80 FR 37167 - Review of the Emergency Alert System
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 125 (June 30, 2015)
Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 125 (June 30, 2015)
| Page Range | 37167-37177 | |
| FR Document | 2015-15805 |
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 125 (Tuesday, June 30, 2015)] [Rules and Regulations] [Pages 37167-37177] From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org] [FR Doc No: 2015-15805] [[Page 37167]] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 47 CFR Part 11 [EB Docket No. 04-296; FCC 15-60] Review of the Emergency Alert System AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION: Final rule. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) revises its rules governing the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to: Establish a national location code for EAS alerts issued by the President; amend the Commission's rules governing a national EAS test code for future nationwide tests; require broadcasters, cable service providers, and other entities required to comply with the Commission's EAS rules (EAS Participants) to file test result data electronically; and require EAS Participants to meet minimal standards to ensure that EAS alerts are accessible to all members of the public, including those with disabilities. DATES: Effective July 30, 2015, except for Sec. 11.21(a), and Sec. 11.61(a)(3)(iv) which contain information collection requirements that have not been approved by OMB. The Federal Communications Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Fowlkes, Deputy Bureau Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, at (202) 418-7452, or by email at [email protected]. For additional information concerning the Paperwork Reduction Act information collection requirements contained in this document, contact Nicole On'gele at (202) 418-2991 or send an email to [email protected]. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Sixth Report and Order in EB Docket No. 04-296, FCC 15-60, adopted on June 1, 2015 and released on June 3, 2015. The full text of this document is available for inspection and copying during normal business hours in the FCC Reference Center (Room CY-A257), 445 12th Street SW., Washington, DC 20554. The complete text of this document also may be purchased from the Commission's copy contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc., 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554. The full text may also be downloaded at: www.fcc.gov. I. Synopsis 1. Use of a National Location Code 1. In the EAS Operational Issues NPRM,\1\ we proposed that EAS Participants must be capable of receiving and processing a national location code, and that ``six zeroes'' be designated as that code. We explained that adoption of a ``six zeroes'' location code would bring additional consistency to the EAS alert distribution hierarchy, and, along with our requirement that header codes not be ``amended, extended or abridged,'' could enable more precise geo-targeting of EAS alerts. We also explained that adoption of ``six zeroes'' as the national location code could have the additional long-term benefit of ensuring the desired harmony between our EAS rules and industry CAP standards, which, in turn, will facilitate the integration of the EAS into IP- based alerting systems such as IPAWS. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ Review of the Emergency Alert System. 79 FR 41159 (July 15, 2014). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Commenters unanimously supported our adoption of the ``six zeroes'' national location code. For the reasons set forth herein, we agree and accordingly adopt ``six zeroes'' as the national location code for any future nationwide EAS test, as well as for any future nationwide EAS alerts. The rule we adopt today requires that EAS Participants' EAS encoder/decoder equipment be capable of processing ``000000'' in the location code field as a header code indicating that the alert is relevant to the entire United States. 3. Implementation of ``six zeroes'' as the national location code will present negligible costs to EAS Participants because most EAS equipment deployed in the field already supports the ``six zeroes'' national location code or would require only a software update to provide such support. For example, NCTA asserts that cable providers may have to engage in firmware updates and testing to verify that the new code functions within their systems. For this reason, NCTA asserts that adopting ``six zeroes'' as the national location code will present cable service provider EAS Participants with approximately $1.1 million in aggregated capital and operational costs for the entire cable industry. Similarly, in the EAS Operational Issues NPRM, we estimated that costs confronting broadcasters also would approach $1.1 million, for an aggregate cost of $2.2 million for the implementation of ``six zeroes'' as the national location code. No commenter challenges our estimated costs for either cable providers or broadcasters. Moreover, commenters agree this cost is justified by the benefits. 4. Use of ``six zeroes'' as the national location code promises to improve the efficacy of the EAS. Adoption of ``six zeroes'' as the national location code has the long-term benefit of ensuring consistency between the EAS rules and industry CAP standards, which already recognize ``six zeroes'' as the national location code. This, in turn, will facilitate the integration of the EAS into the IP-based IPAWS. We note that use of a ``six zeroes'' location code is also consistent with our requirement that EAS header codes not be ``amended, extended, or abridged.'' We have observed that using a single locality's location code for a national alert can cause confusion. We also recognize that to issue an alert for the entire United States without recourse to a national location code would require two separate alerts because the EAS alert headers can only hold thirty-one distinct location codes. Thus, we agree with Trilithic that the use of a single national location code simplifies our national alerting infrastructure. Finally, Monroe opines that ``use of a national location code would provide improved geo-targeting of an EAN should the President wish to address a particular part of the country rather than the nation as a whole.'' In light of these benefits, we find that adoption of a ``six zeroes'' national location code serves the public interest in promoting the effective use of the EAS. 2. National Periodic Test Code (NPT) 5. In the EAS Operational Issues NPRM, we proposed to amend our rules to allow use of the NPT for future EAS testing as a less burdensome and potentially less confusing alternative to the EAN. We also recognized that the NPT could be tailored in different ways, with different costs and benefits, and sought further comment on what operational requirements the Commission should require for the NPT to facilitate effective and minimally burdensome testing. Specifically, we sought to develop a more robust record on whether the NPT should: (a) Have the same two-minute maximum duration and limited priority as all other non-EAN EAS event codes; or (b) fully emulate the EAN in its mandatory priority and indefinite length. We stated that our intent was to provide FEMA with maximum flexibility to test the EAS in the most appropriate manner, while also articulating a clear and feasible standard for EAS Participants and other stakeholders. In this regard, we noted that, unlike an EAN-emulating NPT, an NPT that shares the priority [[Page 37168]] and two-minute limit of other alert event codes would accommodate FEMA's stated desire to perform a national EAS test in the near future, and would do so at a dramatically lower cost than an EAN-emulating NPT. We sought comment, in the alternative, on how the cost of conducting another EAN-based nationwide test, including any outreach specifically tied to use of the EAN, would compare with the costs of conducting a test with an NPT that fully emulates the EAN. We also noted that an NPT with limited duration and priority would have all of the benefits of full-EAN emulation, except that it would not test the reset function triggered by an alert lasting longer than two minutes. Finally, the Commission sought comment on whether the reset functionality triggered by an alert lasting longer than two minutes was testable in a test bed. 6. Commenters unanimously agree that the NPT--not the EAN, and not an NPT that is reprogrammed to fully emulate the EAN--should be the national test event code. Accordingly, and for reasons discussed in further detail below, we adopt the NPT as the test event code for the purpose of nationwide EAS testing, and further require that the NPT as used in such tests be limited in duration to two minutes or less, and have normal priority. In order to comply with FEMA's stated intent that the NPT be disseminated with the ``same immediacy as the EAN,'' we further require that the NPT be retransmitted immediately upon receipt. We also reiterate that any national or occasional ``special'' EAS tests referred to in the part 11 rules that use the NPT will replace the required monthly test (RMT) of the EAS for any month in which such an NPT-based test is scheduled. 7. The record indicates that the cost of upgrading EAS equipment to allow the NPT to function in the manner we adopt today will not be significant. The NPT is already present in Section 11.31 of the EAS rules as a required event code and, as such, has already been programmed into most EAS equipment. According to EAS equipment manufacturers, ``the NPT code is already recognized by virtually all existing EAS devices or can be easily enabled by EAS [P]articipants through simple reconfigurations of the code filters on their encoder devices.'' The costs that EAS Participants must incur as a result of our requirements are limited to those incurred by the relatively small number of EAS Participants who will have to manually change the settings of their EAS equipment to automatically respond to the NPT. Any additional regulatory costs that are imposed by this requirement will be further offset by the reduction in regulatory burdens that will result from broadcast, cable and satellite EAS Participants not having to explain to the public through video replacement slides and other outreach efforts that the alert displayed on the screen is not an actual alert. 8. We contrast the minimal costs imposed by the NPT functionality we require today with those that EAS Participants would incur were the NPT to fully emulate the EAN. Commenters argue that full-EAN emulation would require three years to implement, and would cost at least $3.3 million more than implementing an NPT with standard duration and priority. During that time, firmware in EAS equipment would need to be modified such that an NPT would take priority over all other alerts and to avoid triggering the reset functionality that automatically ends an alert after two minutes. The standards and other proprietary protocols governing the operation of downstream equipment also would need to be updated. That equipment would then need to be upgraded, tested, and deployed in order to achieve operational readiness for an EAS test with an EAN-emulating NPT. We also note that an NPT with maximum priority would supersede any live alert that may be delivered in an area of the country subject to the test. We believe that this would be inconsistent with the life-saving purpose of the EAS. For these reasons, we decline to adopt an NPT that fully emulates the EAN. 9. We agree with commenters' assertions that an NPT that shares the priority and two minute time limit of all other event codes will still advance the most important goal of this proceeding, namely, to ready the national alerting infrastructure for a test that FEMA intends to conduct in the near future. Further, we agree with commenters that an NPT with the characteristics we require today will ``sufficiently test the reliability of the EAS dissemination ecosystem, providing adequate data for the Commission and FEMA to fully assess the hierarchy and dissemination of EAS alerts throughout the EAS system, via both legacy and CAP-enabled EAS devices.'' We also agree with commenters that the approach we take today has the benefit of being ``clearly marked as a test, preventing any public confusion.'' As noted earlier, the use of the EAN in conjunction with the first nationwide test necessitated extensive outreach to ensure that the public understood that the event was only a test; none of this outreach would be required with the use of the NPT. Finally, as commenters suggest, we note that it may be possible for FEMA to test EAS equipment's ability to successfully process the priority and duration elements of an EAN in a test bed, thus ensuring that all elements of the system are tested. B. Electronic Test Reporting System 10. As the Bureau reported in the EAS Nationwide Test Report, of the EAS Participants who submitted test result data, the vast majority chose to use the voluntary, temporary, electronic filing system employed for the first nationwide EAS test, rather than to submit paper filings. The data available from the electronic reporting system allowed the Commission to generate reports on EAS Participants' monitoring assignments at all points throughout the EAS' national distribution architecture that would not have been feasible with paper filings alone. As a result of the positive response to this temporary electronic filing system and the enhanced analytics it enabled, the EAS Nationwide Test Report recommended that the Commission develop a permanent electronic reporting system based on the system used during the first nationwide EAS test to provide a similarly efficient mechanism to expedite the filing of test result data by EAS Participants. Subsequently, at its March 20, 2014 meeting, the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) also recommended that the Commission develop a federal government database to contain EAS Participants' monitoring assignments. 11. In the EAS Operational Issues NPRM, we proposed an improved electronic filing system and related database, the ETRS, based on the system the Commission used for the first nationwide EAS test. Use of this new system would be mandatory for EAS Participants, and the system would offer improvements over the prior version of the system designed to further expedite filing and minimize burdens on EAS Participants. As proposed, the ETRS would follow the structure of the system used in 2011, and be composed of three forms. Form One would ask each EAS Participant for identifying and background information, including EAS designation, EAS monitoring assignments, facility location, equipment type, contact information, and other relevant data. Form Two would ask each EAS Participant whether it received the Nationwide EAS Test alert code and, if required to do so, whether the EAS Participant propagated the alert code downstream. Form Three would ask each EAS Participant to [[Page 37169]] submit detailed information regarding its receipt and propagation, if applicable, of the alert code, including an explanation of any complications in receiving or propagating the code. 12. We also proposed certain improved processing procedures for the ETRS based on lessons learned from the first nationwide EAS test. In particular, we proposed that EAS Participants: (1) Would have the capability to review filings prior to final submission and to retrieve previous filings to correct errors; (2) would not be required to input data into the ETRS that EAS Participants have previously provided to the Commission elsewhere; and (3) would receive a filing receipt upon successful completion of the required report. We further proposed to revise our rules to integrate the identifying information provided by Form One of the new ETRS into the State EAS Plans filed pursuant to Section 11.21 of the Commission's EAS rules, and to consolidate those State EAS Plans into an EAS Mapbook. Finally, we proposed that EAS Participants submit Form One, the self-identifying portion of the ETRS, within one year of the effective date of the reporting rules, and to update the information that EAS Participants are required to supply in Form One on a yearly basis, and as required by any updates or waivers to State EAS Plans. 13. Commenters unanimously support the Commission's ETRS proposal because it eases the data-entry burden on EAS Participants and facilitates effective analysis of the EAS infrastructure. We agree, and therefore adopt a revised version of the ETRS, as described below. Although the ETRS we adopt today largely resembles the 2011 version, it also contains certain improvements supported by commenters. For example, in order to minimize EAS Participants' filing burden, the ETRS database will be pre-populated with the types of identifying information (e.g., broadcaster call letters and geographic location of transmitters) that EAS providers have provided in the Universal Licensing System and related FCC databases. We find that pre-populating the ETRS in this manner is technically feasible and will encourage timely filings by streamlining the process and reducing burdens on filers significantly. We thus require that the ETRS have this functionality. Further, we agree that EAS Participants should be able to review their filings prior to final submission, to retrieve previous filings to correct errors for thirty days after submission, and to provide filers with a filing receipt verifying submission of a completed report. We also agree that the integration of ETRS data into the EAS Mapbook will ``ease the data-entry burden on EAS Participants and make the best use of the Commission's time and resources,'' and that the advent of ETRS gives the Commission the tool it needs to create the data tables necessary to complete it. The EAS Mapbook will also allow the Commission to maintain a centralized database containing all EAS monitoring assignments and alert distribution pathways, enabling new analyses of alert distribution at the national, state, and local levels. Accordingly, we require that the ETRS have the capability to create maps that indicate the propagation of an EAN throughout the EAS architecture. Finally, subsequent to any nationwide EAS test, we require EAS Participants to submit detailed information regarding their receipt and propagation, if applicable, of the alert code, including an explanation of any complications in receiving or propagating the code. 14. In order to address commenters' concerns expressed in the record, we adopt the following additional requirements for the ETRS:The ETRS will require a filer to identify itself as a radio broadcaster, television broadcaster, cable system, wireless cable system, Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS), Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS), wireline video system, or ``other,'' instead of the previous options (limited to ``broadcaster'' or ``cable operator''). The ETRS will reflect that the Physical System ID (PSID) is not necessarily equivalent to the geographic area in which an EAS Participant delivers emergency alerts. In addition to a PSID field, the system will include a new field called ``Geographic Zone'' so that EAS Participants can provide more granular information, if appropriate. For example, when the applicable PSID includes multiple geographic areas that span across counties or states, one ETRS filing for a PSID containing multiple ``Geographic Zones'' will be accepted. The ETRS will permit EAS Participants to supply latitude and longitude information as separate fields, using the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). The ETRS will require filers to supply contact information related to the individual who completes the form. The ETRS will allow for batch filing to facilitate more efficient reporting, consistent with the record on this issue. EAS Participants will be required to attest to the truthfulness of their filings in the ETRS, and are reminded that they are responsible for the accuracy of the information they file with the Commission, including any pre-populated data. 15. We find that the ETRS will minimize filing burdens on EAS Participants. In comparison to equivalent paper filings, the costs associated with requiring EAS Participants to file test result data in ETRS will be minimal, and the database improvements we adopt today are aimed at streamlining the filing process and reducing these costs even further. Most of the information that we propose EAS Participants submit to the ETRS has already been populated in other FCC databases, and thus compliance with the ETRS merely requires EAS Participants to review and update the pre-populated data fields to ensure the information is accurate and up to date. For the few data fields that EAS Participants must complete, we conclude that compliance would entail a one-time cost of approximately $125.00 per EAS Participant. This $125.00 figure for the cost of complying with ETRS filing requirements is based on the cost of filing in the comparable system used for the first nationwide EAS test, a cost which has already been reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget in the Paperwork Reduction Act analysis. We also note that no commenter objects to this figure. Accordingly, we conclude that the aggregate cost for all EAS Participants to file test result data with the Commission is approximately $3.4 million. 16. We decline to make several changes to the ETRS proposal that were requested in the record. We do not agree that EAS Participants should only be required to report test results once. The purpose of ``day of test'' reporting is to provide an instant ``yes/no'' answer to whether the test worked for a particular EAS Participant. In the aggregate, such reporting provides the Commission and its Federal partners with near to near real-time situational awareness of all or any portion of the system. We believe that the burden of supplying such ``yes/no'' information is small compared to the benefit of knowing, in close to real time, any specific geographic areas where a national test has not been successful. For example, such instant reporting would allow the Commission and FEMA to map a particular area where a test may have failed and immediately identify any point of failure within the EAS alert distribution hierarchy that may have caused downstream failures. We also do not agree that a streamlined waiver process is necessary for those few EAS Participants who do not have Internet access and may need to file their test [[Page 37170]] results on paper. While the Commission recognizes that some areas of the nation may lack widespread Internet access, we believe that it is unnecessary to develop a streamlined waiver process for this reason alone. We believe the existing waiver process under Section 1.3 of the Commission's rules is sufficient and will review such requests accordingly. 17. Further, we will not, as Consumer Groups suggest, allow the ETRS to be used as a mechanism for consumer feedback about EAS accessibility and other test outcomes. The ETRS is a filing system for EAS Participants to facilitate increased understanding and improved analysis of the EAS alert distribution hierarchy, as well as for EAS Participants to identify or report any complications with the receipt or propagation of emergency alerts. As we discuss in further detail below, however, because of the importance of making EAS alerts more accessible, we will monitor all EAS accessibility complaints filed with the Commission through the normal channels. We also direct the Bureau, in coordination with the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) and other relevant Commission Bureaus and Offices, to establish a mechanism to receive public feedback on the test. 18. We also do not adopt the suggestion that, because the ETRS database will be used to construct the EAS Mapbook, State Emergency Coordination Committees (SECCs) must be granted access to the ETRS beyond that envisioned by the presumptively confidential nature of ETRS filings. It is not feasible to provide SECCs with such access without compromising the confidentiality of EAS Participant's filings, or risking that the SECC might unintentionally delete or corrupt a filing. Rather, we will, upon request from an SECC, provide the SECC with a report of their state's aggregated data. SECCs can use these reports to remedy monitoring anomalies evident from EAS Participant filings in their state. 19. Finally, we find that the implementation of the ETRS will be best accomplished by the Bureau. Accordingly, we direct the Bureau to implement the ETRS pursuant to the principles and requirements we discuss above. We direct the Bureau to release a subsequent public notice, providing additional information regarding the implementation of the ETRS closer to the launch date of the ETRS, and as subsequently required for future EAS tests and State EAS Plan filings. C. Visual Crawl and Audio Accessibility 20. The EAS provides a critical means of delivering life- and property-saving information to the public. The Commission's rules ensure that this information is delivered to the public in an accessible manner, primarily by requiring that EAS Participants deliver EAS alerts in both audio and visual formats. The visual display of an EAS alert is generally presented as a page of fixed text, but it can also be presented as a video crawl that scrolls along the top of the screen. 21. The EAS visual message that was transmitted during the first nationwide EAS test was inaccessible to some consumers. For example, stakeholders noted that the visual message in some of the video crawls scrolled across the screen too quickly, or the font was otherwise difficult to read. Others stated that both the audio and visual presentation of the national EAS test message were inconsistent. 22. In the EAS Operational Issues NPRM, we proposed to amend the EAS rules to require that the EAS video crawl meet minimum accessibility requirements for crawl speed, completeness and placement. Our proposed accessibility rules for the EAS video crawls were based upon our quality requirements for closed captions. Specifically, we proposed that the video crawl: (1) Be displayed on the screen at a speed that can be read by viewers; (2) be displayed continuously throughout the duration of any EAS activation; (3) not block other important visual content on the screen; (4) utilize a text font that is sized appropriately for legibility; (5) prevent overlap of lines of text with one another; and (6) position the video crawl adequately so it does not run off the edge of the video screen. We also sought comment on methods of ensuring that EAS audio and EAS visual elements contained essentially the same information. 23. Commenters agree that the EAS visual message, at a minimum, must be accessible if the EAS is to fulfill its purpose of informing all Americans, including Americans with disabilities, of imminent dangers to life and property. Commenters suggest, however, that given the complexity of the EAS alert distribution infrastructure, further discussion and collaboration is necessary and that the Commission should refrain from adopting accessibility requirements at this time. We observe that the Commission tasked the CSRIC with examining the operational issues--including recommended methods to improve alert accessibility--identified in the EAS Operational Issues Public Notice that arose out of the first nationwide EAS test, but the CSRIC did not make specific recommendations on accessibility standards. 24. The Commission is committed to public/private partnership, and has consistently sought to collaborate with stakeholders and to provide EAS Participants with the opportunity to suggest (and take action on) solutions to EAS technical issues. However, given the life-saving importance of the EAS, we cannot afford to delay adoption of minimum rules in favor of further collaboration alone. Viewers are entitled to expect that the EAS visual message be legible to the general public, including people with disabilities. Accordingly, we agree with Consumer Groups that we must adopt a set of baseline accessibility requirements to ensure that EAS messages are accessible to all Americans. We will assess compliance with these minimum requirements through careful monitoring of the informal complaint and consumer inquiry processes, followed by enforcement action to the extent necessary. 25. Display Legibility. First, in addition to requiring that the EAS visual message, whether video crawl or block text, be displayed in a manner that is consistent with our current rules (i.e., ``at the top of the television screen or where it will not interfere with other visual messages''), we amend Sections 11.51(d), (g)(3), (h)(3) and (j)(2) of the Commission's EAS rules to require that the visual message also be displayed in a size, color, contrast, location, and speed that is readily readable and understandable. 26. While parties do not agree on a common definition of ideal crawl speed or font size for the EAS video crawl, there is agreement in the record that alert legibility is essential to ensure the effectiveness of the alerts. For the purposes of our rules, we do not mandate a specific crawl speed or font size, nor do we believe such specificity is necessary at this time. Instead, we afford EAS Participants the flexibility to implement this requirement in accordance with their particular best practices and equipment capabilities. We expect EAS Participants to determine and implement effective practices that will ensure alert legibility. While we acknowledge commenters' statements that not all EAS devices are capable of crawling text, EAS Participants that use devices that display block text must nonetheless generate such text in a manner that remains on the screen for a sufficient length of time to be read. 27. Completeness. We also amend Sections 11.51(d), (g)(3), (h)(3) and (j)(2) of the Commission's EAS rules to [[Page 37171]] require that the EAS visual message be displayed in its entirety at least once during any EAS alert message. It would be confusing and potentially dangerous for anyone to be deprived of any portion of the EAS visual message while that alert is being delivered; EAS equipment must be capable of delivering such a basic service. On the other hand, we agree with commenters that the completeness requirement, as originally proposed in the EAS Operational Issues NPRM, should not be adopted. In the NPRM, we proposed to revise Section 11.51(d) of the Commission's EAS rules to require that the EAS video crawl be displayed continuously throughout the duration of any EAS activation. We note, however, that EAS equipment is not always capable of controlling the duration of the video crawl, and further, even if it were, non- Presidential alerts are designed to last no longer than two minutes. It would be inconsistent with the design of the system and a significant burden on EAS Participants to require that the video crawl last for the duration of the event that prompted the EAS alert, (which could potentially last for hours). Nonetheless, because EAS equipment is already capable of ensuring that an EAS visual message is displayed in its entirety at least once during any EAS message, and because doing so will avoid public confusion and dangers to life and property, we amend our rules accordingly to require that any EAS visual message be displayed in full at least one during the pendency of an EAS alert message. In addition, EAS Participants should display any EAS visual message in its entirety more than once, if possible, in order to ensure that viewers are able to re-read and capture the information conveyed by the visual message. 28. Placement. As we note above, we reiterate our requirement that the EAS visual message shall ``be displayed at the top of the television screen or where it will not interfere with other video messages,'' and we amend Section 11.51(d), (g)(3), (h)(3) and (j)(2) to require that the visual message not (1) contain overlapping lines of EAS text or (2) extend beyond the viewable display except for crawls that intentionally scroll on and off of the screen. We are persuaded by the weight of the record that the placement requirement we proposed in the EAS Operational Issues NPRM, which stated that the EAS visual message shall not ``block other important visual content on the screen,'' should not be adopted. Such a requirement would be inappropriate in light of commenters' assertions that, unlike closed caption producers, EAS Participants and equipment manufacturers cannot know where to place a video crawl on a screen in a way that will not interfere with non-EAS emergency information or regularly scheduled programming. On the other hand, Trilithic asserts that EAS Participants can render alerts that do not contain overlapping lines of EAS text, and do not run off the edge of the video screen (except for crawls that intentionally scroll on and off of the screen). According to Trilithic, these placement requirements are ``reasonable expectations and would help ensure that viewers are able to read and understand the text.'' We adopt these placement requirements accordingly. 29. Enforcement Standard. We acknowledge that the creation and delivery of an accessible visual message is not solely within the control of any one entity, and often requires coordination and execution among many connected parties and equipment in the EAS alert distribution chain. While we agree with commenters' assertions that EAS equipment is responsible for deriving the visual message from the EAS header codes or CAP text that an alert originator places within an alert, it remains the responsibility of the EAS Participant to purchase part 11-compliant equipment and to ensure that its equipment operates in a manner compliant with our part 11 rules. 30. The minimum accessibility rules we adopt today establish clear guidelines for the acceptable appearance of an EAS visual message, in order to ensure that EAS Participants offer accessible EAS video crawls and block text. We direct the Bureau to monitor the informal complaint process for complaints pertaining to EAS visual messages and, where appropriate, bring any potential noncompliance to the attention of the Enforcement Bureau for its review. We also note that, subsequent to a nationwide EAS test, EAS Participants must provide information in the ETRS regarding any complications in receiving or propagating the alert test. Such complications would include any failure to comply with the minimum accessibility requirements we adopt today. 31. Finally, we disagree with those commenters who argue that our adaptation of the Commission's minimum accessibility rules in the Closed Captioning Quality Report and Order to fit EAS visual messages is inappropriate because, unlike captions, the production of EAS visual messages is not within the control of the EAS Participants. We recognize that EAS visual messages are produced differently from closed captions, that the presentation of such a visual message can be affected by equipment downstream of the EAS Participant, and that there is no real time opportunity for EAS Participants to edit the text. At the same time, however, the rules we adopt today are technology neutral and do not necessitate that EAS visual messages be produced similarly to closed captions. The EAS accessibility rules we adopt today and our closed captioning requirements only share the foundational requirement that on-screen text be legible, complete, and appropriately placed. Further, we note that several commenters agree that the closed captioning rules can inform the formatting of the EAS visual message. In light of the importance of EAS visual messages, we find that it is reasonable to adopt rules that ensure that EAS video crawls and block text are at least as legible, complete, and appropriately placed as are closed captions. 32. We expect that the minimal accessibility rules we adopt today should have little impact on the operations of EAS equipment manufacturers whose equipment already produces a legible, complete, and appropriately placed EAS visual message, and on EAS Participants who deploy certified EAS equipment at their facilities. Accordingly, we do not anticipate that our revised rules will impose significant costs and burdens upon the majority of EAS Participants. As Trilithic notes, ``[m]any of the proposed requirements for . . . [visual message] accessibility require minimal changes and cost.'' Further, we are not dictating the precise formatting of the EAS visual message, but rather, we are adopting rules that provide EAS Participants and equipment manufacturers with flexibility to meet our minimum requirements in the most cost-effective manner for their systems. 33. Audiovisual Synchronicity. We decline to adopt rules requiring audiovisual synchronicity at this time. We agree with commenters that alert originators have primary control over audiovisual synchronicity because they are the only party in a position to initiate a message that contains identical audio and text elements. We also agree that downstream equipment in control of the audio presentation ``is not always the same equipment used to control the video presentation'' and further study would be required to determine how to coordinate these disparate elements of the alert distribution hierarchy. We further agree with Trilithic that message originators should be ``free to include as much important information in both [[Page 37172]] mediums as can be made to fit, which may not always result in identical content.'' As commenters suggest, we expect that EAS Participants and equipment manufacturers will work together to develop methods to improve audiovisual synchronicity, including the increased use of CAP, to the extent that it does not interfere with alert quality. Accordingly, we encourage EAS Participants to develop a greater capacity to generate both the audio and the visual elements of alerts in a manner that provides viewers with equal information within the same or similar timeframes. We will revisit the need for specific rules addressing this matter in the future if it is brought to our attention that problems with audiovisual synchronicity are impeding access to EAS alerts. 34. We note that FEMA has already addressed and corrected the primary audio quality problems experienced during the first nationwide EAS test, i.e., a technical malfunction that occurred at the National Primary level that affected the underlying quality of EAS audio nationwide. However, as we stated in the EAS Operational Issues NPRM, we are concerned that the audio and visual elements should convey the same message. Accordingly, consistent with the overall accessibility rules we adopt today, including the requirements for the visual portion of an EAS alert, we require that the audio portion of any EAS alert must play in full at least once during any EAS message. Furthermore, we expect the audio portion of an EAS message to be delivered in a manner and cadence that is sufficient for the consumer who does not have a hearing loss to readily comprehend it. We will continue to monitor future EAS activations and tests to determine whether we need to adopt any additional rules to ensure that the audio portion of an EAS message is accessible. 35. Text-to-Speech. The Commission currently allows text-to-speech (TTS) to be used as a method of providing audio for EAS alerts. We agree with commenters that while TTS is an appropriate technology for rendering alert audio in some cases, and may support audiovisual parity when combined with CAP text, we do not mandate its use at this time. The technology is maturing, but mandating its use may require extensive and costly changes to EAS equipment for small EAS Participants. Nonetheless, given the critical and urgent nature of emergency information, as recommended by Wireless RERC, we encourage its use to construct EAS audio from the EAS header codes, especially when no separate audio file is provided by the alert originator, in order to provide access to the emergency information by individuals who are blind or visually impaired. We will continue to monitor the feasibility of adopting TTS requirements as the technology continues to evolve. In particular, as part of the workshop we direct the Bureau to convene below, stakeholders should examine, among other issues, the state of TTS technology, including ongoing research and development and readiness for reliable, cost-effective implementation as part of EAS. 36. Workshop to Promote Accessibility and Wider Use of EAS. In addition to the accessibility rules we adopt today, we direct the Bureau to continue collaborative efforts to ensure that the EAS is accessible and widely utilized. Specifically, we direct the Bureau to collaborate with FEMA and other relevant EAS stakeholders by hosting a workshop within three months of the adoption date of this order. The object of this workshop will be to ensure that EAS remains a reliable and effective resource for all Americans by addressing and making recommendations regarding two key issues: Increasing the flexibility of the EAS to expand its use by emergency managers at the state and local levels, and the improvement of alert accessibility. The workshop should discuss methods to empower and encourage state and local emergency managers to utilize the EAS and Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system more widely for localized alerts and exercises. The workshop also should build upon cumulative efforts to improve the accessibility of EAS visual messages by examining, inter alia, the technical feasibility of improving the synchronicity of EAS audio with the EAS visual crawl, as well as the readiness of TTS technology for increased usage in national and local alerting. The Commission may refer additional issues arising out of the workshop to the CSRIC and other FCC federal advisory committees, as appropriate. D. Public Policy Analysis 37. In this Section, we conclude that the benefits of the rules we adopt today exceed their associated implementation costs. In the EAS Operational Issues NPRM, we sought comment on the specific costs and benefits associated with the implementation of our proposed rules establishing essential operational improvements to the EAS. Although the proposed rules covered a wide range of issues associated with the EAS, each with its own cost of development and deployment, we expected that their implementation would present a one-time, maximum aggregate cost of $13.6 million, and that all proposed rules shared the common expected benefit of saving human lives, reducing injuries, mitigating property damage, and minimizing the disruption of our national economy on an ongoing basis. 38. No commenter opposes our analysis of the costs or benefits associated with implementation of our proposed rules. In large part, we adopt the rules proposed in the EAS Operational Issues NPRM. The rules we adopt today present EAS Participants with minimum implementation costs and a significant degree of implementation flexibility. To the extent our final rules differ from the proposed rules, however, those differences should actually result in the same or lower costs for EAS Participants. In particular, because we adopt NPT rules that do not require the use of the EAN (or an NPT that emulates the use of the EAN), the maximum costs of implementing our requirements will be $6.6 million less than originally proposed. Accordingly, we find that the upper bound of the cost of compliance with the rules we adopt today is $7 million, rather than $13.6 million as initially proposed. 39. With regard to benefits, we find that the EAS is a resilient public alert and warning tool that is essential to help save lives and protect property during times of national, state, regional, and local emergencies. Although the EAS, as tested in 2011, works largely as designed, the improvements we adopt today are responsive to operational inconsistencies uncovered by the first nationwide EAS test. These operational inconsistencies, left unaddressed, would adversely affect the continued efficacy of the system. These rules also will enable the Commission to improve its ability to collect, process and evaluate data about EAS alerting pathways, and will lead to higher quality alerts for every American. In sum, the rules we adopt today will preserve safety of life through more effective alerting. We find, therefore, that it is reasonable to expect that the improvements to the EAS that will result from the rules we adopt today will save lives and result in numerous other benefits that are less quantifiable but still advance important public interest objectives. E. Compliance Timing 40. National Location Code and NPT Rules Compliance Timeline. We conclude that EAS Participants should [[Page 37173]] be given up to twelve months from the effective date of the rule amendments requiring use of the national location code and NPT rules to come into compliance with these amendments. In light of the fact that FEMA intends to conduct a nationwide EAS test ``in the near future,'' and that such a test will use both the NPT and the ``six zeroes'' location code, it is imperative that we ensure that EAS Participants are capable of processing a test with these characteristics as rapidly as possible. In the EAS Operational Issues NPRM, we addressed this concern by proposing to require compliance with the national location code and NPT requirements we proposed within six months from the effective date of their codification into our rules. Some commenters, such as Monroe and Verizon, agree that a period as short as six months could be sufficient to implement our rules. NCTA and AT&T, on the other hand, argue that a six-month timeline would not provide EAS Participants with sufficient time to develop, test, and deploy the required system updates, and argue instead for a twelve-month implementation timeline. Specifically, AT&T asserts that their ``Approval For Use'' process, that is standardized throughout the AT&T networks, must take at least one year to complete, because it is an iterative process, especially in the new Internet Protocol TV markets in which they operate, whereby their engineers failure test EAS equipment programming, then send the product back to the manufacturer for further updates if they find errors, and then retest the updated equipment recursively until one hundred percent certainty can be established that the device will perform as expected within their system. According to AT&T, this is not the kind of process that can be accelerated merely by the increased expenditure of resources. 41. Our goal in this and related rulemakings is to ensure that the EAS is efficient and secure, and we acknowledge that this goal would not be furthered by requiring any EAS Participant to short circuit their testing process for new rules. Accordingly, we provide herein that EAS Participants are granted a period of up to, but no longer than, twelve months in which to come into compliance with the national location code and NPT requirements that are reflected in the rule amendments we adopt today. This twelve-month period will run from the effective date of these rule amendments, which is thirty days after their publication in the Federal Register. 42. ETRS Compliance Timeline. We require EAS Participants to complete the identifying information initially required by the ETRS filing requirement we adopt today within sixty days of the effective date of the ETRS rules we adopt today, or within sixty days of the launch of the ETRS, whichever is later. We agree that the requirement for EAS Participants to provide ETRS identifying information within sixty days of adoption of these rules would be a reasonable time period, but that it makes sense for the compliance triggering event to be the date on which the ETRS becomes operational. We further require EAS Participants to update their identifying information concurrently with any update to their EAS State Plans, and require EAS Participants to complete the ``day of test'' portion of their filing obligation within 24 hours of any test, and the remainder of the filing obligation within forty-five days of the next EAS nationwide test, the same timeline that we successfully implemented for the first nationwide EAS test. 43. We believe it is reasonable for EAS Participants to complete their filings on this timeline because no equipment changes or attendant processes are required in order to achieve compliance with this rule. Furthermore, the electronic filing system should allow EAS Participants to complete their filing obligation even more quickly than they did for the first nationwide test, in which we adopted the same compliance timeline for submitting test data. 44. Accessibility Compliance Timeline. We also provide herein that EAS Participants will be given a period of up to, but no longer than, six months in which to come into compliance with the display legibility, completeness and placement requirements that are reflected in the rule amendments we adopt today. This six-month period will run from the effective date of these rule amendments, which is thirty days after their publication in the Federal Register. We note that NCTA avers that EAS Participants generally are already compliant with the majority of accessibility rules as proposed in the EAS Operational Issues NPRM. While Trilithic argues that our proposed completeness rule would require significantly longer than a year to implement, because EAS equipment is not capable of controlling the duration of the EAS visual crawl, we do not require the EAS visual crawl to last for the duration of the EAS activation and, as such, Trilithic's argument is now inapplicable. On the other hand, we also decline to adopt a shorter timeframe for implementation of these accessibility requirements, as urged by some consumer groups. We fully recognize the exigency of providing accessible alerts to all Americans, and it is for that reason that we adopt these accessibility rules today, but it would be counterproductive to require compliance with these rules sooner than we reasonably could expect that EAS Participants would generally be able to meet such requirements. Commenters generally did not object to implementing the accessibility rules we proposed in the EAS Operational Issues NPRM within six months. We therefore find that six months will provide sufficient time for EAS Participants to comply with the EAS accessibility rules we adopt today. II. Procedural Matters A. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 45. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA),\2\ the Commission has prepared a Final Regulatory Certification (Certification) for the Sixth Report and Order. The Certification is set forth as Appendix E. The Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, will send a copy of the Sixth Report and Order and the Certification to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \2\ See 5 U.S.C. 603. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- B. Paperwork Reduction Analysis 46. The Sixth Report and Order contains new information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public Law 104-13. It will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review under Section 3507(d) of the PRA. OMB, the general public, and other Federal agencies are invited to comment on the new information collection requirements contained in this proceeding. 47. We note that pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), we previously sought specific comment on how the Commission might ``further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.'' \3\ In addition, we have described impacts that might affect small businesses, which includes most businesses with fewer than 25 employees, in the FRFA in Appendix B, infra. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \3\ See EAS Operational Issues NPRM, 29 FCC Rcd at Appendix B. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Page 37174]] C. Congressional Review Act 48. The Commission will send a copy of this Sixth Report and Order in a report to be sent to Congress and the Government Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (CRA), see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). III. Ordering Clauses 49. Accordingly, it is ordered, pursuant to Sections 1, 2, 4(i), 4(o), 301, 303(r), 303(v), 307, 309, 335, 403, 624(g), 706, and 715 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i), 154(o), 301, 301(r), 303(v), 307, 309, 335, 403, 544(g), 606, and 615 that the Sixth Report and Order in EB Docket No. 04-296 IS adopted and shall become effective July 30, 2015, except for Sec. 11.21(a), and Sec. 11.61(a)(3)(iv) which contain information collection requirements that have not been approved by OMB. The Federal Communications Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date. 50. It is further ordered that notwithstanding paragraph [64] above, EAS Participants are granted a period of twelve months from the effective date of the rule amendments contained in 47 CFR 11.31, 11.51(m)(2) and (n), 11.52, and 11.54, in which to come into compliance with those amendments. 51. It is further ordered that notwithstanding paragraph [64] above, EAS Participants are granted a period of six months from the effective date of the rule amendments contained in 47 CFR 11.51(d), (g)(3), (h)(3), and (j)(2) in which to come into compliance with those amendments. 52. It is further ordered that the Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, SHALL SEND a copy of this Sixth Report and Order, including the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration. List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 11 Radio, Television. Federal Communications Commission. Gloria J. Miles, Federal Register Liaison Officer. Final Rules For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 11 as follows: PART 11--EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM (EAS) 0 1. The authority citation for part 11 continues to read as follows: Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154 (i) and (o), 303(r), 544(g) and 606. 0 2. Amend Sec. 11.21 by revising paragraphs (a) and (c) to read as follows: Sec. 11.21 State and Local Area plans and FCC Mapbook. * * * * * (a) The State EAS Plan contains procedures for State emergency management and other State officials, the NWS, and EAS Participants' personnel to transmit emergency information to the public during a State emergency using the EAS. EAS State Plans should include a data table, in computer readable form, clearly showing monitoring assignments and the specific primary and backup path for emergency action notification (``EAN'') messages that are formatted in the EAS Protocol (specified in Sec. 11.31), from the PEP to each station in the plan. If a state's emergency alert system is capable of initiating EAS messages formatted in the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), its EAS State Plan must include specific and detailed information describing how such messages will be aggregated and distributed to EAS Participants within the state, including the monitoring requirements associated with distributing such messages. Consistent with the requirements of Sec. 11.61(a)(3)(iv), EAS Participants shall provide the identifying information required by the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) no later than sixty days after the publication in the Federal Register of a notice announcing the approval by the Office of Management and Budget of the modified information collection requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and an effective date of the rule amendment, or within sixty days of the launch of the ETRS, whichever is later, and shall renew this identifying information on a yearly basis or as required by any revision of the EAS Participant's State EAS Plan filed pursuant to this section. * * * * * (c) The FCC Mapbook is based on the consolidation of the data table required in each State EAS plan with the identifying data contained in the ETRS. The Mapbook organizes all EAS Participants according to their State, EAS Local Area, and EAS designation. 0 3. Amend Sec. 11.31 by revising paragraph (f) to read as follows: Sec. 11.31 EAS protocol. * * * * * (f) The All U.S., State, Territory and Offshore (Marine Area) ANSI number codes (SS) are as follows. County ANSI numbers (CCC) are contained in the State EAS Mapbook. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ANSI No. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ All U.S.............................................. 00 State: AL............................................... 01 AK............................................... 02 AZ............................................... 04 AR............................................... 05 CA............................................... 06 CO............................................... 08 CT............................................... 09 DE............................................... 10 DC............................................... 11 FL............................................... 12 GA............................................... 13 HI............................................... 15 ID............................................... 16 IL............................................... 17 IN............................................... 18 IA............................................... 19 KS............................................... 20 KY............................................... 21 LA............................................... 22 [[Page 37175]] ME............................................... 23 MD............................................... 24 MA............................................... 25 MI............................................... 26 MN............................................... 27 MS............................................... 28 MO............................................... 29 MT............................................... 30 NE............................................... 31 NV............................................... 32 NH............................................... 33 NJ............................................... 34 NM............................................... 35 NY............................................... 36 NC............................................... 37 ND............................................... 38 OH............................................... 39 OK............................................... 40 OR............................................... 41 PA............................................... 42 RI............................................... 44 SC............................................... 45 SD............................................... 46 TN............................................... 47 TX............................................... 48 UT............................................... 49 VT............................................... 50 VA............................................... 51 WA............................................... 53 WV............................................... 54 WI............................................... 55 WY............................................... 56 Terr.: AS............................................... 60 FM............................................... 64 GU............................................... 66 MH............................................... 68 MH............................................... 68 PR............................................... 72 PW............................................... 70 UM............................................... 74 VI............................................... 78 Offshore (Marine Areas): \1\ Eastern North Pacific Ocean, and along U.S. West 57 Coast from Canadian border to Mexican border.... North Pacific Ocean near Alaska, and along Alaska 58 coastline, including the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska....................................... Central Pacific Ocean, including Hawaiian waters. 59 South Central Pacific Ocean, including American 61 Samoa waters.................................... Western Pacific Ocean, including Mariana Island 65 waters.......................................... Western North Atlantic Ocean, and along U.S. East 73 Coast, from Canadian border south to Currituck Beach Light, N.C................................ Western North Atlantic Ocean, and along U.S. East 75 Coast, south of Currituck Beach Light, N.C., following the coastline into Gulf of Mexico to Bonita Beach, FL., including the Caribbean...... Gulf of Mexico, and along the U.S. Gulf Coast 77 from the Mexican border to Bonita Beach, FL..... Lake Superior.................................... 91 Lake Michigan.................................... 92 Lake Huron....................................... 93 Lake St. Clair................................... 94 Lake Erie........................................ 96 Lake Ontario..................................... 97 St. Lawrence River above St. Regis............... 98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ \1\ Effective May 16, 2002, analog radio and television broadcast stations, analog cable systems and wireless cable systems may upgrade their existing EAS equipment to add these marine area location codes on a voluntary basis until the equipment is replaced. All models of EAS equipment manufactured after August 1, 2003, must be capable of receiving and transmitting these marine area location codes. EAS Participants that install or replace their EAS equipment after February 1, 2004, must install equipment that is capable of receiving and transmitting these location codes. 0 4. Amend Sec. 11.51 by revising paragraphs (d), (g)(3) (h)(3), (j)(2), (m)(2) and (n) to read as follows: Sec. 11.51 EAS code and Attention Signal Transmission requirements. * * * * * (d) Analog and digital television broadcast stations shall transmit a visual message containing the Originator, Event, Location and the valid time period of an EAS message. Effective June 30, 2012, visual messages derived from CAP-formatted EAS messages shall contain the Originator, Event, Location and the valid time period of the message and shall be constructed in accordance with Sec. 3.6 of the ``ECIG Recommendations for a CAP EAS [[Page 37176]] Implementation Guide, Version 1.0'' (May 17, 2010), except that if the EAS Participant has deployed an Intermediary Device to meet its CAP- related obligations, this requirement shall be effective June 30, 2015, and until such date shall be subject to the general requirement to transmit a visual message containing the Originator, Event, Location and the valid time period of the EAS message. (1) The visual message portion of an EAS alert, whether video crawl or block text, must be displayed: (i) At the top of the television screen or where it will not interfere with other visual messages (ii) In a manner (i.e., font size, color, contrast, location, and speed) that is readily readable and understandable, (iii) 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 (iv) In full at least once during any EAS message. (2) The audio portion of an EAS message must play in full at least once during any EAS message. * * * * * (g) * * * (3) Shall transmit a visual EAS message on at least one channel. The visual message shall contain the Originator, Event, Location, and the valid time period of the EAS message. Effective June 30, 2012, visual messages derived from CAP-formatted EAS messages shall contain the Originator, Event, Location and the valid time period of the message and shall be constructed in accordance with Sec. 3.6 of the ``ECIG Recommendations for a CAP EAS Implementation Guide, Version 1.0'' (May 17, 2010), except that if the EAS Participant has deployed an Intermediary Device to meet its CAP-related obligations, this requirement shall be effective June 30, 2015, and until such date shall be subject to the general requirement to transmit a visual message containing the Originator, Event, Location and the valid time period of the EAS message. (i) The visual message portion of an EAS alert, whether video crawl or block text, must be displayed: (A) At the top of the television screen or where it will not interfere with other visual messages; (B) In a manner (i.e., font size, color, contrast, location, and speed) that is readily readable and understandable; (C) 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 (D) In full at least once during any EAS message. (ii) The audio portion of an EAS message must play in full at least once during any EAS message. (h) * * * (3) Shall transmit the EAS visual message on all downstream channels. The visual message shall contain the Originator, Event, Location, and the valid time period of the EAS message. Effective June 30, 2012, visual messages derived from CAP-formatted EAS messages shall contain the Originator, Event, Location and the valid time period of the message and shall be constructed in accordance with Sec. 3.6 of the ``ECIG Recommendations for a CAP EAS Implementation Guide, Version 1.0'' (May 17, 2010), except that if the EAS Participant has deployed an Intermediary Device to meet its CAP-related obligations, this requirement shall be effective June 30, 2015, and until such date shall be subject to the general requirement to transmit a visual message containing the Originator, Event, Location and the valid time period of the EAS message. (i) The visual message portion of an EAS alert, whether video crawl or block text, must be displayed: (A) At the top of the television screen or where it will not interfere with other visual messages (B) In a manner (i.e., font size, color, contrast, location, and speed) that is readily readable and understandable, (C) 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 (D) In full at least once during any EAS message. (ii) The audio portion of an EAS message must play in full at least once during any EAS message. * * * * * (j) * * * (2) The visual message shall contain the Originator, Event, Location, and the valid time period of the EAS message. Effective June 30, 2012, visual messages derived from CAP-formatted EAS messages shall contain the Originator, Event, Location and the valid time period of the message and shall be constructed in accordance with Sec. 3.6 of the ``ECIG Recommendations for a CAP EAS Implementation Guide, Version 1.0'' (May 17, 2010), except that if the EAS Participant has deployed an Intermediary Device to meet its CAP-related obligations, this requirement shall be effective June 30, 2015, and until such date shall be subject to the general requirement to transmit a visual message containing the Originator, Event, Location and the valid time period of the EAS message. (i) The visual message portion of an EAS alert, whether video crawl or block text, must be displayed: (A) At the top of the television screen or where it will not interfere with other visual messages (B) In a manner (i.e., font size, color, contrast, location, and speed) that is readily readable and understandable, (C) 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 (D) In full at least once during any EAS message. (ii) The audio portion of an EAS message must play in full at least once during any EAS message. * * * * * (m) * * * (2) Manual interrupt of programming and transmission of EAS messages may be used. EAS messages with the EAN Event code, or the National Periodic Test (NPT) Event code in the case of a nationwide test of the EAS, must be transmitted immediately; Monthly EAS test messages must be transmitted within 60 minutes. All actions must be logged and include the minimum information required for EAS video messages. (n) EAS Participants may employ a minimum delay feature, not to exceed 15 minutes, for automatic interruption of EAS codes. However, this may not be used for the EAN Event code, or the NPT Event code in the case of a nationwide test of the EAS, which must be transmitted immediately. The delay time for an RMT message may not exceed 60 minutes. * * * * * 0 5. Amend Sec. 11.52 by revising paragraphs (e) introductory text and (e)(2) to read as follows: Sec. 11.52 EAS code and Attention Signal Monitoring requirements. * * * * * (e) EAS Participants are required to interrupt normal programming either automatically or manually when they receive an EAS message in which the header code contains the Event codes for Emergency Action Notification (EAN), the National Periodic Test (NPT), or the Required Monthly Test (RMT) for their State or State/county location. * * * * * (2) Manual interrupt of programming and transmission of EAS messages may be used. EAS messages with the EAN Event code, or the NPT Event code in [[Page 37177]] the case of a nationwide test of the EAS, must be transmitted immediately; Monthly EAS test messages must be transmitted within 60 minutes. All actions must be logged and recorded as specified in Sec. Sec. 11.35(a) and 11.54(a)(3). Decoders must be programmed for the EAN Event header code and the RMT and RWT Event header codes (for required monthly and weekly tests), with the appropriate accompanying State and State/county location codes. 0 6. Amend Sec. 11.54 by revising paragraph (a) introductory text to read as follows: Sec. 11.54 EAS operation during a National Level emergency (a) Immediately upon receipt of an EAN message, or the NPT Event code in the case of a nationwide test of the EAS, EAS Participants must comply with the following requirements, as applicable: * * * * * 0 7. Amend Sec. 11.61 by revising paragraph (a)(3)(iv) to read as follows: Sec. 11.61 Tests of EAS procedures. (a) * * * (3) * * * (iv) Test results as required by the Commission shall be logged by all EAS Participants into the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) as determined by the Commission's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, subject to the following requirements. (A) EAS Participants shall provide the identifying information required by the ETRS initially no later than sixty days after the publication in the Federal Register of a notice announcing the approval by the Office of Management and Budget of the modified information collection requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and an effective date of the rule amendment, or within sixty days of the launch of the ETRS, whichever is later, and shall renew this identifying information on a yearly basis or as required by any revision of the EAS Participant's State EAS Plan filed pursuant to Sec. 11.21. (B) ``Day of test'' data shall be filed in the ETRS within 24 hours of any nationwide test or as otherwise required by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. (C) Detailed post-test data shall be filed in the ETRS within forty five (45) days following any nationwide test. * * * * * [FR Doc. 2015-15805 Filed 6-29-15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
![Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 125 / Tuesday, June 30, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 37167
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS I. Synopsis Moreover, commenters agree this cost is
COMMISSION justified by the benefits.
1. Use of a National Location Code 4. Use of ‘‘six zeroes’’ as the national
47 CFR Part 11 1. In the EAS Operational Issues location code promises to improve the
NPRM,1 we proposed that EAS efficacy of the EAS. Adoption of ‘‘six
[EB Docket No. 04–296; FCC 15–60] Participants must be capable of zeroes’’ as the national location code
receiving and processing a national has the long-term benefit of ensuring
Review of the Emergency Alert System location code, and that ‘‘six zeroes’’ be consistency between the EAS rules and
designated as that code. We explained industry CAP standards, which already
AGENCY:Federal Communications that adoption of a ‘‘six zeroes’’ location recognize ‘‘six zeroes’’ as the national
Commission. code would bring additional location code. This, in turn, will
ACTION: Final rule. consistency to the EAS alert distribution facilitate the integration of the EAS into
hierarchy, and, along with our the IP-based IPAWS. We note that use
SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal requirement that header codes not be of a ‘‘six zeroes’’ location code is also
Communications Commission ‘‘amended, extended or abridged,’’ consistent with our requirement that
(Commission) revises its rules governing could enable more precise geo-targeting EAS header codes not be ‘‘amended,
the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to: of EAS alerts. We also explained that extended, or abridged.’’ We have
Establish a national location code for adoption of ‘‘six zeroes’’ as the national observed that using a single locality’s
EAS alerts issued by the President; location code could have the additional location code for a national alert can
amend the Commission’s rules long-term benefit of ensuring the cause confusion. We also recognize that
governing a national EAS test code for desired harmony between our EAS rules to issue an alert for the entire United
future nationwide tests; require and industry CAP standards, which, in States without recourse to a national
broadcasters, cable service providers, turn, will facilitate the integration of the location code would require two
and other entities required to comply EAS into IP-based alerting systems such separate alerts because the EAS alert
with the Commission’s EAS rules (EAS as IPAWS. headers can only hold thirty-one
Participants) to file test result data 2. Commenters unanimously distinct location codes. Thus, we agree
electronically; and require EAS supported our adoption of the ‘‘six with Trilithic that the use of a single
Participants to meet minimal standards zeroes’’ national location code. For the national location code simplifies our
to ensure that EAS alerts are accessible reasons set forth herein, we agree and national alerting infrastructure. Finally,
to all members of the public, including accordingly adopt ‘‘six zeroes’’ as the Monroe opines that ‘‘use of a national
those with disabilities. national location code for any future location code would provide improved
nationwide EAS test, as well as for any geo-targeting of an EAN should the
DATES: Effective July 30, 2015, except future nationwide EAS alerts. The rule President wish to address a particular
for § 11.21(a), and § 11.61(a)(3)(iv) we adopt today requires that EAS part of the country rather than the
which contain information collection Participants’ EAS encoder/decoder nation as a whole.’’ In light of these
requirements that have not been equipment be capable of processing benefits, we find that adoption of a ‘‘six
approved by OMB. The Federal ‘‘000000’’ in the location code field as zeroes’’ national location code serves
Communications Commission will a header code indicating that the alert the public interest in promoting the
publish a document in the Federal is relevant to the entire United States. effective use of the EAS.
Register announcing the effective date. 3. Implementation of ‘‘six zeroes’’ as
the national location code will present 2. National Periodic Test Code (NPT)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa
Fowlkes, Deputy Bureau Chief, Public negligible costs to EAS Participants 5. In the EAS Operational Issues
Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, because most EAS equipment deployed NPRM, we proposed to amend our rules
at (202) 418–7452, or by email at in the field already supports the ‘‘six to allow use of the NPT for future EAS
Lisa.Fowlkes@fcc.gov. For additional zeroes’’ national location code or would testing as a less burdensome and
information concerning the Paperwork require only a software update to potentially less confusing alternative to
Reduction Act information collection provide such support. For example, the EAN. We also recognized that the
requirements contained in this NCTA asserts that cable providers may NPT could be tailored in different ways,
document, contact Nicole On’gele at have to engage in firmware updates and with different costs and benefits, and
(202) 418–2991 or send an email to testing to verify that the new code sought further comment on what
PRA@fcc.gov. functions within their systems. For this operational requirements the
reason, NCTA asserts that adopting ‘‘six Commission should require for the NPT
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a zeroes’’ as the national location code to facilitate effective and minimally
summary of the Commission’s Sixth will present cable service provider EAS burdensome testing. Specifically, we
Report and Order in EB Docket No. 04– Participants with approximately $1.1 sought to develop a more robust record
296, FCC 15–60, adopted on June 1, million in aggregated capital and on whether the NPT should: (a) Have
2015 and released on June 3, 2015. The operational costs for the entire cable the same two-minute maximum
full text of this document is available for industry. Similarly, in the EAS duration and limited priority as all other
inspection and copying during normal Operational Issues NPRM, we estimated non-EAN EAS event codes; or (b) fully
business hours in the FCC Reference that costs confronting broadcasters also emulate the EAN in its mandatory
Center (Room CY–A257), 445 12th would approach $1.1 million, for an priority and indefinite length. We stated
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Street SW., Washington, DC 20554. The aggregate cost of $2.2 million for the that our intent was to provide FEMA
complete text of this document also may implementation of ‘‘six zeroes’’ as the with maximum flexibility to test the
be purchased from the Commission’s national location code. No commenter EAS in the most appropriate manner,
copy contractor, Best Copy and Printing, challenges our estimated costs for either while also articulating a clear and
Inc., 445 12th Street SW., Room CY– cable providers or broadcasters. feasible standard for EAS Participants
B402, Washington, DC 20554. The full and other stakeholders. In this regard,
text may also be downloaded at: 1 Review of the Emergency Alert System. 79 FR we noted that, unlike an EAN-emulating
www.fcc.gov. 41159 (July 15, 2014). NPT, an NPT that shares the priority
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![37168 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 125 / Tuesday, June 30, 2015 / Rules and Regulations
and two-minute limit of other alert regulatory costs that are imposed by this Finally, as commenters suggest, we note
event codes would accommodate requirement will be further offset by the that it may be possible for FEMA to test
FEMA’s stated desire to perform a reduction in regulatory burdens that EAS equipment’s ability to successfully
national EAS test in the near future, and will result from broadcast, cable and process the priority and duration
would do so at a dramatically lower cost satellite EAS Participants not having to elements of an EAN in a test bed, thus
than an EAN-emulating NPT. We sought explain to the public through video ensuring that all elements of the system
comment, in the alternative, on how the replacement slides and other outreach are tested.
cost of conducting another EAN-based efforts that the alert displayed on the
B. Electronic Test Reporting System
nationwide test, including any outreach screen is not an actual alert.
specifically tied to use of the EAN, 8. We contrast the minimal costs 10. As the Bureau reported in the EAS
would compare with the costs of imposed by the NPT functionality we Nationwide Test Report, of the EAS
conducting a test with an NPT that fully require today with those that EAS Participants who submitted test result
emulates the EAN. We also noted that Participants would incur were the NPT data, the vast majority chose to use the
an NPT with limited duration and to fully emulate the EAN. Commenters voluntary, temporary, electronic filing
priority would have all of the benefits argue that full-EAN emulation would system employed for the first
of full-EAN emulation, except that it require three years to implement, and nationwide EAS test, rather than to
would not test the reset function would cost at least $3.3 million more submit paper filings. The data available
triggered by an alert lasting longer than than implementing an NPT with from the electronic reporting system
two minutes. Finally, the Commission standard duration and priority. During allowed the Commission to generate
sought comment on whether the reset that time, firmware in EAS equipment reports on EAS Participants’ monitoring
functionality triggered by an alert would need to be modified such that an assignments at all points throughout the
lasting longer than two minutes was NPT would take priority over all other EAS’ national distribution architecture
testable in a test bed. alerts and to avoid triggering the reset that would not have been feasible with
6. Commenters unanimously agree functionality that automatically ends an paper filings alone. As a result of the
that the NPT—not the EAN, and not an alert after two minutes. The standards positive response to this temporary
NPT that is reprogrammed to fully and other proprietary protocols electronic filing system and the
emulate the EAN—should be the governing the operation of downstream enhanced analytics it enabled, the EAS
national test event code. Accordingly, equipment also would need to be Nationwide Test Report recommended
and for reasons discussed in further updated. That equipment would then that the Commission develop a
detail below, we adopt the NPT as the need to be upgraded, tested, and permanent electronic reporting system
test event code for the purpose of deployed in order to achieve operational based on the system used during the
nationwide EAS testing, and further readiness for an EAS test with an EAN- first nationwide EAS test to provide a
require that the NPT as used in such emulating NPT. We also note that an similarly efficient mechanism to
tests be limited in duration to two NPT with maximum priority would expedite the filing of test result data by
minutes or less, and have normal supersede any live alert that may be EAS Participants. Subsequently, at its
priority. In order to comply with delivered in an area of the country March 20, 2014 meeting, the
FEMA’s stated intent that the NPT be subject to the test. We believe that this Communications Security, Reliability,
disseminated with the ‘‘same would be inconsistent with the life- and Interoperability Council (CSRIC)
immediacy as the EAN,’’ we further saving purpose of the EAS. For these also recommended that the Commission
require that the NPT be retransmitted reasons, we decline to adopt an NPT develop a federal government database
immediately upon receipt. We also that fully emulates the EAN. to contain EAS Participants’ monitoring
reiterate that any national or occasional 9. We agree with commenters’ assignments.
‘‘special’’ EAS tests referred to in the assertions that an NPT that shares the 11. In the EAS Operational Issues
part 11 rules that use the NPT will priority and two minute time limit of all NPRM, we proposed an improved
replace the required monthly test (RMT) other event codes will still advance the electronic filing system and related
of the EAS for any month in which such most important goal of this proceeding, database, the ETRS, based on the system
an NPT-based test is scheduled. namely, to ready the national alerting the Commission used for the first
7. The record indicates that the cost infrastructure for a test that FEMA nationwide EAS test. Use of this new
of upgrading EAS equipment to allow intends to conduct in the near future. system would be mandatory for EAS
the NPT to function in the manner we Further, we agree with commenters that Participants, and the system would offer
adopt today will not be significant. The an NPT with the characteristics we improvements over the prior version of
NPT is already present in Section 11.31 require today will ‘‘sufficiently test the the system designed to further expedite
of the EAS rules as a required event reliability of the EAS dissemination filing and minimize burdens on EAS
code and, as such, has already been ecosystem, providing adequate data for Participants. As proposed, the ETRS
programmed into most EAS equipment. the Commission and FEMA to fully would follow the structure of the system
According to EAS equipment assess the hierarchy and dissemination used in 2011, and be composed of three
manufacturers, ‘‘the NPT code is already of EAS alerts throughout the EAS forms. Form One would ask each EAS
recognized by virtually all existing EAS system, via both legacy and CAP- Participant for identifying and
devices or can be easily enabled by EAS enabled EAS devices.’’ We also agree background information, including EAS
[P]articipants through simple with commenters that the approach we designation, EAS monitoring
reconfigurations of the code filters on take today has the benefit of being assignments, facility location,
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
their encoder devices.’’ The costs that ‘‘clearly marked as a test, preventing equipment type, contact information,
EAS Participants must incur as a result any public confusion.’’ As noted earlier, and other relevant data. Form Two
of our requirements are limited to those the use of the EAN in conjunction with would ask each EAS Participant
incurred by the relatively small number the first nationwide test necessitated whether it received the Nationwide EAS
of EAS Participants who will have to extensive outreach to ensure that the Test alert code and, if required to do so,
manually change the settings of their public understood that the event was whether the EAS Participant propagated
EAS equipment to automatically only a test; none of this outreach would the alert code downstream. Form Three
respond to the NPT. Any additional be required with the use of the NPT. would ask each EAS Participant to
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![Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 125 / Tuesday, June 30, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 37171
require that the EAS visual message be Participants and equipment visual messages are produced
displayed in its entirety at least once manufacturers cannot know where to differently from closed captions, that
during any EAS alert message. It would place a video crawl on a screen in a way the presentation of such a visual
be confusing and potentially dangerous that will not interfere with non-EAS message can be affected by equipment
for anyone to be deprived of any portion emergency information or regularly downstream of the EAS Participant, and
of the EAS visual message while that scheduled programming. On the other that there is no real time opportunity for
alert is being delivered; EAS equipment hand, Trilithic asserts that EAS EAS Participants to edit the text. At the
must be capable of delivering such a Participants can render alerts that do same time, however, the rules we adopt
basic service. On the other hand, we not contain overlapping lines of EAS today are technology neutral and do not
agree with commenters that the text, and do not run off the edge of the necessitate that EAS visual messages be
completeness requirement, as originally video screen (except for crawls that produced similarly to closed captions.
proposed in the EAS Operational Issues intentionally scroll on and off of the The EAS accessibility rules we adopt
NPRM, should not be adopted. In the screen). According to Trilithic, these today and our closed captioning
NPRM, we proposed to revise Section placement requirements are ‘‘reasonable requirements only share the
11.51(d) of the Commission’s EAS rules expectations and would help ensure foundational requirement that on-screen
to require that the EAS video crawl be that viewers are able to read and text be legible, complete, and
displayed continuously throughout the understand the text.’’ We adopt these appropriately placed. Further, we note
duration of any EAS activation. We placement requirements accordingly. that several commenters agree that the
note, however, that EAS equipment is 29. Enforcement Standard. We closed captioning rules can inform the
not always capable of controlling the acknowledge that the creation and formatting of the EAS visual message. In
duration of the video crawl, and further, delivery of an accessible visual message light of the importance of EAS visual
even if it were, non-Presidential alerts is not solely within the control of any messages, we find that it is reasonable
are designed to last no longer than two one entity, and often requires to adopt rules that ensure that EAS
minutes. It would be inconsistent with coordination and execution among video crawls and block text are at least
the design of the system and a many connected parties and equipment as legible, complete, and appropriately
significant burden on EAS Participants in the EAS alert distribution chain. placed as are closed captions.
to require that the video crawl last for While we agree with commenters’ 32. We expect that the minimal
the duration of the event that prompted assertions that EAS equipment is accessibility rules we adopt today
the EAS alert, (which could potentially responsible for deriving the visual should have little impact on the
last for hours). Nonetheless, because message from the EAS header codes or operations of EAS equipment
EAS equipment is already capable of CAP text that an alert originator places manufacturers whose equipment
ensuring that an EAS visual message is within an alert, it remains the already produces a legible, complete,
displayed in its entirety at least once responsibility of the EAS Participant to and appropriately placed EAS visual
during any EAS message, and because purchase part 11-compliant equipment message, and on EAS Participants who
doing so will avoid public confusion and to ensure that its equipment deploy certified EAS equipment at their
and dangers to life and property, we operates in a manner compliant with facilities. Accordingly, we do not
amend our rules accordingly to require our part 11 rules. anticipate that our revised rules will
30. The minimum accessibility rules impose significant costs and burdens
that any EAS visual message be
we adopt today establish clear upon the majority of EAS Participants.
displayed in full at least one during the
guidelines for the acceptable appearance As Trilithic notes, ‘‘[m]any of the
pendency of an EAS alert message. In
of an EAS visual message, in order to proposed requirements for . . . [visual
addition, EAS Participants should ensure that EAS Participants offer message] accessibility require minimal
display any EAS visual message in its accessible EAS video crawls and block changes and cost.’’ Further, we are not
entirety more than once, if possible, in text. We direct the Bureau to monitor dictating the precise formatting of the
order to ensure that viewers are able to the informal complaint process for EAS visual message, but rather, we are
re-read and capture the information complaints pertaining to EAS visual adopting rules that provide EAS
conveyed by the visual message. messages and, where appropriate, bring Participants and equipment
28. Placement. As we note above, we any potential noncompliance to the manufacturers with flexibility to meet
reiterate our requirement that the EAS attention of the Enforcement Bureau for our minimum requirements in the most
visual message shall ‘‘be displayed at its review. We also note that, cost-effective manner for their systems.
the top of the television screen or where subsequent to a nationwide EAS test, 33. Audiovisual Synchronicity. We
it will not interfere with other video EAS Participants must provide decline to adopt rules requiring
messages,’’ and we amend Section information in the ETRS regarding any audiovisual synchronicity at this time.
11.51(d), (g)(3), (h)(3) and (j)(2) to complications in receiving or We agree with commenters that alert
require that the visual message not (1) propagating the alert test. Such originators have primary control over
contain overlapping lines of EAS text or complications would include any audiovisual synchronicity because they
(2) extend beyond the viewable display failure to comply with the minimum are the only party in a position to
except for crawls that intentionally accessibility requirements we adopt initiate a message that contains identical
scroll on and off of the screen. We are today. audio and text elements. We also agree
persuaded by the weight of the record 31. Finally, we disagree with those that downstream equipment in control
that the placement requirement we commenters who argue that our of the audio presentation ‘‘is not always
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
proposed in the EAS Operational Issues adaptation of the Commission’s the same equipment used to control the
NPRM, which stated that the EAS visual minimum accessibility rules in the video presentation’’ and further study
message shall not ‘‘block other Closed Captioning Quality Report and would be required to determine how to
important visual content on the screen,’’ Order to fit EAS visual messages is coordinate these disparate elements of
should not be adopted. Such a inappropriate because, unlike captions, the alert distribution hierarchy. We
requirement would be inappropriate in the production of EAS visual messages further agree with Trilithic that message
light of commenters’ assertions that, is not within the control of the EAS originators should be ‘‘free to include as
unlike closed caption producers, EAS Participants. We recognize that EAS much important information in both
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![37174 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 125 / Tuesday, June 30, 2015 / Rules and Regulations
C. Congressional Review Act copy of this Sixth Report and Order, capable of initiating EAS messages
48. The Commission will send a copy including the Initial Regulatory formatted in the Common Alerting
of this Sixth Report and Order in a Flexibility Analysis, to the Chief Protocol (CAP), its EAS State Plan must
report to be sent to Congress and the Counsel for Advocacy of the Small include specific and detailed
Government Accountability Office Business Administration. information describing how such
pursuant to the Congressional Review List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 11 messages will be aggregated and
Act (CRA), see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). distributed to EAS Participants within
Radio, Television. the state, including the monitoring
III. Ordering Clauses Federal Communications Commission. requirements associated with
49. Accordingly, it is ordered, Gloria J. Miles, distributing such messages. Consistent
pursuant to Sections 1, 2, 4(i), 4(o), 301, Federal Register Liaison Officer. with the requirements of
303(r), 303(v), 307, 309, 335, 403, § 11.61(a)(3)(iv), EAS Participants shall
624(g), 706, and 715 of the Final Rules provide the identifying information
Communications Act of 1934, as For the reasons discussed in the required by the EAS Test Reporting
amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i), preamble, the Federal Communications System (ETRS) no later than sixty days
154(o), 301, 301(r), 303(v), 307, 309, Commission amends 47 CFR part 11 as after the publication in the Federal
335, 403, 544(g), 606, and 615 that the follows: Register of a notice announcing the
Sixth Report and Order in EB Docket approval by the Office of Management
No. 04–296 IS adopted and shall PART 11—EMERGENCY ALERT and Budget of the modified information
become effective July 30, 2015, except SYSTEM (EAS) collection requirements under the
for § 11.21(a), and § 11.61(a)(3)(iv) Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and
■ 1. The authority citation for part 11
which contain information collection an effective date of the rule amendment,
continues to read as follows:
requirements that have not been or within sixty days of the launch of the
approved by OMB. The Federal Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154 (i) and (o), ETRS, whichever is later, and shall
Communications Commission will 303(r), 544(g) and 606. renew this identifying information on a
publish a document in the Federal ■ 2. Amend § 11.21 by revising yearly basis or as required by any
Register announcing the effective date. paragraphs (a) and (c) to read as follows: revision of the EAS Participant’s State
50. It is further ordered that EAS Plan filed pursuant to this section.
notwithstanding paragraph [64] above, § 11.21 State and Local Area plans and
FCC Mapbook. * * * * *
EAS Participants are granted a period of
* * * * * (c) The FCC Mapbook is based on the
twelve months from the effective date of
(a) The State EAS Plan contains consolidation of the data table required
the rule amendments contained in 47
procedures for State emergency in each State EAS plan with the
CFR 11.31, 11.51(m)(2) and (n), 11.52,
management and other State officials, identifying data contained in the ETRS.
and 11.54, in which to come into
compliance with those amendments. the NWS, and EAS Participants’ The Mapbook organizes all EAS
51. It is further ordered that personnel to transmit emergency Participants according to their State,
notwithstanding paragraph [64] above, information to the public during a State EAS Local Area, and EAS designation.
EAS Participants are granted a period of emergency using the EAS. EAS State ■ 3. Amend § 11.31 by revising
six months from the effective date of the Plans should include a data table, in paragraph (f) to read as follows:
rule amendments contained in 47 CFR computer readable form, clearly
11.51(d), (g)(3), (h)(3), and (j)(2) in showing monitoring assignments and § 11.31 EAS protocol.
which to come into compliance with the specific primary and backup path * * * * *
those amendments. for emergency action notification (f) The All U.S., State, Territory and
52. It is further ordered that the (‘‘EAN’’) messages that are formatted in Offshore (Marine Area) ANSI number
Commission’s Consumer and the EAS Protocol (specified in § 11.31), codes (SS) are as follows. County ANSI
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference from the PEP to each station in the plan. numbers (CCC) are contained in the
Information Center, SHALL SEND a If a state’s emergency alert system is State EAS Mapbook.
ANSI No.
All U.S. ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 00
State:
AL ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 01
AK ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 02
AZ ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 04
AR ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 05
CA ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 06
CO .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 08
CT ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 09
DE ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
DC ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
FL ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 12
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
GA ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
HI ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 15
ID ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 16
IL ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 17
IN ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 18
IA ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 19
KS ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
KY ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 21
LA ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 22
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![Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 125 / Tuesday, June 30, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 37177
the case of a nationwide test of the EAS, FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS Number. The OMB Control Number is
must be transmitted immediately; COMMISSION 3060–0806.
Monthly EAS test messages must be The foregoing notice is required by
transmitted within 60 minutes. All 47 CFR Part 54 the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
actions must be logged and recorded as [WC Docket Nos. 13–184 and 10–90; FCC Public Law 104–13, October 1, 1995,
specified in §§ 11.35(a) and 11.54(a)(3). 14–189] and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
Decoders must be programmed for the The total annual reporting burdens
EAN Event header code and the RMT Modernizing the E-rate Program for and costs for the respondents are as
and RWT Event header codes (for Schools and Libraries follows:
required monthly and weekly tests), OMB Control Number: 3060–0806.
AGENCY: Federal Communications
with the appropriate accompanying Commission.
State and State/county location codes. OMB Approval Date: June 22, 2015.
ACTION: Final rule; announcement of OMB Expiration Date: December 31,
■ 6. Amend § 11.54 by revising effective date. 2015.
paragraph (a) introductory text to read
SUMMARY: In this document, the Title: Universal Service-Schools and
as follows:
Commission announces that the Office Libraries Universal Service Program,
§ 11.54 EAS operation during a National of Management and Budget (OMB) has FCC Forms 470 and 471.
Level emergency approved, for a period of six months, Form Number: FCC Forms 470 and
(a) Immediately upon receipt of an the information collection associated 471.
EAN message, or the NPT Event code in with the Commission’s Second E-rate Respondents: State, local or tribal
the case of a nationwide test of the EAS, Modernization Report and Order and government public institutions, and
EAS Participants must comply with the Order on Reconsideration (Second E- other not-for-profit institutions.
following requirements, as applicable: rate Modernization Order). This notice Number of Respondents and
is consistent with the (Second E-rate Responses: 82,000 respondents; 82,000
* * * * * Modernization Order, which stated that responses.
■ 7. Amend § 11.61 by revising the Commission would publish a
document in the Federal Register Estimated Time per Response: 3.5
paragraph (a)(3)(iv) to read as follows: hours for FCC Form 470 (3 hours for
announcing the effective date of those
§ 11.61 Tests of EAS procedures. rules. response; 0.5 hours for recordkeeping;
4.5 hours for FCC Form 471 (4 hours for
(a) * * * DATES: 47 CFR 54.503(c)(1) published at response; 0.5 hours for recordkeeping).
(3) * * * 80 FR 5961, February 4, 2015, is Frequency of Response: On occasion
effective June 30, 2015. and annual reporting requirements, and
(iv) Test results as required by the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: recordkeeping requirement.
Commission shall be logged by all EAS
James Bachtell, Wireline Competition Obligation to Respond: Required to
Participants into the EAS Test Reporting
Bureau at (202) 418–2694 or TTY (202) obtain or retain benefits. Statutory
System (ETRS) as determined by the
418–0484. authority for this information collection
Commission’s Public Safety and
Homeland Security Bureau, subject to SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151–154, 201–
the following requirements. document announces that, on June 22, 205, 218–220, 254, 303(r), 403, and 405.
2015, OMB approved, for a period of six Total Annual Burden: 334,000 hours.
(A) EAS Participants shall provide the months, the information collection
identifying information required by the requirements contained in the Total Annual Cost: N/A.
ETRS initially no later than sixty days Commission’s Second E-rate Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No
after the publication in the Federal Modernization Order, FCC 14–189, impact(s).
Register of a notice announcing the published at 80 FR 5961, February 4, Nature and Extent of Confidentiality:
approval by the Office of Management 2015. The OMB Control Number is There is no assurance of confidentiality
and Budget of the modified information 3060–0806. The Commission publishes provided to respondents concerning this
collection requirements under the this notice as an announcement of the information collection. However,
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and effective date of the rule § 54.503(c)(1). respondents may request materials or
an effective date of the rule amendment, information submitted to the
or within sixty days of the launch of the Synopsis
Commission or to the Administrator be
ETRS, whichever is later, and shall As required by the Paperwork withheld from public inspection under
renew this identifying information on a Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), 47 CFR 0.459 of the FCC’s rules.
yearly basis or as required by any the FCC is notifying the public that it Needs and Uses: The FCC Form 470
revision of the EAS Participant’s State received OMB approval on June 22, is used by applicants to seek
EAS Plan filed pursuant to § 11.21. 2015, for the information collection competitive bids on eligible services
(B) ‘‘Day of test’’ data shall be filed in requirements contained in the from service providers. The Commission
the ETRS within 24 hours of any Commission’s rules at 47 CFR revised OMB 3060–0806 to conform the
nationwide test or as otherwise required 54.503(c)(1). FCC Form 470 to changes implemented
by the Public Safety and Homeland Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency in the Second E-Rate Modernization
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Security Bureau. may not conduct or sponsor a collection Order (WC Docket No. 13–184, FCC 14–
of information unless it displays a 189; 80 FR 5961, February 4, 2015).
(C) Detailed post-test data shall be current, valid OMB Control Number.
filed in the ETRS within forty five (45) No person shall be subject to any Federal Communications Commission.
days following any nationwide test. penalty for failing to comply with a Gloria J. Miles,
* * * * * collection of information subject to the Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015–15805 Filed 6–29–15; 8:45 am] Paperwork Reduction Act that does not [FR Doc. 2015–15972 Filed 6–29–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P display a current, valid OMB Control BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
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Document Created: 2018-02-22 11:16:59
Document Modified: 2018-02-22 11:16:59
| Category | Regulatory Information | |
| Collection | Federal Register | |
| sudoc Class | AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106: | |
| Publisher | Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration | |
| Section | Rules and Regulations | |
| Action | Final rule. | |
| Dates | Effective July 30, 2015, except for Sec. 11.21(a), and Sec. 11.61(a)(3)(iv) which contain information collection requirements that have not been approved by OMB. The Federal Communications Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date. | |
| Contact | Lisa Fowlkes, Deputy Bureau Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, at (202) 418-7452, or by email at [email protected] For additional information concerning the Paperwork Reduction Act information collection requirements contained in this document, contact Nicole On'gele at (202) 418-2991 or send an email to [email protected] | |
| FR Citation | 80 FR 37167 | |
| CFR Associated | Radio and Television |
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