Articles Posted in Emergency Alert System

Earlier today, the FCC’s Fifth Report and Order revising the Part 11 EAS Rules and codifying the obligation that EAS Participants be able to process alert messages formatted in the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) was published in the Federal Register. As a result of today’s Federal Register publication, the primary rule changes adopted by the FCC in the Order will be effective April 23, 2012.

If you recall from my previous posts on the matter found here and here, the main focus of the FCC’s Order was to specify the manner in which EAS Participants must be able to receive CAP-formatted alert messages and to clarify the FCC’s Part 11 Rules. Among other things, the FCC took the following actions in its Order:

• It required EAS Participants to be able to convert CAP-formatted EAS messages into messages that comply with the EAS Protocol requirements, following the conversion procedures described in the EAS-CAP Industry Group’s (ECIG’s) Implementation Guide;
• It required EAS Participants to monitor FEMA’s IPAWS system for federal CAP-formatted alert messages using whatever interface technology is appropriate;
• It adopted rules to generally allow EAS Participants to use “intermediary devices” to meet CAP requirements;
• It required EAS Participants to use the enhanced text in CAP messages to meet the video display requirements; and
• It adopted streamlined procedures for equipment certification that take into account standards and testing procedures adopted by FEMA.

Although the FCC’s new rules will be on the books as of next month, EAS Participants actually have until June 30, 2012 to install the equipment necessary to receive and convert CAP-formatted EAS alerts. When this deadline hits, five years or so of FCC CAP-related FCC decisions will come to a close. But don’t worry, the FCC and FEMA have already indicated that CAP is only the beginning of the digital emergency alert era and that more proceedings related to the so-called “next generation” of emergency alerting, including improving the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), will likely be coming soon. Stay tuned.

It is clear to anyone paying attention that the FCC (along with FEMA) has been working diligently to improve the Nation’s Emergency Alert System (EAS). In the last few years alone, the FCC has, among other things, initiated proceedings requiring EAS Participants to accept messages using a common EAS messaging protocol (CAP) for the next generation of EAS delivery; provided guidance regarding “live code” testing of EAS; adopted standards for wireless carriers to receive and deliver emergency alerts via mobile devices; and conducted the first ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System.

In its latest effort, the FCC issued a Report and Order earlier this week revising the FCC’s Part 11 EAS Rules to specify the manner in which EAS Participants must be able to receive CAP-formatted alert messages, and making other changes to clarify and streamline the Part 11 Rules. As I reported previously, all EAS Participants are required to be able to receive CAP-formatted EAS alerts no later than June 30, 2012.

The FCC’s latest Order focuses on the steps necessary to ensure that CAP messages can be processed in the same manner as the currently-used protocol, Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME). The FCC concludes that, for at least the time being, it should maintain the existing legacy EAS daisy chain, including using the legacy SAME protocol, because switching over to a fully CAP-centric EAS system is currently technolocigally infeasible given that most EAS Participants can receive, but are unable to pass along, messages using CAP. Thus, the FCC has a adopted a “CAP-in, SAME-out” transitional approach where EAS equipment will be required to receive and convert CAP-formatted messages into a SAME-compliant message to be sent downstream. In doing so, the FCC agreed with a majority of the commenters in the proceeding, including the National Association of Broadcasters, who argued that “there is a definite value in retaining the current ‘daisy-chain’ EAS distribution system as a proven, redundant method of delivering public alerts.” The FCC’s decision is also consistent with comments filed by a consortium of the State Broadcasters Associations, who stated that “it makes little sense for the FCC to adopt sweeping Next Generation EAS rule changes at this time when legacy EAS, as governed by the Commission’s current Part 11 Rules, is going to be around for the foreseeable future.”

While the FCC’s Order is limited in scope, it is not limited in length, coming in at 130 pages. Highlights of the Order that are of particular interest for EAS Participants include the following:

• EAS Participants will be required to use the procedures for message conversion in the EAS-CAP Industry Group’s (ECIG’s) ECIG Implementation Guide, which was adopted by FEMA on September 30, 2010. Among other things, the ECIG Guide outlines how parties can convert CAP-formatted messages into SAME-compliant messages.
• The FCC has decided that it would be unrealistic to require EAS Participants to use a specific technical standard for CAP monitoring. As a result, while EAS Participants will be required to monitor FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) system for federal CAP-formatted alert messages, they will be permitted to do so using whatever interface technology is appropriate for them as long as the equipment used is able to interface with IPAWS.
• The Order states that the FCC will allow EAS Participants to meet their obligation to receive and process CAP messages by using intermediary devices (stand-alone devices capable of decoding CAP-formatted messages) in tandem with their existing legacy EAS equipment.
• Among a series of Part 11 Rule revisions, the FCC is amending Part 11 to require EAS Participants to use the enhanced rich text data in CAP messages to create video crawl displays.
• The Order indicates that the FCC will allow parties to file for waivers of the requirement to monitor, receive, and process CAP-formatted messages. The FCC indicates that a lack of broadband Internet access will create a presumption in favor of a waiver. However, it is important to note that the FCC has limited such waivers to six months, with the option to renew if circumstances do not change.
• As part of a lengthy discussion, the Order adopts streamlined procedures for EAS equipment certification that take into account the standards and testing procedures adopted by the current FEMA IPAWS Conformity Assessment Program for CAP products. In doing so, the FCC is also incorporating conformance with the ECIG Implementation Guide into the certification process.
• The Order also streamlines rules governing the processing of Emergency Action Notifications (EAN) and eliminates several provisions of Part 11, including the Emergency Action Termination (EAT) event code and Non-Participating National (NN) status.

The FCC also agreed with a proposal advanced by the State Broadcasters Associations and others to eliminate the requirement that EAS Participants receive and transmit CAP-formatted messages initiated by state governors. The FCC agreed that the gubernatorial requirement should be eliminated because “there is near universal voluntary participation by EAS Participants in carrying state and local EAS messages … [and] having an enforceable means to guarantee such carriage seems unnecessary.”

As even the highly condensed summary above indicates, the FCC’s Order is lengthy, very technical at times, and includes many rule changes and tweaks that EAS Participants will need to learn. EAS Participants should therefore become very familiar with the Order if they are going to be able to comply with these requirements going forward. They will also need to stay tuned for further developments in this rapidly changing area. With the June 30, 2012, CAP-compliance deadline growing nearer every day, EAS will remain a lively area for the FCC in the coming months.

In what now seems like ages ago, the FCC and FEMA conducted the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System back on November 9, 2011. While the FCC and FEMA are continuing to review and analyze what went right and what went wrong during the national test, EAS Participants should not forget that their work may not be done. As we discussed immediately following the test, the FCC has mandated that EAS Participants submit the full results of their test to the FCC, either online or on paper, no later than December 27, 2011.

I reported back in October that the FCC created three separate forms for purposes of reporting a station’s test results. Stations should have completed Form 1 prior to the test, providing background information regarding the station’s facilities and equipment, and Form 2 on or as close as possible to the November 9 test date, providing information on whether or not the station received the national test alert and whether the alert was passed along.

In Form 3, the FCC has asked for more detailed information on the success or failure of the test. We were the first to point out publicly that there is a conflict in dates between the FCC’s form page on the website which indicates that the deadline is December 24, and the FCC’s National EAS Test Public Notice which indicates that the deadline is December 27. However, the FCC’s filing rules and discussions we have had with FCC staff confirm that the official deadline is December 27.

So if you have not done so already, make sure to submit the required information about the success or failure of your EAS equipment during the national test prior to next week’s deadline.

In its various incarnations — CONELRAD, the Emergency Broadcast System, the Emergency Alert System, and soon, the EAS CAP system — America’s public warning system has much in common with a vintage automobile that has been taken out of the garage only for short trips. In those short trips (mostly state and local tests and alerts), it has performed adequately, but until this week’s national test, we never had a chance to take it out on the open road and see what it could really do.

Now that the first national EAS test is behind us, we know that the system isn’t broken, but that it definitely will benefit from this breaking in process. That process, which necessarily includes extensive analysis of this week’s test, will reveal numerous ways in which the system can be tweaked for better and more reliable performance under open road conditions. The basic system appears to have run fine; the message got out to the public (though obviously better in some locations than others).

Unlike the relative simplicity of an automobile, however, the EAS system is one of the largest pieces of machinery in the world, having immense geographic scope and a staggering number of components. Getting all of those components to function smoothly together is a complex task that requires much more effort than the typical automotive tune up. Its performance grows more impressive when you remember that most of those components are independently (and privately) owned and operated, and are not supported by federal funding. The EAS system is perhaps the ultimate public-private partnership.

While it is too early to provide a detailed assessment of the areas where the functioning of the system went astray, as we indicated previously, the purpose of the test was to help FEMA, the FCC, and EAS Participants determine the reliability of the EAS system and where it needs improvement, and the test certainly accomplished that. There were a number of issues uncovered with regard to cable and satellite alerts, as well as individual radio and television stations in Oregon and a number of other locations apparently not receiving the test, excessive background audio noise in the test message, some television stations receiving video but no audio, and header codes apparently being sent twice. While the press has understandably focused on areas where problems arose, initial reports seem to indicate that the alert was heard in the vast majority of locations, and that the next area to focus on is ensuring that the content of the alert itself is clear and understandable to the public.

According to the FCC, it and FEMA will now use the results of the test “to identify gaps and generate a comprehensive set of data to help strengthen our ability to communicate during real emergencies. Based on preliminary data, media outlets in large portions of the country successfully received the test message, but it wasn’t received by some viewers or listeners. We are currently in the process of collecting and analyzing data, and will reach a conclusion when that process is complete.”

EAS Participants should remember that just because the national test is over, their work is not done. As we discussed in October, the FCC is encouraging online reporting of each Participant’s test results as soon as possible and has mandated that the information be submitted to the FCC no later than December 27, 2011 (either online or on paper).

In the meantime, that noise you hear coming from the nation’s garage will be thousands of EAS Participants, EAS equipment manufacturers, and government officials tuning and tweaking the EAS system for its next run on the open road.

FEMA has indicated that the audio of the November 9th national EAS test is being shortened from its original two and a half minute length to thirty seconds. Originally, the government had indicated the entire test would run as long as three and a half minutes, but current indications are that the shortened audio will reduce the length of the overall EAS test to 45-60 seconds.

While FEMA’s reasoning behind the change is not currently known, I note that the National Cable and Telecommunications Association filed a request with FEMA on October 21, 2011 seeking to delay the national test because many cable systems are not ready for it. The problem is that because the proposed test will use the Presidential Emergency Action Notification code, the video will state that “This is an Emergency Action Notification,” and will not give any indication that it is a test. While the audio will make clear that it is a test, those unable to hear the audio (for example, the deaf/hard of hearing or people in a bar where the TV is on but the sound is turned down) could reasonably conclude that an actual emergency is occurring.

While TV broadcasters will generally be inserting a visual crawl indicating that it is only a test, many cable systems do not have that technical capability. NCTA has therefore asked that the test be delayed while the cable industry explores how best technically to insert a visual message over the EAS test assuring viewers that it is indeed only a test.

Given the massive amount of effort that has gone into setting up and preparing for this first ever national EAS test, as well as in notifying the public that there will be a test, delaying it could generate more confusion than just proceeding with the test. It is therefore possible that FEMA’s decision to shorten the test is a pragmatic compromise between either delaying the test or scaring the daylights out of the deaf and hard of hearing community. Presumably, a shorter message is less likely to cause confusion, as it won’t seem as unusual as an emergency message that runs for over three minutes. At a minimum, it will shorten the period of panic, as those watching will see normal programming resume in less than a minute.

Whether the system can be fully tested by the shorter message is already being debated, and some confusion is now unavoidable, given that that the public and first responders have already been told to expect and plan for a test that runs well over three minutes. At the moment, FEMA is trying to get the word out about the shortened test, hoping to reduce that confusion before November 9th arrives.

UPDATE (1:25pm): The FCC has released a new EAS Handbook in light of the shortened test. The Public Notice announcing the new handbook can be found here, and the new EAS Handbook can be found here. The Public Notice indicates that this new version supersedes the version released last week and should be used for all matters related to the November 9 National EAS Test.

By: Paul A. Cicelski

As I mentioned last week, the FCC has been creating an online reporting system for EAS Participants to use to report their results in connection with the first ever nationwide EAS test, which is set to take place on November 9, 2011. In addition, the FCC has been preparing a new EAS Handbook that is designed to be used during the nationwide EAS test in place of the old Handbook. The FCC has now completed both tasks and issued a Public Notice today announcing the activation of the online reporting system and the release of the Handbook. The reporting system and the Handbook can be accessed on the FCC’s Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau’s EAS Nationwide Test Landing Page.

With respect to the reporting system, the FCC is asking that EAS Participants populate the database in advance of the test with items like station call letters, license identification numbers, geographic coordinates, EAS assignments (i.e., LP or NP status, etc.), EAS monitoring assignments, and the emergency contact representative of the EAS Participant. The FCC is also requesting that EAS Participants input immediate test results, (e.g., was the EAN received and was it passed on) on the day of the test. While the FCC is encouraging rapid online reporting of each Participant’s test results, it is mandatory that the information be submitted to the FCC within 45 days following the test (either online or on paper).

The FCC has created three separate forms which, together, request the following information:

• Form 1: Prior to November 9, please provide background information on your facilities and equipment.
• Form 2: On November 9, please provide information on whether you received the alert and whether you passed on the alert.
• Form 3: Between November 10 and December 24, please provide more detailed information on the success or failure of the test. (Please note that there is a conflict in dates between the FCC’s form page on the website which indicates that the deadline is December 24, while the FCC’s Public Notice indicates that the deadline is December 27).

According to the FCC, the new EAS Handbook “provides EAS Participants with instructions for participating in the first nationwide test of the EAS, scheduled for November 9, 2011, at 2:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. A copy of the Handbook must be located at normal duty positions or EAS equipment locations where an operator is required to be on duty and must immediately be made available to staff responsible for participating in the test.” Importantly, the FCC specifically notes that the “handbook will supersede all other EAS Handbooks only during the operation of the Nationwide EAS Test on November 9, 2011.”

Don’t forget that a great deal of additional useful information on the national test can be found at the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations’ EAS Alert website and at the National Association of Broadcasters’ EAS National Test website. Both will greatly assist EAS Participants in successfully completing the national test.