Federal Communications Commission	"FCC/DA  XX-XXX"


DA 19-534
Released:  June 7, 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 June 10, 2019, as previously expected. See Advisory Regarding May 1 Deadline for Improvements to Wireless Emergency Alerts and Guidance for State/Local Alert Originators, PS Docket Nos, 15-91, 15-94, Public Notice, DA 19-358 (PSHSB Apr. 30, 2019) (providing guidance on IPAWS’ availability to support certain WEA enhancements) (April WEA Advisory).
  These improvements are described in the April WEA Advisory, and include the State/Local WEA Test category.  Accordingly, until such time as IPAWS will support and deploy the State/Local WEA Test option, Alert originators’ ability to use these capabilities depends, among other things, upon completion of any necessary upgrades to alert origination software.  Alert originators should reach out to their alert origination software providers to determine their readiness to support these enhancements.  FEMA’s IPAWS Program Management Office offers webinars on how to incorporate these WEA enhancements.  To receive information about upcoming webinars, subscribe to email notifications at https://www.fema.gov/integrated-public-alert-warning-system-program-management-office-get-involved.  Recordings of past webinars are available.  See www.fema.gov/ipaws for more information.
 alert originators may not conduct an end-to-end WEA test to the public without first obtaining a waiver of the Commission’s rules. The Commission’s rules prohibit the use of the WEA Attention Signal except during actual emergencies, authorized tests, and certain public service announcements.  47 CFR § 10.520(d).
  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.

For further information, please contact Linda M. Pintro, Attorney Advisor, Policy and Licensing Division, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, at (202) 418-7490 or linda.pintro@fcc.gov.

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