PUBLIC NOTICE
Federal Communications Commission
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St., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554
News Media Information 202 / 418-0500
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DA 14-552
Released:  April 24, 2014        
PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU EXTENDS COMMENT PERIOD 
FOR PUBLIC NOTICE SEEKING TO REFRESH THE RECORD IN EB DOCKET NO. 04-296, 
ON PETITION FILED BY THE MINORITY MEDIA AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
COUNCIL PROPOSING CHANGES TO EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM (EAS) RULES TO 
SUPPORT MULTILINGUAL EAS AND EMERGENCY INFORMATION
EB Docket No. 04-296
Comment Date:   May 28, 2014
Reply Comment Date: June 12, 2014
By this Public Notice, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) of the Federal 
Communications Commission (Commission) extends the comment filing deadlines for the Multilingual 
EAS Notice in the above-captioned proceeding to allow parties to address more thoroughly the technical 
and other issues raised in that notice and in the record.
1
  Interested parties now will have until May 28, 
2014, to file comments, and until June 12, 2014, to file reply comments.
2
  On March 11, 2014, the Bureau 
released the Multilingual EAS Notice seeking comment to refresh the record on issues raised in a Petition 
for Immediate Interim Relief (Petition) filed by the Independent Spanish Broadcasters Association, the 
Office of Communications of the United Church of Christ, Inc., and the Minority Media and 
Telecommunications Council (hereinafter collectively or individually referred to as “MMTC”), regarding 
the ability of non-English speakers to access EAS alerts and emergency information.
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1
See Comment Requested to Refresh the Record in EB Docket No. 04-296, On Petition Filed by the Minority Media 
and Telecommunications Council Proposing Changes to Emergency Alert System (EAS) Rules to Support 
Multilingual EAS and Emergency Information, EB Docket No. 04-296, Public Notice, DA 14-336 (rel. March 11, 
2014) (Multilingual EAS Notice).
2
The Multilingual EAS Notice set forth comment and reply-comment dates of 30 and 45 days, respectively, after 
date of publication in the Federal Register.  Id.  The Multilingual EAS Notice was published in the Federal Register 
on March 28, 2014, thus, comments and reply comments were originally due on April 28, 2014, and May 12, 2014, 
respectively.  See Comment Requested To Refresh the Record in EB Docket No. 04–296, on Petition Filed By the 
Minority Media and Telecommunications Council Proposing Changes to Emergency Alert System Rules To Support 
Multilingual Alerting and Emergency Information, 79 Fed. Reg. 17490 (Mar. 28, 2014).
3
See Petition for Immediate Relief filed by the Independent Spanish Broadcasters Association, the Office of 
Communications of the United Church of Christ, Inc., and the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, 
EB Docket 04-296 (filed September 22, 2005) (“Petition”).  The Bureau took this action to refresh the record in this 
docketed proceeding pursuant to its delegated authority under Section 0.392 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. § 
0.392.
Federal Communications Commission DA 14-552   
2
On April 17, 2014, MMTC filed a request to extend the deadline for filing comments by one 
month.
4
  The MMTC Request contends that "[a]s the moving party requesting that the Commission 
incorporate multilingual EAS and emergency information, we have a significant interest in this 
proceeding," but that "the current period is insufficient for MMTC to provide meaningful comments to 
each of the complex questions raised."
5
  The MMTC Request further contends that "[a] one-month 
extension of the comment period would provide MMTC with a meaningful opportunity to speak with 
stakeholders to respond to the Commission’s questions and assist the Commission in developing a full 
record."
6
     
It is the general policy of the Commission that extensions of time shall not be routinely granted.
7
  
However, as the request was made by the party that filed the original petition, and to ensure that the 
record is as complete as possible, the Bureau agrees that a 30-day extension of time to file comments, and 
an additional 15 days thereafter to file reply comments, applicable to all parties, is warranted to ensure 
that the Commission obtains a complete and thorough record in response to the Multilingual EAS Notice.  
As we noted in the Multilingual EAS Notice, several years have passed since the Commission last sought 
comment on the issues raised in MMTC’s Petition, during which interim, developments have evolved, 
such as the deployment of the Common Alerting Protocol-capable alert distribution systems at both the 
federal and state levels, along with revised EAS rules that incorporate these capabilities into the EAS.
8
  In 
addition, as the Bureau noted in the Multilingual EAS Notice, MMTC has updated and elaborated on its 
proposal primarily in response to the changes in the alerting environment.
9
The Multilingual EAS Notice
specifically sought comment on how these developments might impact the issues raised in MMTC’s 
original Petition as well as the issue of multilingual EAS in general.
10
  Accordingly, a 30-day extension of 
time to file comments is warranted to enable interested parties sufficient opportunity to more fully 
respond to the issues discussed in the Multilingual EAS Notice.  Because the reply comment deadline for 
this proceeding was set to 15 days from the comment filing deadline, it also must be extended by 15 days 
from the new comment deadline.  
Accordingly, pursuant to Section 4(i) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended,
11
and 
Section 1.46 of the Commission's rules,
12
the Bureau extends the deadlines for filing comments and reply 
comments until May 28, 2014, and June 12, 2014, respectively.
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4
See Letter from David Honig to David G. Simpson, Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, FCC, EB 
Docket 04-296 (filed April 17, 2014) (MMTC Request).
5
Id.
6
Id.
7
See 47 C.F.R. § 1.46(a).
8
See Multilingual EAS Notice at 1-2, 6-9.  
9
Id. at 2.
10
See id. at 5-6.  
11
47 U.S.C. § 154(i).
12
47 C.F.R. § 1.46.
13
This action is taken under delegated authority pursuant to Sections 0.191 and 0.392 of the Commission’s rules, 47 
C.F.R. §§ 0.191, 0.392.
Federal Communications Commission DA 14-552   
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For further information, please contact Gregory Cooke of the Public Safety and Homeland 
Security Bureau, Policy and Licensing Division, at (202) 418-2351 or gregory.cooke@fcc.gov. 
Action by the Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.  
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