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At the urging of virtually the entire broadcast and cable industry, as well as the communications engineering community, the FCC today granted an extension of time for broadcasters and other EAS participants to come into compliance with the new CAP reception requirements - putting off the need for compliance until September 30, 2011.  CAP (the Common Alerting Protocol) is a new format to be used for collecting and distributing emergency communications alerts to all communications platforms.  The FCC, when it adopted CAP, mandated compliance within 180 days of the publication of technical standards for the CAP-formatted alerts by FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency).  Those standards were published on September 30, 2010.  Immediately, questions arose about whether the entire communications industry could be ready to make the transition within that 180 day period (see our post here raising those questions after the FEMA adoption).

Specifically, there were questions about the ability of all the EAS participants being able to budget for the purchase of the equipment and to make those purchases and to then install the new equipment within the specified period.   But more fundamentally, there were questions of whether there was even equipment ready to be deployed, as there was an issue as to whether FEMA and the FCC had to first certify CAP-enabled equipment, before it could be sold.  Those questions remain unresolved.  In today's order, the FCC, while stating that it does not anticipate a further extension of the deadline, does state that it will initiate a rulemaking to determine if CAP equipment must be certified under Part 11 of the Commission's rules.  As part of that rulemaking, the Commission will seek comment on whether this extension is sufficient to give all EAS participants time to make the change.  As the FCC repeatedly states that it does not intend any further extensions of the deadline, don't count on more delays.  But watch this proceeding as, while the Commission states that they intend to complete the process before the new deadline, unanticipated delays could conceivably further extend the mandatory adoption date. 

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This afternoon, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) adopted the new digital message format for the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) standard.  The adoption of this message format is the next step in the implementation of Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), which expands the traditional Emergency Alert System used by radio and television to other communications devices, such as mobile phones and personal computers.  In the words of the FEMA news release issued today:  "This open standard will enable alert messages to be easily composed by emergency management officials for communication with citizens using a much broader set of devices to reach as many people as possible."

More importantly for broadcasters, the adoption of this digital message format triggers the clock for updating their EAS equipment to ensure that it is able to handle the new Common Alerting Protocol.  As we wrote about earlier, as part of an EAS Order adopted by the FCC back in 2007, the Commission mandated that all EAS participants -- which includes radio, television, and cable -- must accept CAP-based EAS alerts within 180 days after the date on which FEMA publishes the applicable technical standards for CAP.  Thus, with FEMA's adoption of the CAP messaging standard today it would appear that the 180-day clock has been triggered and the countdown for broadcast stations to acquire CAPS-compliant EAS equipment has begun.  I say "it would appear" because it is a bit unclear whether the 180-day clock is triggered instantaneously by the release of FEMA's notice.  Trade press this evening is reporting that the FCC has confirmed that the clock has indeed been triggered and is counting down, but no official notice has been released yet by the FCC.  Readers will recall that that the Commission is still in the midst of a proceeding to adopt revisions to its EAS rules to facilitate the CAP standard.  In addition, several parties commenting in the EAS proceeding requested an extension or tolling of the 180-day clock in order to allow broadcast stations more time to acquire the necessary equipment and to allow equipment manufacturers more lead time to meet the demand for new equipment brought about by the rule changes.  In comments today at the NAB/RAB Radio Show today, FCC staff members acknowledged that several requests for extension of time had been made and were being considered along with the comments filed in the proceeding.  We will update this post with further information if and when the FCC releases a Public Notice regarding the 180-day clock, but in the meantime broadcasters should operate under the premise that the 180-day clock is now ticking and start making plans to ensure that they have CAP-compliant EAS equipment in place within 180 days from today. 

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The FCC has proposed amending its rules governing the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in order to test and improve the effectiveness of the system.  In particular, the Commission has proposed that all EAS participants be required to join in a nationwide test -- to be scheduled by the FCC in consultation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) -- to ensure that the system will function properly to inform the public in the event of a national crisis.  The FCC proposes to implement the national test on a yearly basis and seeks comment on the specific language of the proposed rule.  A copy of the Commission's Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) was recently published in the Federal Register establishing the deadline for Comments on the proposed rules as March 1, 2010, with Reply Comments due on or before March 30, 2010.

In issuing its NPRM, available here, the Commission acknowledged the shortcomings of the current rules and its belief that a national test -- and the data gathered from such a test -- is critical to ensuring consistency and reliability in a system that has actually never been used to deliver a national Presidential alert.  Under the current system, an EAS message is initiated, which is then passed via specially encoded messages to a broadcast-based transmission network, and then on to broadcast stations, cable operators, and other EAS participants in a daisy-chain distribution to the final end users, i.e., the public who is listening, watching, or reading, on radio, television, cable, or other services.  This daisy-chain structure leaves the system, in the Commission's estimation, vulnerable to a significant failure if the message distribution is severed or delayed at any one point.  By proposing an annual national test, the Commission seeks to test the system in an organized, controlled manner, gather data from the EAS participants, and apply what is learned.  Under the Commission's proposed rule, the annual test would replace one of the required monthly tests and participants would have at least two months advance notice of the nationwide test.  EAS participants would be required to log the test results of the test and provide information on the results to the Commission's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau within 30 days of the test.  The Commission seeks input on the proposed rule, including whether once a year is sufficient, and what the costs would be attendant to the testing and reporting.

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