The FCC has been down this road before. The commission has launched several initiatives to improve emergency alerting in the United States over the past decade, but its most recent modernization effort might carry the biggest technical challenges for EAS yet, according to industry stakeholders.
In its latest review — which proposes no new rules — the FCC says it is considering video-rich alerts, improved geotargeting, new delivery channels, cybersecurity enhancements and increased training for alert originators.
The two largest EAS product suppliers, Digital Alert Systems (DAS) and Sage Alerting Systems, have filed comments in the proceeding.
Sage, you will recall, discontinued manufacturing its ENDEC EAS encoder in 2024, but says it intends to produce EAS software if the FCC allows broadcasters to voluntarily use software-based EAS encoder/decoder technology in place of physical hardware. The FCC previously took public comment about such a proposal filed by NAB.
[Related: “NAB Outlines Key Steps to Modernizing EAS“]
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has said it’s time to explore structural changes to the underlying frameworks of EAS and WEA in an effort to leverage the latest technology.
The comments by DAS cover a broad range of modernization issues. The manufacturer says the FCC’s questions present significant challenges in the current framework and noted that EAS remains an underfunded mandate for broadcasters.
“Every broadcaster, cable operator and other covered entity is required to purchase, deploy and maintain FCC-certified EAS equipment,” DAS told the FCC. That includes more than 17,000 radio stations.
On top of that, DAS told the FCC an often-overlooked issue is that EAS manufacturers carry significant burdens and risks, as they must rapidly innovate to meet new regulatory expectations while ensuring affordability, backward compatibility and reliability in a market that is entirely compliance-driven.
“Advancing into some of the complex capabilities raised by the commission, such as guaranteed delivery with end-to-end monitoring or acknowledgments, video-based alerting and multilingual services, risks pushing this alerting ecosystem to the breaking point,” DAS said. “Without a funding mechanism, expanding the public mission and capabilities of EAS while leaving both participants and manufacturers to shoulder the weight.”
DAS noted that the commission is considering enhancements, which also include accessibility improvements for those with hearing or vision impairments. “Each of these enhancements delivers broad public benefits, but they also incur private costs in the form of new equipment purchases, integration, testing and ongoing operational support.”
The equipment manufacturer recommends establishing dedicated federal or state-level funding programs — administered through FEMA’s IPAWS office or DHS grant mechanisms — to support purchasing and deploying enhanced EAS equipment.
Precedent exists, DAS says, in the Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP), which funds interoperable communications infrastructure and the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) Grant Program.
“Such programs should also recognize the burdens borne by manufacturers, who must invest in research, development and certification to meet evolving requirements in a compliance-driven market,” it told the FCC.
DAS also suggests exploring cooperative programs in which federal support “leverages private-sector innovation.” For example, equipment rebates, matching grants, R&D cost offsets or tax credits could accelerate innovation. However, the company acknowledges these suggestions are outside the scope of the commission.
DAS goes on in detail to answer the FCC’s questions about video-based alerting, cyber hygiene, multilingual capabilities and delivery of alerts on streaming and digital platforms. You can read its full comments here.
[Related: “Broadcasters of All Sizes Share Ideas for the Future of EAS“]
Meanwhile, Sage Alerting Systems told the FCC that the strength of legacy EAS when transmitted over radio and TV is its “cross-connected station-to-station relay.” However, it continued, legacy EAS constraints include narrow audio bandwidth, which results in limited data rate.
“Many of the limitations of broadcast EAS, such as lack of fine-grained geofencing, are inherent in the delivery mechanism, i.e., broadcast,” Sage wrote. “Some limitations in presentation, when the internet is not available, are due to the low data rate used.”
What is gained by those limitations is resiliency and simplicity, Sage says.
The company said there is a lot for the FCC to think through, including deciding whether or not there is still a use case for the fallback, narrow-band audio “legacy” EAS.
Sage wonders if the public might be better served by a funded satellite delivery system for each EAS participant to receive high-fidelity CAP messages when the internet is down.
A number of other countries use CAP for their emergency systems, Sage says, but they don’t also relay data through broadcasters by using AFSK data on the main audio channel. Canada, for example, uses a redundant internet feed to distribute alert messages to radio, TV and cable systems, according to the filing.
“Sage believes that there is a use for the legacy EAS system, but there is a cost, in particular when considering security, multilingual support and text presentation,” it wrote.
The larger question to be answered by the FCC and stakeholders, according to Sage, is “do we want to continue to permit broadcasters to originate EAS messages? We still need monthly tests, but if we want to be secure, they should be issued by an IPAWS approved public safety source.”
The company concluded: “Sage believes that a security overlay can be added to legacy EAS if desired. A strong argument can be made for either adding security to legacy EAS, or removing that capability and using CAP-only EAS.”
Read the Sage comments here and access other filed comments about the FCC EAS modernization proposal here.
