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FCC Wants Better EAS Compliance

June Butler, Compliance Specialist with the local FCC office, passed along a press release outlining results of an EAS compliance survey. You might say they were "disappointed." Here's that release:

The FCC urged broadcasters to come into 100% compliance with the Emergency Alert System (EAS). Following a recent survey of 653 AM, FM, and TV broadcast stations, the Commission said that stations have improved compliance with EAS requirements, but must increase their efforts to do a better job.

The survey found that during the past year, the compliance levels of the 653 stations were below expectations in the following categories:

  1. EAS equipment installed and operating (87 percent compliance). Stations must have an EAS encoder and decoder in operating condition.
  2. Monitoring the correct station (83 percent compliance). Licensees must monitor two other EAS sources (mostly broadcast stations) for an EAS alert.
  3. Maintaining EAS logs (77 percent compliance). Log the weekly tests, monthly test, and any equipment malfunction.
  4. EAS Handbook availability (85 percent compliance). The handbook must be readily available.
  5. Sending and receiving EAS tests (76 percent compliance). Stations must send and receive weekly EAS tests. They must also retransmit a monthly test. This reflects on how well stations may handle messages during an emergency.

Because EAS compliance is not at 100%, the FCC's field offices will conduct inspections of AM, FM, and TV stations to ensure that stations are meeting the EAS requirements. FCC Field offices may issue forfeitures to stations which do not meet the EAS requirements. To give stations a chance to improve their EAS compliance, the FCC will not begin its inspection program until February 1, 1999.

Compliance &s Information Bureau contact: Frank Lucia at (202) 418-1226 (e-mail address: flucia@fcc.gov).


 
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Web site contents ©1998 Society of Broadcast Engineers Chapter 36 San Diego. For more information, to become a member or a sponsor, or to make suggestions or comments, e-mail sbe36@broadcast.net. Write to P.O. Box 710702, San Diego, California 92171-0702.  

Edited by Gary Stigall. Updated 1-Dec-98.