Media Contact: 
Will Wiquist
will.wiquist@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release

FCC SEEKS PARTNERS TO TEST SOLUTIONS FOR DELIVERING WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERTS DURING CELL TOWER OUTAGES 
Action is Part of a Comprehensive FCC Effort to Strengthen Emergency Alerting
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WASHINGTON, October 19, 2023—Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel today announced an initiative intended to help the public receive Wireless Emergency Alerts when cell towers are disabled during disasters. The Commission is seeking partners to test the viability of delivering Wireless Emergency Alerts through the use of complementary technologies that can help fill in wireless coverage gaps, such as satellite service.  

“During disasters, it’s critical for the public to receive Wireless Emergency Alerts but delivery is limited when cell towers are disabled or destroyed,” said Chairwoman Rosenworcel.  “The Commission is seeking partners to examine the feasibility of using complementary technologies, such as satellite service, to address this public safety gap.  This initiative is the latest in our ongoing effort to strengthen the nation’s alerting systems, working closely with our government partners.”   

The Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau today issued a Public Notice seeking to partner with any entities that have a solution for delivering Wireless Emergency Alerts to mobile devices that are not connected to functioning cell towers.  The Bureau asked interested parties to submit detailed information about their solution, including whether it would work with mobile devices currently in use by consumers, how to address any issues with delivering geographically targeted alerts, and how best testing should be conducted.  The Bureau intends to partner with as many providers as practical to test solutions that seem technically feasible and capable of implementation without introducing significant costs or burdens to consumers, such as the need to buy new devices.  The Bureau aims to begin testing in the second quarter of 2024.  

The initiative is the latest in the Commission’s ongoing effort to strengthen emergency alerting.  Earlier today, the Commission adopted rules to enhance Wireless Emergency Alerts by making them available in numerous additional languages, supporting maps that show the location of an emergency, and providing the public with easy access to information about the availability of Wireless Emergency Alerts.  Other recent Commission actions include: 

· Adopting rules to make Emergency Alert System messages clearer and easier to understand on television.  
· Entering into an unprecedented partnership with state and local governments to test Wireless Emergency Alerts on the local level, to help assess geographic accuracy. 
· Partnering with FEMA on the third nationwide test of Wireless Emergency Alerts and the seventh nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System.
· Proposing rules to establish reliability, accuracy, and speed benchmarks to improve the performance of Wireless Emergency Alerts.
Today’s Public Notice is available here: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-23-995A1.pdf.  
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This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.  See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).