Home Login RADIO ONLINE RSS Facebook
Advertisement

FCC Proposes to Further Strenghten Emergency Alerting


Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission has proposed rules to improve the way the public receives emergency alerts on their radios, mobile phones and televisions. The move comes as a false emergency alert was issued in Hawaii back in 2018 that mistakenly warned of an incoming ballistic missile and highlighted the need to improve these systems.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 subsequently charged the Commission with adopting rules to strengthen emergency alerting in various areas. Under this directive, the agency adopted a Notice Proposed Rulemaking to ensure that more people receive relevant emergency alerts, enable government agencies to report false alerts when they occur and improve the way states plan for emergency alerts.

Specifically, the Commission proposed to:

  • Combine the current "Presidential Alerts" category, which is non-optional on devices that receive Wireless Emergency Alerts, with alerts from the FEMA Administrator. The new non-optional alert class would be called "National Alerts."

  • Encourage all states to form State Emergency Communications Committees, which help administer alerting on the state level, or to review the composition and governance of existing committees, as well as require these committees to certify that they held a meeting in the past year.

  • Provide a checklist of information that should be included in annual submissions of state Emergency Alert System plans and amend the process for Commission review of those plans.

  • Specify that government agencies may report false emergency alerts to the FCC's 24/7 Operations Center.

  • Require and ensure that Emergency Alert System participants can repeat certain alerts over television and radio when the government alert originator requests it.

Also under the new legislation, the Commission adopted a Notice of Inquiry to explore the technical feasibility delivering Emergency Alert System alerts through the Internet, including streaming services and whether it is feasible for Emergency Alert System participants to leverage the Internet to offer advanced alerting capabilities to the public.

Advertisement

Latest Radio Stories

Eric White Named PD for Charlotte, Raleigh Rock Outlets
Eric White
Eric White
iHeartMedia has appointed Eric "E" White as Program Director for three of its Rock outlets in North Carolina: Alternative WEND (106.5 The End) and Classic Rock WRFX (99.7 The Fox) in Charlotte, and Classic Rock WRDU (106.1) in Raleigh. White steps into the role following the departure of Chris Crowley More

Civic Media Expands into Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Civic Media
Civic Media
Civic Media has announced a major expansion into Michigan's Upper Peninsula through an asset purchase agreement filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to acquire five radio stations from J&J Broadcasting, based in Iron River, WI. The acquisition will be completed More

WLS-AM Partners with FOX News Audio to Expand Programming
WLS-AM in Chicago
WLS-AM in Chicago
News/Talk 890 WLS-AM has announced a new partnership with FOX News Audio to bring a range of national news and talk content to Chicago radio audiences. The collaboration launched today and includes the addition of The Guy Benson Show, airing live weekdays from 2-5pm, along with hourly More
Advertisement

Veteran Radio Host Dave Randall to Retire After 40 Years
Dave Randall
Dave Randall
After more than 40 years behind the microphone, beloved Southern California radio personality Dave Randall has announced his retirement. Randall, currently heard weekdays on 95.1 KBBY and 103.3 KRUZ in Ventura, will sign off for the final time at the end of July, concluding a storied broadcast career that More

WZGV Charlotte Rebrands as InsideTheGame.bet
WZGV-AM in Charlotte
WZGV-AM in Charlotte
WZGV-AM, formerly known as "ESPN Charlotte 730 The Game," has officially rebranded as "InsideTheGame.bet," becoming the first station in the Charlotte market dedicated to sports betting content. The station's new identity launches in partnership with VSiN, The Sports Betting More

Ray Hopkins Elected to Board of Broadcasters Foundation
Ray Hopkins
Ray Hopkins
The Broadcasters Foundation of America has announced the election of Ray Hopkins, President of Paramount U.S. Distribution, to its Board of Directors. With more than three decades of experience in the media industry, Hopkins brings extensive leadership and distribution expertise to the Foundation's mission More

Return to Menu

Advertisement

Subscribe to our Newsletter
Radio news and headlines delivered right to your e-mail box -- and it's free.

Advertisement

Advertisement