The FCC has set deadlines for EAS participants, including most U.S. radio stations, to comply with its recent report and order on clarity and accessibility of EAS messages.
For radio, the important date is in December of next year.
This R&O was released in September in PS Docket No. 15-94 and has now been published in the Federal Register. (You can read the full order here.)
EAS participants, you must implement the new Common Alerting Protocol alert polling and prioritization rules by Dec. 12, 2023.
By the same date, you also must display the new text for the national alert originator code (PEP), the national test code (NPT) and the national emergency code (EAN), though cable TV systems have a later deadline for the latter.
By the same date, participants must also display a standard script for NPT alerts issued in legacy format, and you must deactivate National Information Center or “NIC” code alert processing.
[Related: “FCC Gives the OK to More EAS Improvements“]
There are later deadlines in 2024 and 2028 that are relevant only to cable systems. (Read the deadline announcement.)
Check with your EAS equipment manufacturer or SECC chair if unsure how to proceed. We’ll also have more from EAS experts on this as we go along.
And for information from the FCC, email Chris Fedeli at the FCC.
