FCC to Launch Sweeping Review of EAS at August Meeting

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, July 17, 2025 | 4:44pm CT

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will consider a major overhaul of the nation's emergency alert systems at its August 7 Open Meeting, marking the most comprehensive review of U.S. alerting infrastructure in more than three decades.

The FCC plans to vote on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would re-examine both the Emergency Alert System (EAS), which sends alerts via radio & television, and the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) platform used on mobile devices. According to the Commission, the goal is to evaluate whether structural changes are needed to improve the systems' efficiency, effectiveness, and ability to serve the public in an increasingly digital and mobile communications environment.

"With underlying frameworks that are 31 [EAS] and 13 years old [WEA], we think it's time to explore if structural changes to these systems are needed, with an eye towards making sure we are leveraging the latest technology to save lives," said FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr in a blog post previewing the agenda.

The announcement comes in the wake of devastating flooding in the Texas Hill Country earlier this month, where over 120 lives were lost - including dozens of children and camp staff - in what Carr described as an "unthinkable tragedy." He emphasized the importance of modernizing alert systems in light of increasingly severe weather events and other emergencies.

Carr also previewed another item on the August agenda: reforms to the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS), the FCC's platform for collecting real-time data on communications network outages and restorations during disasters. While DIRS has been a valuable tool since its launch in 2007, Carr acknowledged that the current reporting process can be time-consuming and may hinder response efforts. The Commission will vote on reforms aimed at streamlining data collection while maintaining actionable intelligence.

These efforts are part of Carr's broader "Build America Agenda," which aims to modernize critical communications infrastructure across the U.S. Other expected FCC initiatives this summer include eliminating outdated technical mandates for broadcasters and improving resiliency standards for telecommunications providers.

Broadcasters and public safety stakeholders have long called for updates to the alerting systems, including the National Association of Broadcasters, which has advocated for software-based EAS encoders and decoders as part of modernization efforts.

If adopted, the proposed rulemaking could lay the groundwork for the most transformative changes to the emergency communications framework since EAS replaced the Emergency Broadcast System in 1997.

The Commission's August 7 meeting will follow its previously scheduled July 24 session, which is expected to focus on additional telecom-related matters.