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DA 18-880
Released: August 24, 2018
PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU REMINDS 
EAS PARTICIPANTS OF UPCOMING DATES AND DEADLINES RELATED TO 
THE 2018 NATIONWIDE EAS TEST 
PS Docket No. 15-94
	The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) reminds all Participating Commercial Mobile Service (CMS) Providers, Participating CMS Providers are commercial mobile service providers that have elected voluntarily to transmit WEA alert messages.  47 CFR § 10.10(d), (f).
 all Emergency Alert System (EAS) Participants, EAS Participants are those entities that are required to comply with the Commission’s EAS rules, including analog radio and television stations, wired and wireless cable television systems, digital broadcast systems, digital television broadcast stations, Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service, digital cable and digital audio broadcasting systems, and wireline video systems.  47 CFR § 11.2(d).
 and the public that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the FCC, will conduct a nationwide combined test of the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) and EAS on September 20, 2018, with a back-up date of October 3, 2018. Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Announces Nationwide Test of the Wireless Emergency Alert and Emergency Alert Systems on September 20, 2018, Public Notice, PS Docket No. 15-94, DA 18-754 (PSHSB July 20, 2018) (Test Announcement Public Notice).  In the event that FEMA, in consultation with the National Weather Service, identifies severe weather conditions in some parts of the nation that may require activation of the EAS, the test will be rescheduled for the back-up date.
  The Bureau also reminds all EAS Participants that they must register with the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) and file their 2018 Form One on or before August 27, 2018. 47 CFR § 11.61(a)(3)(iv)(A).  EAS Participants have until September 26, 2018, to update information or correct any errors in their initial Form One filings.  Test Announcement Public Notice at 2, n.8.
  EAS Participants shall file ETRS Form Two at or before 11:59 p.m. EDT on September 20, 2018, EAS Participants are required to file “day of test” data within 24 hours of any nationwide EAS test or as otherwise required by the Bureau.  47 CFR § 11.61(a)(3)(iv)(B).
 and shall file ETRS Form Three on or before November 5, 2018. EAS Participants are required to file detailed post-test data within 45 days following a nationwide EAS test. 47 CFR § 11.61(a)(3)(iv)(C).
  Additional information, including instructional videos and answers to frequently asked questions about entering data into the ETRS forms, can be found at https://www.fcc.gov/general/eas-test-reporting-system. 
At 2:18 p.m. EDT, FEMA will send a WEA test message to WEA-capable wireless devices throughout the entire United States and territories.  All wireless providers that have elected to participate in WEA are required to participate in this nationwide test. FEMA indicates that the test will use the Presidential Alert classification.  See Letter from Alfred Kenyon, Chief, Customer Support Branch, IPAWS Program Office, National Continuity Programs Department of Homeland Security - FEMA, to Marlene H. Dortch, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission at 1 (filed July 10, 2018) (on file in PS Docket No. 15-91 et al.).  Participating CMS Providers are required to receive and transmit any WEA messages using the Presidential Alert classification.  See 47 CFR § 10.400.
  The WEA test message will state: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System.  No action is needed.”  
Immediately following the WEA nationwide end-to-end test, at 2:20 p.m. EDT, FEMA will conduct a live test of the EAS.  All EAS Participants are required to participate in this nationwide test. 47 CFR § 11.61(a)(3)(i).
  The following EAS message will be disseminated via the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS):
THIS IS A TEST of the National Emergency Alert System.  This system was developed by broadcast and cable operators in voluntary cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, and local authorities to keep you informed in the event of an emergency.  If this had been an actual emergency an official message would have followed the tone alert you heard at the start of this message.  A similar wireless emergency alert test message has been sent to all cell phones in the nation.  Some cell phones will receive the message.  Others will not.  No action is required. Id.

The EAS alert will be transmitted in English and Spanish and include both audio and the text of the test message, which can be used to populate an accessible video crawl.  
EAS Participants are reminded that EAS alerts are required to be accessible to the entire public, including people with disabilities. 47 CFR § 11.51(d).
  The visual message portion of an EAS alert, whether video crawl or block text, must be displayed: (1) at the top of the television screen or where it will not interfere with other visual messages; (2) in a manner (i.e., font size, color, contrast, location, and speed) that is readily readable and understandable, (3) in a manner that does not contain overlapping lines of EAS text or extend beyond the viewable display (except for video crawls that intentionally scroll on and off of the screen); and (4) in full at least once during any EAS message. 47 CFR § 11.51(d)(1).
  EAS Participants are also reminded that the audio portion of an EAS message must play in full at least once during any EAS message. 47 CFR § 11.51(d)(2).
  Each EAS Participant, whether broadcaster, cable provider or other, needs to ensure that its equipment – whether EAS equipment, character generator, or other – is prepared to deliver the alert in a manner consistent with these Commission rules.
WEA alerts are also required to be accessible to the entire public, including people with disabilities. See 47 CFR §§ 10.520, 10.530.
  WEA alerts must be accompanied by a common vibration cadence and a common audio attention signal on any WEA-capable device. Id.
  

For further information regarding the nationwide EAS test, contact Austin Randazzo, Attorney Advisor, Policy and Licensing Division, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, at (202) 418-1462 or austin.randazzo@fcc.gov, or Gregory Cooke, Deputy Chief, Policy and Licensing Division, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, at (202) 418-2351 or gregory.cooke@fcc.gov. 
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