Federal Communications Commission	"FCC/DA  XX-XXX"


DA 19-1273
Released:  December 13, 2019

PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU ANNOUNCES DELAY IN AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS TO WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERTS 

PS Docket Nos. 15-91, 15-94

The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which administers the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) through which all Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) are authenticated, validated, and delivered to participating Commercial Mobile Service Providers, has informed the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) that IPAWS will not be ready to support certain improvements to WEA as of December 13, 2019, as previously expected. See New Enhancements to Wireless Emergency Alerts will be Available on December 13, 2019, PS Docket Nos, 15-91, 15-94, Public Notice, DA 19-1208 (PSHSB Nov. 25, 2019) (providing guidance on IPAWS’ availability to support certain WEA enhancements) (December WEA Advisory).
  These improvements are described in the December WEA Advisory, and include the State/Local WEA Test category.  
The Bureau will issue a Public Notice announcing when IPAWS is available to fully support these WEA enhancements and providing further guidance on their use.  The waiver granted to carriers to support these WEA enhancements is extended until the Bureau issues this forthcoming announcement.  For further information, please contact James Wiley, Attorney Advisor, Policy and Licensing Division, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, at (202) 418-1678 or james.wiley@fcc.gov.

- FCC -
Non-Public – For Internal FCC Use Only – PSHSB Draft 05/30/19
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