkit. Fortunately, the ATSC 3.0 broadcasting standard was explicitly designed to support advanced alerting and post-alert recovery information. Its development and deployment in the U.S. and South Korea place both of our countries at the vanguard for alerting, and we should explore a bi-lateral global initiative.

In early 2020, the NAB commissioned an exploratory study by the AWARN Alliance with colleagues in Europe and Japan on alerting interoperability. There was agreement that the “all-IP” ATSC 3.0 can provide a common application layer to improve alerting in many countries, even if they use other digital transmission standards. True integration may never be feasible, or even desirable, but interoperability can be achieved and offers many advantages. A webinar, Global Harmonization for Advanced Emergency Alerting: ATSC 3.0, DVB, and ISBD, was produced with the study for NAB Show Express 2020.

Along with an exploration of ATSC 3.0 for better alerting, a multi-national initiative into the behavioral science of alerting could produce great benefits for people of all countries. Along with cultural differences, there surely are universal human behaviors that provide a baseline for concerted action. Developing and consumer-testing common symbols for hazards, for example, would be a major step forward.

We have to face the climate crisis together as fellow inhabitants of our planet. ATSC 3.0 has given us a powerful tool to do that. Governments, NGO’s, and private industry have to step up. Embracing NextGen TV and next generation emergency messaging at home would be the first step toward global leadership.

WASHINGTON—In the runup to the August 11, 2021 EAS and WEA alert test, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the FCC has reminded participants that they are required to issue alerts that are accessible to those with hearing and visual impairments. 

The nationwide test of the EAS and WEA systems is scheduled for August 11, 2021, at 2:20 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, with a backup date of August 25, 2021. 

The reminder noted that analog and digital television broadcast stations, analog and digital cable systems, wireless cable systems, wireline video systems, and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) were required to provide accessible Emergency Alert System (EAS) alerts.

Likewise, participating commercial mobile service providers had to provide accessible alerts for the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) test.

The FCC noted that the EAS test message will be transmitted as follows:

“THIS IS A TEST of the National Emergency Alert System. This system was developed by broadcast and cable operators in voluntary cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, and local authorities to keep you informed in the event of an emergency. If this had been an actual emergency an official message would have followed the tone alert you heard at the start of this message. No action is required.”

The FCC also noted that “EAS Participants should take necessary steps, in compliance with section 11.51 of the Commission’s rules, to ensure that individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and individuals who are blind or visually impaired have full access to EAS messages. Section 11.51 requires analog and digital television broadcast stations, analog and digital cable systems, wireless cable systems, wireline video systems, and DBS providers to broadcast national-level alerts in a manner that allows individuals with and without disabilities to access the full content.”

As part of that the FCC noted that the EAS text must be displayed “at the top of the television screen or where it will not interfere with other visual messages (e.g., closed captioning), and in a manner (i.e., font size, color, contrast, location, and speed) that is readily readable and understandable, without overlapping lines or extending beyond the viewable display (except for video crawls that intentionally scroll on and off of the screen), and in full at least once during any EAS message.”

In addition, the audio portion of an EAS message must be played in full at least once to ensure it is accessible to viewers who are blind or have low vision.

More details on the requirements for accessibility can be found here. 

The companies behind the top streaming services agreed with the FCC that delivering potentially life-saving emergency alert information to the public is of "paramount importance," but they argued their OTT services should not be required to participate in that system, saying it would not appreciably increase the number of people who get such alerts, but would appreciably increase the burden on streamers if they were required to deliver them.

And the obligation would not just be on the major streaming video services, they said, but Peleton, and even online instructional yoga videos.

Broadcasters agreed that streaming companies should not be required to carry the alerts.

The streamers argued the FCC's Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alert System (WEAS) are already robust programs that ensure "timely and relevant" alerts get to the public, which the FCC is making better in the proceeding on which the commission sought comment.

One of the comments the FCC wanted was whether those improvements should include extending the alerts beyond traditional media to the new, and burgeoning, streaming services. Congress mandated that the FCC explore extending alerts to over-the-top.

The Motion Picture Association, whose members include the studios behind Disney Plus, Hulu, ESPN Plus, Peacock, Paramount Plus, and HBO Max, said no.

"[T]he Commission should advise Congress that it should not seek to expand the class of entities required to participate in EAS to include streaming services," they said, adding to do so would could create "alert fatigue," not to mention being "tremendously burdensome" if not "entirely impracticable" as a technical matter, they said in comments to the FCC.

On that last point, they echoed arguments long made against defining over-the-top services as MVPDs.

"Streaming services are less like physical networks and systems that provide EAS today and more similar to the providers of content delivered over such systems." Like an individual broadcast network or cable channel, they said, "because such content providers do not control the underlying distribution architecture, do not have knowledge of where a particular end user receiving their content over such distribution architecture might be located, and are far greater in number than the EAS participants, these individual content providers are not responsible for delivery of EAS alerts."

The FCC's EAS obligation is imposed on individual TV stations and cable systems, not the content providers.

Among the technical challenges they cite:

1. "Streaming services’ relative lack of knowledge as to a user’s precise location;

2. "Difficulties in geographically targeting alerts in a service that is provided on a nationwide basis and delivered over the public Internet; and

3. "The total impracticability of streaming services monitoring for, ingesting, and delivering EAS alerts."

They said any of those demonstrates the infeasibility of applying alert mandates to them.

WASHINGTON—Citing the COVID-19 pandemic, FEMA has announced that there will be no national test of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System in 2020.

FEMA will postpone the next test to 2021 “out of consideration for the unusual circumstances and working conditions for those in the broadcast and cable industry,” the announcement reads. The organization notes that the issue lies in the reporting activities associated with the tests, saying that the systems are in place for rapid automatic transmission of the test message by broadcast and cable operators.

IPAWS is a national system for local alerting that provides authenticated emergency alert and information messaging to the public through cell phones and internet applications using Wireless Emergency Alerts, and to radio and television via the Emergency Alert System.

PLUS: IPAWS Guidelines for Coronavirus Shared by FEMA

FEMA is required to test IPAWS at least every three years. The last test for Wireless Emergency Alerts occurred in 2018. The last Emergency Alert System test was in 2019.

According to FEMA, more than 360 safety messages regarding COVID-19 have been sent out to residents across the country via WEA and EAS.

The opening ceremony of Korea’s 2019 Broadcast Industry Promotion Week included a launch ceremony for an ATSC 3.0 emergency alert system. At the ceremony, The Korean Ministry of Information and Communication announced the launch of a UHD Emergency Alert Service for delivering disaster response information for earthquakes, heavy rains, and fires. The Ministry predicts the new system will be able to deliver information more quickly using a terrestrial UHD broadcast network.

The new system will not replace Korea’s existing telecom-based alert system, but will work with it to improve performance and coverage. Korea IT Times reports, “South Korea already has an emergency alert system based on telecom technologies. The addition of using ATSC 3.0 signals from broadcast spectrum is designed to enhance the alerting process, offer backup to the existing telecom networks if they are compromised, and finally cover blind spots that telecom signals do not reach.”

New coverage will include use of large outdoor display screens placed in bus, subway, and multi-use facilities such as nursing homes. The large screens will more dramatically and graphically communicate emergency information. The new service will also include innovations to support hearing impaired citizens with voice guidance based on text-to-speech (TTS) technology, and support the visually impaired by using beacons and vibrometers as guides to safety.

According to BusinessKorea, part of the alert plan was put into place the day of the announcement. ATSC 3.0 receivers and displays were activated in bus and subway facilities in South Korea’s capital city of Seoul. The Korean government has plans to expand the new emergency service to other cities in 2021 and go nationwide in 2022.

While the announcement of an ATSC 3.0-based emergency alert system surprised some in the US, Pete Han, CEO of DigiCAP, a technology supplier for the project, thought it was inevitable, “In Korea we are starting our third year working with live ATSC 3.0 broadcast networks. When you work with this technology day in and day out, you realize how much room for innovation there is. You can see evidence of this in this new EAS system.”

According the Korea IT Times, “These alert services, based on ATSC 3.0 next-generation broadcasting and communications technology, are expected to change the paradigm of information transmission…The Ministry of Science and ICT is planning to overcome the limitations of the current emergency alert and broadcasting services by refining the initial pilot services in cooperation with the Korea Communications Commission, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Korea Meteorological Administration.”

At NAB New York October 22

Pete Han, who attended the Korean emergency alert system launch in Korea will be a part of a panel discussion at NAB NY about the system. He will be joined with John Lawson, Executive Director of the AWARN Alliance, and Joonyoung Park, VP and Fellow at DigiCAP.who worked on key technology for the project. Link to NAB NY Korean EAS Session

RALEIGH, N.C.—WRAL, the Capitol Broadcasting-owned NBC affiliate in Raleigh, together with several major broadcast vendors have completed a successful end-to-end broadcaster-to-receiver test using ATSC 3.0 Advanced Emergency Alert information to enhance the ability of broadcasters to communicate with the public in the event of an emergency.

“We are dedicated to providing our viewers with the most innovative programming and capabilities available,” said Pete Sockett, director of Engineering & Operations at WRAL. “With our successful completion of this test, we are one step closer to providing a critical service to our viewers with life-saving potential.”

The test at WRAL was conducted in May. It showed AEA emergency information can be passed successfully through ATSC 1.0 OTA, cable and satellite paths as well as via OTT and ATSC 3.0 transmissions from a sole insertion point, Capitol Broadcasting said.

Several vendors participated in the test, including Digital Alert Systems with its DASDEC-II emergency messaging platform; Triveni Digital, which supplied its GuideBuilder XM and StreamScope XM MT; and Verance with its Aspect watermark embedder and receiver toolkit.

As part of 3.0, Advanced Emergency Alerting can be used to do more than warn of an imminent danger. It can be used to convey rich media, such as video, images, maps and real-time updates, as well as to wake up sleeping TVs to target information to households in the path of danger.

During the test, AEA information remained intact throughout various conversions and across multiple platforms so that households with a Next Gen TV or 3.0 adapter could receive AEA information. Delivering AEA via cable, satellite and OTT means the reach of AEA information is far greater than if it were solely used to enhance over-the-air TV service.

A second phase of the test is in the planning stages and may include working with a TV manufacturer to showcase the enhanced capabilities of AEA, according to the broadcaster.

For the test, the Digital Alert Systems DASCEC-II generated the emergency information messages and Triveni Digital’s GuideBuilder XM served as the 3.0 signaling generator and Next-Gen TV transport encoder, adding the AEA signal to the broadcast to inform the TV that emergency information was available for retrieval. The StreamScope XM MT provided a way to analyze the accuracy of the AEA protocol at every demarcation point in the broadcast chain, it said.

Verance’s Aspect watermark ensures AEA metadata and triggers can reach all smart TVs across all distribution paths, including 1.0 and 3.0 OTA, cable, satellite and OTT. Over the past year, Verance has partnered with Capitol Broadcasting to embed and detect the Aspect watermark.

For a comprehensive source of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see ourATSC3 silo.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The Advanced Warning and Response Network (AWARN) Alliance is expanding its mission with the next-generation of emergency alerting to place greater emphasis on news as a source of potentially life-saving information.

“The alliance’s steering committee sees AWARN evolving to become more newsroom-centric,” says John Lawson, AWARN executive director.

While delivering official alerts, such as EAS and EAN notifications, will remain the primary focus of AWARN, the advanced capabilities of ATSC 3.0 enable TV newsrooms to deliver a wider range of emergency-related information, such as evacuation routes, the location of emergency shelters or even where fresh drinking water and plywood are available, he says.

Television stations devote enormous resources to newsgathering that can be leveraged to better inform the public via the advanced features of 3.0 when emergencies arise, he says.

The decision to expand AWARN grew out of a series of workshops and focus groups with emergency managers as well as TV broadcasters from three different regions of the country, says Lawson.

However, both groups expressed some concern about overusing 3.0’s enhanced warning features, such as the TV wake-up function, geo-targeting and rich media, to disseminate emergency information. Doing so might fatigue the public and ultimately desensitize audiences to bona fide alerts, causing them to hesitate to take action or ignore warnings altogether.

“The emergency managers see the best use of ATSC 3.0 alerting being reserved for imminent threat alerting, something that is severe and urgent,” says Lawson. Those from the TV community concurred and said voluntary arrangements are needed with emergency managers about what does and does not qualify for an imminent threat alert.

The concept of an on-screen icon for 3.0 viewers to inform them of a possible threat—rather than a banner alert—was discussed. This approach could give viewers control over emergency information, allowing them to click to learn more or to dismiss and disregard.

“The point is to develop a system to deliver the rare alert as well as a service that is capable of delivering more content to consumers on a voluntary basis,” he says.

Interest in taking advantage of 3.0 to deliver this type of information has come from both news-producing and non-news-producing stations as well as commercial and public broadcasters.

“Some stations see this as a way to supplement their news reporting on their main channel by using a digital subchannel,” says Lawson. “Public stations without a regular newscast view it as a way to provide highly localized, critical information to their communities.”

The next step is to organize a series of conversations with TV news directors and other news executives at station groups and stations “to develop a framework to begin using 3.0 for a broader range of information that would be valuable for the communities they serve,” says Lawson.

Part of those discussions will center on the extent to which TV stations rely upon local public authorities for information versus their own reporting. Lawson draws the analogy to the National Weather Service and weather data and graphics vendors.

“There are third-party commercial companies that package weather information and graphics despite the National Weather Service and NOAA offering massive amounts of public data,” he says.

The AWARN steering committee has directed Lawson to establish an operational framework, such as recommended practices, for newsrooms to rely upon to communicate emergency information to their audiences via 3.0, he says.

“We are also hopeful that expanding our footprint to look at emergency information beyond alerting will help us grow our membership,” he adds.

WASHINGTON—Two messages seem to have been transmitted loud and clear after the most recent EAS/WEA national alert test. One, that participation in national EAS tests is a priority. And two, that participants are committed to sending the alert in both the English and Spanish languages.

It was back in October that the Federal Emergency Management Agency conducted another nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System and the first ever nationwide Wireless Emergency Alert, which was delivered to mobile devices.

At 2:18 p.m. Eastern on Oct. 3, FEMA sent a WEA test message to WEA-capable wireless devices throughout the United States and territories; immediately following, FEMA conducted a live test of the EAS to EAS participants. That message was transmitted in English and Spanish and included both a text message and audio.

All participating mobile service providers were required to participate in the WEA portion of the test, while all EAS participants — including thousands of radio stations, TV stations and cable providers —were required to participate in the EAS piece.

According to results recently released by the FCC, 95.5% of EAS participants successfully received the National Periodic Test code used for the test, while 91.8% successfully retransmitted the test. Those numbers are consistent with the participation levels observed in the 2017 nationwide EAS test.

Of the 2,621 television broadcasters who were 2018 test participants, 89.3% of those received the test (thumbs up to those 2,340 stations). Of those, 84% went on to successfully retransmit the alert. Both of those numbers are down an average of 1 percentage point from the receive/transmit levels in 2017.

Kudos to cable system operators who had the highest percentage of reception and transmission in the 2018 test. Of the 2,792 who were supposed to receive and transmit the test, 97.8% of those participated in the test. More than 91% of those cable MSOs then went on to retransmit the alert.

There were slight improvements in other areas. Nearly 91% of test participants who filed their Form Three (which gives detailed data to the FCC on what happened after the test) reported no complications in receiving the test, up from 89% in 2017. A total of 89% reported no complications in retransmitting the test, a figure up slightly from 88% in 2017.

This year, a significantly larger number of test participants reported to have retransmitted the Spanish language version of the alert. In 2018, 756 test participants retransmitted the alert as it was generated through the IPAWS system, up from only 207 participants in 2017.

This time around, transmission of the test to mobile devices made a lot of headlines. This was the first nationwide test of the WEA system and though data is still coming in, the FCC has determined that the test did at least successfully demonstrate that a WEA can be delivered nationwide.

But there were a few cases of inefficient reception.

Through local emergency management agencies, news reports and feedback from the FCC’s Public Safety Support Center (PSSC), the FCC and FEMA found that approximately 72% of respondents reported receiving the WEA test message. Of the 361 responses that were filed voluntarily with the PSSC, approximately 61% reported no problems in receiving a WEA. The remaining 39% either did not receive a WEA or received one that had issues, such as receiving multiple messages or having problems with the tone or vibration cadence.

Mixed reports came from news agencies across the country.

In the Pacific Northwest, subscribers with several networks, including AT&T and T-Mobile, reported being unable to download data or use their apps for hours after receiving the presidential test alert.

In other cases, participating wireless providers did not successfully deliver the WEA test message at all, while other users indicated that WEA receipt was uneven — some individuals received the alert while others in the same region did not. One journalist revealed that, in the case of his two personal phones, one received the alert twice, while the other did not receive the message at all.

The FCC and FEMA said in a joint release that they will continue to analyze the results and release more detailed findings when available.

LYNDONVILLE, N.Y.—Digital Alert Systems and Monroe Electronics have upgraded the operating system for the Digital Alert Systems DASDEC-II and Monroe One-Net SE emergency alert systems.

Version 4.0 software for the systems is a complete operating system upgrade–with a cybersecurity update and numerous security patches—and software-update management tools. It provides support for new Blue Alert (BLU) Emergency Alert System (EAS) code as well as Triggered Common Alert Protocol (CAP) Polling, which presents more complete alert information to the public, the company said.

With Triggered CAP Polling, the system immediately begins looking for a matching CAP message for every over-the-air EAS event. If one exists, the CAP message is used rather than the EAS alert to ensure better message propagation, it said.

The latest version also supports HALO, the Digital Alert Systems and Monroe Electronics enterprise-level EAS management system.

The release, which provides a new mechanism for faster security updates, includes a new log-in screen designed to prevent hackers from finding devices attached to the internet with no firewall protection, the company said.

Older products, such as DASDEC-I and the original One-Net, cannot be upgraded. An upgrade/exchange program is available for those users, it said.

Customers who have purchased a unit or upgrade since March will receive Version 4.0 at no charge. For Version 3 users, the upgrade costs $495. Those using versions earlier than Version 3.0 will need to upgrade their devices before installing Version 4, the company said.

More information is available on the Digital Alert Systems and Monroe Electronics websites.

The Advanced Warning and Response Network (AWARN) remains one of the clearest and strongest use cases for Next Generation Television. It was a key factor in the Federal Communications Commission’s approval of voluntary transmission with ATSC 3.0 [nearly one year ago]. And it’s the platform for a renewed relationship between broadcasters and the public to improve disaster resilience.

The AWARN Alliance continues to grow and evolve. Members include commercial and public broadcasters who reach 90 percent of U.S. households, the National Association of Broadcasters, the Consumer Technology Association, LG Electronics, and tech companies in the U.S., South Korea, and Japan. But many other industry players remain on the sidelines.

The Alliance works closely with our partners who are building the technical architecture for advanced alerting, including ATSC’s AEA I-Team, NAB PILOT, Pearl TV, One Media and the CTA. In this division of labor, the Alliance is answering the “what,” while our technical partners are answering the “how.” Together, we are creating the world’s most advanced alerting system.

Toward that end, AWARN is developing a user experience (UX) style guide based on social science and usability research. So far, we have conducted focus groups with alerting authorities for 26 million people in Southern California and Arizona. For our next focus group at the New York City Emergency Operations Center, TV news professionals from the network stations and WNET, one of our public media members, are invited. We hope to test usability with end-users in 2019.

The AWARN Steering Committee has been formed to help guide the Alliance, which is managed by my firm, Convergence Services, Inc. The committee quickly has become the forum for holistically examining the major issues around the launch of advanced alerting. Convening cross-industry working groups to address these issues, along with UX development, has emerged as a focus of the Alliance for next year. Major questions include:

• Where does official alerting end and station news and weather begin?
• If the most urgent alerts should be automatically passed through stations, as some broadcasters have suggested, what sort of voluntary agreements are needed between stations and alerting authorities?
• Smart industries avoid regulation by providing voluntary services; how can voluntary AWARN preclude any future perceived need to regulate ATSC 3.0 alerting?
• As pressure builds on streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu to provide local emergency messages, can ATSC 3.0 home gateways and smart TV’s provide a hybrid alerting solution?
• What are appropriate guidelines among broadcasters, receiver makers, and emergency managers for “waking-up” devices from standby mode?

The AWARN Alliance is bringing together broadcast executives, news and digital directors, emergency managers, device makers, and tech vendors for resolving these issues. We appeal to all organizations seeking success in the Next Gen TV ecosystem to become part of the solution. After all, if we can use ATSC 3.0 to send a geo-targeted, multimedia alert to any enabled consumer device under the worst possible conditions, we can use it to send anything.

As one of our members has said, “If you’re not at the table, you’re on it.”

For more information, visit our website. 

John M. Lawson is executive director of the AWARN Alliance and president of Convergence Services, Inc.

For comprehensive coverage on ATSC 3.0, visit TV Technology's ATSC3 silo.

Advanced emergency warning is on the way thanks to a 3.0 commitment from major broadcasters

Call it coincidence. Call it synchronicity. Call it whatever you want, but today three items crossed my desk that left me shaking my head.

First, Reuters’ Brian Snyder reported in “Lack of power, phones hampering rescue efforts after Hurricane Michael,” that hundreds of volunteers from Texas had headed to Florida to help locate more than 1,100 people—mostly in Panama City— who have gone missing following Hurricane Michael.

One of the leaders of the effort, however, told Reuters that spotty cell phone coverage in the aftermath of the hurricane has impeded the effort. Further, about 155,000 homes and businesses were without power, and 70 percent of customers in four rural counties in the Florida Panhandle remained without electricity as of Oct. 17. The day before, the government reported about 61 percent of cell sites in Bay County, Fla., were down, the story said.

Second, on the same day, TV Technology published my online op-ed “Hurricane Florence in A 5G World.”

In a nutshell, I made that case that in a 5G world a devastating hurricane or other disaster, restoration of wireless networks would be even harder than it is today.

I also argued that the advanced emergency warnings made possible by ATSC 3.0 and AWARN should be made available to wireless customers on their phones–whether that comes about through a deal struck by the broadcast and wireless industries or a federal mandate.

The third thing to happen on the same day was an announcement out of the NAB Show New York by major broadcast networks and station groups throwing their support behind the Next-Gen TV standard and committing to the introduction of ATSC 3.0–a significant step in a broadcast future where such decisions are voluntary.

Fox Television Stations, NBC- and Telemundo-owned stations, Univision, Pearl TV, a consortium of eight major station groups, and SpectrumCo, which includes mega-station groups Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group, among others announced a collaborative effort and support for the launch of 3.0.

A joint announcement released by these broadcasters predicted 3.0 to be broadly launched by individual stations in 2020 as Next-Gen-enabled TVs hit retail stores.

In my mind, the thread that ties these separate items together is a simple idea: enhanced emergency alerting is on the way to the American public–regardless of the resiliency or lack thereof of cell sites and wireless networks.

In the not too distant future, a group like the one from Texas looking for unaccounted-for hurricane victims will be able to work with local broadcasters leveraging their AWARN rich-media capability to push photos, descriptions of the missing and other relevant information to the public.

Wireless companies could do their part by setting up Cells on Wheels (COWS), Cells on Light Trucks (COLTS) and generators on trucks (Goats) to reestablish coverage, while friends and neighbors of the unaccounted-for could direct those who have survived to relief centers where they could find cell phones to contact loved ones.

Who knows whether or not this exact scenario is the one that makes the most sense? But what is apparent is that AWARN can play a vital role and that major broadcasters are now committed to its rollout via 3.0.

For comprehensive coverage on ATSC 3.0, visit TV Technology's ATSC3 silo.

EAS and WEA are up for discussion again at the July 12 Open Meeting of the Federal Communications Commission.

As part of its ongoing efforts to revamp the nation’s emergency alerting system, the FCC will consider two documents — a Report and Order as well as a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

The Report and Order proposes several changes, including adopting requirements for performing Live Code Tests, which are those local EAS tests that use actual EAS alert codes to train communities how to respond to actual alerts.

[Read: Missouri The Next State To Conduct A Solo EAS/WEA Test]

Within the last two months, the commission has issued several waivers of its WEA and EAS rules to both mobile providers and public safety officials who are looking to test the viability of EAS and WEA alerts in their local areas. As part of the order, the FCC plans to reiterate that these tests must explicitly state that the event is a test, not an actual emergency.

The Report and Order also proposes to adopt requirements that permit EAS participants to deliver public service announcements that use the EAS Attention Signal — that beepy, attention-grabbing, eight-second audio signal — and a simulation of the Header Code tones (which are those three audible tones that follow the attention signal).

The order also proposes to help prevent false alerts by requiring that EAS participants configure their EAS equipment to reject Common Alerting Protocol-based alerts that contain an invalid digital signature and legacy over-the-air-based alerts whose expiration time falls outside of specific time limits.

The related Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is seeking comment on several areas including:

· Whether there is a need for false alert and lockout reporting, and how such reporting could best be implemented;

· Whether the EAS rules should be revised to require state EAS plans to include procedures for preventing and correcting false alerts;

· And requesting comment on factors such as network distribution issues that might prevent delivery of WEA alerts and steps the commission should take to address inconsistent delivery.

The meeting will start at 10:30 a.m. Eastern on July 12 and will be streamed live at www.fcc.gov/live. Current drafts of all items up for discussion can be found at www.fcc.gov/openmeeting.

WASHINGTON--No missile hit Hawaii in January; but the false alert about one certainly had an impact, heightening the focus on the nation’s alerting system including Wireless Emergency Alerts

At Tuesday’s Federal Communications Commission meeting, all five commissioners including the chairman were in agreement about the need to improve wireless emergency alerting. They adopted rules specifically to improve the geographic targeting of such alerts.

The updated rules are designed to promote wider use and effectiveness of WEA, particularly for state and local authorities to convey critical messages to communities.

The commission also added to the meeting a last-minute presentation by the Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau. It provided a preliminary report from its investigation into the false alert that occurred on Jan. 13.

The FCC will now require wireless providers to deliver WEA alerts in a more geographically precise manner so that alerts reach affected communities but not those outside of an affected area.

This enhanced “geotargeting” requirement — whereby WEA alerts must be delivered no more than a one-tenth of a mile outside of the target area — will go into effect on Nov. 30, 2019. The rules also state that alert messages must remain in an easily accessible format on mobile devices for 24 hours after the alert is sent.

See also: CTIA Says Implementing WEA Geotargeting Changes Will Take Time 

“Today, the FCC took a major step forward in improving our wireless emergency alert system,” Chairman Ajit Pai said. “[Today we] made an important life-saving tool even more effective.”

Other changes to WEA include a requirement that wireless providers support Spanish-language messages and extend the length of alert messages from 90 to 360 characters. The deadline for those enhancements is May 1, 2019.

More information on the changes enacted can be found here.

This article originally appeared in Radio World.

WASHINGTON—The FCC wants to protect the men and women who serve in law enforcement and have therefore proposed the addition of a “Blue Alert” option to the nation’s Emergency Alert System. Blue Alert would be used by states to notify the public through television and radio of threats to law enforcement and to help apprehend dangerous suspects.

Situations that might be covered by these Blue Alerts include when there is actionable information related to a law enforcement officer who is missing, injured or killed in the line of duty, or when there is an imminent credible threat to an officer. The warnings would potentially warn the public of the presence of a violent suspect and provide instructions on what to do if the suspect is spotted.

The FCC issued the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Thursday and if enacted would amend the FCC’s EAS rule by creating a dedicated Blue Alert event code for state and local agencies to send out through broadcast, cable, satellite and wireline video providers.

Some states currently have similar type programs, but the goal of the FCC is to support the development of a national framework that can be adopted by all states.

The FCC said in its press release that it invites public comment on the proposal.

WASHINGTON—In a letter to the chair and ranking members of the House Communications Subcommittee, the American Cable Association raised the concern that ATSC 3.0 could potentially hurt, not help, emergency alerts. ACA President Matt Polka wrote that “the proposed transition to the new broadcast standard may well harm emergency alerting.”

TVT’s sister publication, B&C, has the full story here.

For more on this subject, visit our ATSC 3.0 silo.