Remember the 2012 deadline for stations to install EAS equipment that could handle Common Alerting protocol-formatted alerts?
That deadline assumed a station had reliable broadband Internet in its market. Not every radio and TV station did at that time, so several asked the commission for a temporary waiver of the deadline.
In two decisions released this week, the FCC Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau granted temporary waiver requests for a total of 22 organizations, including cable systems, telecom providers and media organizations.
Many of the organizations now have broadband Internet in their markets and have installed CAP-EAS gear. The groups, including Oregon Amateur Radio Club, Western Oregon Radio Club and Daystar Radio, used their legacy equipment in the interim and so “the public was not deprived of EAS alerts,” according to the decisions signed by PSHSB Chief Ret. Admiral David Simpson.
The bureau granted the temporary waivers, meaning the organizations won’t get penalized for installing their gear after the deadline.
