(From FEMA.gov) Due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency reponse, FEMA will not conduct a national test of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) this year.

FEMA is moving the next national test of the system to 2021 out of consideration for the unusual circumstances and working conditions for those in the broadcast and cable industry. Although systems remain in place for rapid automatic transmission of the test message by broadcast and cable operators, the follow-on reporting activities associated with a national test place additional burdens on technical staff that are already quite busy maintaining as close to normal operation as possible.

IPAWS is a national system for local alerting that provides authenticated emergency alert and information messaging to the public through cell phones and internet applications using Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), and to radio and television via the Emergency Alert System (EAS). Emergency officials across the country have sent more than 360 important safety messages on the COVID-19 pandemic to their residents via WEA and EAS.

FEMA is required by law to test IPAWS at least every three years. The national WEA capability was most recently tested in conjunction with the EAS in 2018. 

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2020—The Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission today demanded that gateway providers allowing COVID-19 pandemic-related scam robocalls into the United States cut off this traffic or face serious consequences. And this time, they named names. This is the second such action taken during the pandemic, following a successful push in April with similar letters from the agencies that led to the termination of other robocallers’ access to American phone networks.

Stations: Confirm Your Station is Compliant with EAS Updates

By Larry Wilkins, Chair, SBE EAS Advisory Group

The FCC and FEMA are in the process of making changes in the EAS and CAP system. Most of these changes concern security issues. To aid stations in understanding these changes and what will be required to keep your EAS units compliant, we have put together the following information.

June 5, 2019

Larry Wilkins, CPBE, CBNT, AMD
Chair, SBE EAS Advisory Group

The Federal Communications Commission has announced that all EAS participants must renew their identifying information in the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) Form One on or before July 3, 2019. This is in conjunction with the nationwide test of the EAS scheduled for Aug. 7, 2019, at 2:20 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

EAS participants must renew their identifying information required by ETRS Form One on a yearly basis. The ETRS site is online and available now at the FCC site:
https://www.fcc.gov/general/eas-test-reporting-system.
It can also be reach by going to fcc.gov and clicking on ETRS under the licensing and database tab.

All the information for logging in and completing the form is on the ETRS home page. Make sure you have the company Federal Registration Number (FRN), station Facility ID, along with correct login information from last year available before you visit the site.

Additional information is available in the Public Notice:
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-19-505A1.docx

Review all the information and make any corrections or changes before submitting the form. You will receive a confirmation email after it has been successfully submitted.

On or before 11:59 p.m. EDT, Aug. 7, 2019, EAS participants must file “day of test” information sought by ETRS Form Two. On or before Sept. 23, 2019, EAS participants must file the detailed post-test data sought by ETRS Form Three. ETRS Forms Two and Three will become available in the ETRS at the time of initiation of the 2019 nationwide test.