Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2022 / Proposed Rules 7413 

enforceable maximum contaminant 

levels (MCLs) or treatment techniques 

that apply to public water systems. 

MCLs and treatment techniques protect 

public health by limiting the levels of 

contaminants in drinking water. 

In October 2021, EPA released the 

PFAS Strategic Roadmap (https://

www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-strategicroadmap-epas-commitments-action2021-2024) laying out an overall 

approach to addressing PFAS. 

Establishing an NPDWR for PFOA and 

PFOS is a key action in the Roadmap. 

EPA expects to issue a proposed 

regulation in fall 2022 (before the 

agency’s statutory deadline of March 

2023). EPA anticipates issuing a final 

regulation in fall 2023 after considering 

public comments on the proposal. 

Jennifer L. McLain, 

Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking 

Water. 

[FR Doc. 2022–02733 Filed 2–8–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 11 

[PS Docket No. 15–94; FCC 21–125; FR ID 

66157] 

The Emergency Alert System 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: In the Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (NPRM), the Federal 

Communications Commission (the FCC 

or the Commission) proposes action to 

improve the clarity and accessibility of 

visual Emergency Alert System 

messages to the public, particularly to 

people who are deaf or hard of hearing. 

In addition, in the included Notice of 

Inquiry (NOI), the Commission launches 

an examination of broader measures to 

enhance the Emergency Alert System’s 

overall functionality and accessibility. 

DATES: Comments on the NPRM are due 

on or before March 11, 2022, and reply 

comments are due on or before March 

28, 2022. Comments on the NOI are due 

on or before April 11, 2022, and reply 

comments are due on or before May 10, 

2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by PS Docket No. 15–94, by 

any of the following methods: 

• Electronic Filers: Comments may be 

filed electronically using the internet by 

accessing the ECFS: https:// 

apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/. 

• Paper Filers: Parties who choose to 

file by paper must file an original and 

one copy of each filing. 

Filings can be sent by commercial 

overnight courier, or by first-class or 

overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All 

filings must be addressed to the 

Commission’s Secretary, Office of the 

Secretary, Federal Communications 

Commission. 

• Commercial overnight mail (other 

than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail 

and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 

Junction Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD 

20701. 

• U.S. Postal Service first-class, 

Express, and Priority mail must be 

addressed to 45 L Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20554. 

• Effective March 19, 2020, and until 

further notice, the Commission no 

longer accepts any hand or messenger 

delivered filings. This is a temporary 

measure taken to help protect the health 

and safety of individuals, and to 

mitigate the transmission of COVID–19. 

See FCC Announces Closure of FCC 

Headquarters Open Window and 

Change in Hand-Delivery Policy, Public 

Notice, DA 20–304 (March 19, 2020), 

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcccloses-headquarters-open-window-andchanges-hand-delivery-policy. 

People with Disabilities: To request 

materials in accessible formats for 

people with disabilities (Braille, large 

print, electronic files, audio format), 

send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call 

the Consumer & Governmental Affairs 

Bureau at 202–418–0530 (voice) or 202– 

418–0432 (TTY). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information concerning the 

information contained in this document, 

send an email to David Munson, 

Attorney Advisor, Public Safety and 

Homeland Security Bureau at 202–418– 

2921 or David.Munson@fcc.gov, or 

Christopher Fedeli, Attorney Advisor, 

Public Safety and Homeland Security 

Bureau at Christopher.Fedeli@fcc.gov or 

call 202–418–1514. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and 

Notice of Inquiry (NOI), in PS Docket 

Nos. 15–94, FCC 21–725, adopted on 

December 14, 2021, and released on 

December 15, 2021. The full text of this 

document is available at https://

www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-seeksimprove-accessibility-clarity-emergencyalerts-0. 

Synopsis 

The nation’s Emergency Alert System 

(EAS) ensures that the public is quickly 

informed about emergency alerts issued 

by government entities and delivered 

over broadcast, cable, and satellite 

television and radio media. The EAS is 

comprised of both a legacy broadcast 

system and an internet-based Common 

Alerting Protocol (CAP) system. The 

legacy EAS distributes alerts over-theair from one broadcast station antenna 

to another. Alerts can also be sent over 

the internet in CAP format for 

distribution to stations via the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency’s 

Integrated Public Alert and Warning 

System. 

Because legacy EAS alerts only relay 

audio and not text, the visual messages 

for such alerts contain only basic 

location and event information 

generated from certain data codes of the 

alerts, which can cause the visual 

message to lack clarity. The legacy EAS 

visual message also typically contains 

less information than that included in 

the audio message. CAP EAS alerts, by 

contrast, can be sent with enhanced 

text, enabling the visual and audio 

messages transmitted to the public to 

contain more expansive information. 

The procedures for constructing and 

converting CAP EAS alerts into legacy 

EAS alerts are set forth in the ECIG 

Recommendations for a CAP EAS 

Implementation Guide, Version 1.0 

(May 17, 2010) (‘‘ECIG Implementation 

Guide’’), developed and published by 

the EAS–CAP Industry Group. The 

limitations on visual alert information 

in legacy EAS alerts may result in 

different or less information displayed 

visually for those who are unable to 

access the audio portion of an alert. 

The NPRM seeks to improve the 

clarity and accessibility of EAS visual 

messages to the public, including 

persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, 

and others who are unable to access the 

audio message. In the NPRM, the 

Commission proposes to require use of 

a predetermined script as the visual 

message for legacy EAS nationwide tests 

(but not for CAP-based nationwide EAS 

tests, because CAP already provides for 

relaying enhanced text to form the 

visual message). To improve the clarity 

of visual messages displayed to the 

public for CAP-based nationwide EAS 

tests, the Commission proposes to revise 

the terminology associated with the 

codes for nationwide tests.. Although 

the Commission does not propose to 

apply the script approach to CAP-based 

nationwide EAS test alerts, it does seek 

comment on whether its proposed script 

approach or its proposed change to the 

national test code terminology would 

require changes to the ECIG 

Implementation Guide, and if so, what 

revisions would be required. 


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In addition, the Commission proposes 

to require that stations check for and use 

the available CAP versions of all State 

and Local Area alerts (which includes 

alerts issued by the National Weather 

Service) instead of the legacy EAS 

versions, to increase the use of CAP in 

light of CAP’s superior visual messaging 

capabilities. The Commission seeks 

comment on whether implementing this 

proposal would require changes to the 

ECIG Implementation Guide, and if so, 

what changes would be required. 

In the companion NOI, the 

Commission seeks comment on 

additional EAS improvements and 

redesigns to enable matching visual and 

audio alert content and otherwise 

improve the clarity and accessibility of 

EAS messages for all persons who might 

receive them. In the NOI, the 

Commission seeks comment on how the 

legacy EAS architecture can be 

modified, augmented, or redesigned to 

enable alert originators to relay visual 

text that matches their audio message in 

legacy EAS alerts, as well as to enable 

more functionality within the EAS as a 

whole. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 

1980, as amended (RFA), requires that a 

regulatory flexibility analysis be 

prepared for notice and comment 

rulemaking proceedings, unless the 

agency certifies that ‘‘the rule will not, 

if promulgated, have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities.’’ As required 

by the RFA, the Commission has 

prepared this Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) of the 

possible significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities by 

the policies and rules proposed in the 

NPRM. Written public comments are 

requested on this IRFA. Comments must 

be identified as responses to the IRFA 

and must be filed by the deadlines for 

comments on the NPRM. The 

Commission will send a copy of the 

NPRM, including this IRFA, to the Chief 

Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

Business Administration (SBA). 

A. Need for, and Objectives of, the 

Proposed Rules 

In the NPRM, the Commission seeks 

comment on proposed changes to the 

Emergency Alert System (EAS) rules 

associated with visual messages 

constructed from legacy EAS-based 

alerts and visual messages constructed 

from Common Alerting Protocol (CAP)- 

formatted alerts. Specifically, the 

Commission seeks comment on 

proposed rule changes to: (i) Replace the 

EAS National Periodic Test (or ‘‘NPT’’) 

event code terminology from ‘‘National 

Periodic Test’’ to ‘‘Nationwide Test of 

the Emergency Alert System’’; (ii) 

require EAS Participants to use the 

following scripted text: ‘‘This is a 

nationwide test of the Emergency Alert 

System issued by the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency 

covering the United States from [time] 

until [time]. This is only a test. No 

action is required by the public.’’ as the 

visual crawl (or block text) whenever 

they receive a legacy EAS alert 

containing the NPT event code and the 

‘‘All-U.S.’’ geographic location code 

(instead of generating a visual crawl or 

block text from the header codes); and 

(iii) require EAS Participants to poll the 

Integrated Public Alert and Warning 

System (IPAWS) CAP EAS server when 

they receive a state or local legacy EASbased alert to confirm whether there is 

a CAP version of that alert, and if so, use 

the CAP version instead of the legacy 

EAS-based version. The proposed rule 

changes are intended to improve the 

clarity and descriptiveness of the visual 

messages generated for nationwide EAS 

test alerts and State and Local Area 

alerts issued using the legacy EAS; 

improve the chances that visual 

messages for State and Local Area alerts 

will contain the same information 

contained in the audio message, so 

members of the public who are unable 

to access the audio message of the alert 

are able to receive critical informational 

elements of an EAS test in plain, 

understandable language; and increase 

the use of CAP alerting which has 

superior visual messaging capabilities 

relative to legacy EAS. 

B. Legal Basis 

The proposed action is authorized 

pursuant to Sections 1, 2, 4(i), 4(o), 301, 

303(r), 303(v), 307, 309, 335, 403, 

624(g), 706, and 713 of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i), 

154(o), 301, 303(r), 303(v), 307, 309, 

335, 403, 544(g), 606, and 613 and 

Section 202 of the Twenty-First Century 

Communications and Video 

Accessibility Act of 2010, as amended 

(also codified at 47 U.S.C. 613). 

C. Description and Estimate of the 

Number of Small Entities To Which the 

Proposed Rules Will Apply 

The RFA directs agencies to provide 

a description of and, where feasible, an 

estimate of, the number of small entities 

that may be affected by the proposed 

rules, if adopted. The RFA generally 

defines the term ‘‘small entity’’ as 

having the same meaning as the terms 

‘‘small business,’’ ‘‘small organization,’’ 

and ‘‘small governmental jurisdiction.’’ 

In addition, the term ‘‘small business’’ 

has the same meaning as the term 

‘‘small business concern’’ under the 

Small Business Act. A ‘‘small business 

concern’’ is one which: (1) Is 

independently owned and operated; (2) 

is not dominant in its field of operation; 

and (3) satisfies any additional criteria 

established by the SBA. 

Small Businesses, Small 

Organizations, and Small Governmental 

Jurisdictions. Our action may, over time, 

affect small entities that are not easily 

categorized at present. We therefore 

describe here, at the outset, three broad 

groups of small entities that could be 

directly affected herein. First, while 

there are industry specific size 

standards for small businesses that are 

used in the regulatory flexibility 

analysis, according to data from the 

SBA’s Office of Advocacy, in general a 

small business is an independent 

business having fewer than 500 

employees. These types of small 

businesses represent 99.9% of all 

businesses in the United States which 

translates to 30.7 million businesses. 

Next, the type of small entity 

described as a ‘‘small organization’’ is 

generally ‘‘any not-for-profit enterprise 

which is independently owned and 

operated and is not dominant in its 

field.’’ Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 

uses a revenue benchmark of $50,000 or 

less to delineate its annual electronic 

filing requirements for small exempt 

organizations. Nationwide, for tax year 

2018, there were approximately 571,709 

small exempt organizations in the U.S. 

reporting revenues of $50,000 or less 

according to the registration and tax 

data for exempt organizations available 

from the IRS. 

Finally, the small entity described as 

a ‘‘small governmental jurisdiction’’ is 

defined generally as ‘‘governments of 

cities, counties, towns, townships, 

villages, school districts, or special 

districts, with a population of less than 

fifty thousand.’’ U.S. Census Bureau 

data from the 2017 Census of 

Governments indicate that there were 

90,056 local governmental jurisdictions 

consisting of general purpose 

governments and special purpose 

governments in the United States. Of 

this number there were 36,931 General 

purpose governments (county, 

municipal and town or township) with 

populations of less than 50,000 and 

12,040 special purpose governments— 

independent school districts with 

enrollment of less than 50,000. 

Accordingly, based on the 2017 U.S. 

Census of Governments data, we 

estimate that at least 48,971 entities fall 

into the category of ‘‘small 

governmental jurisdictions.’’ 


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Radio Stations. This Economic 

Census category comprises 

establishments primarily engaged in 

broadcasting aural programs by radio to 

the public. Programming may originate 

in their own studio, from an affiliated 

network, or from external sources.’’ The 

SBA has established a small business 

size standard for this category as firms 

having $41.5 million or less in annual 

receipts. Economic Census data for 2012 

show that 2,849 radio station firms 

operated during that year. Of that 

number, 2,806 firms operated with 

annual receipts of less than $25 million 

per year, 17 with annual receipts 

between $25 million and $49,999,999 

million and 26 with annual receipts of 

$50 million or more. Therefore, based 

on the SBA’s size standard the majority 

of such entities are small entities. 

In addition to the U.S. Census 

Bureau’s data, based on Commission 

data we estimate that there are 4,560 

licensed AM radio stations, 6,704 

commercial FM radio stations and 8,339 

FM translator and booster stations. The 

Commission has also determined that 

there are 4,196 noncommercial 

educational (NCE) FM radio stations. 

The Commission however does not 

compile and does not otherwise have 

access to information on the revenue of 

NCE stations that would permit it to 

determine how many such stations 

would qualify as small entities under 

the SBA size standard. 

We also note, that in assessing 

whether a business entity qualifies as 

small under the above definition, 

business control affiliations must be 

included. The Commission’s estimate 

therefore likely overstates the number of 

small entities that might be affected by 

its action, because the revenue figure on 

which it is based does not include or 

aggregate revenues from affiliated 

companies. In addition, to be 

determined a ‘‘small business,’’ an 

entity may not be dominant in its field 

of operation. We further note, that it is 

difficult at times to assess these criteria 

in the context of media entities, and the 

estimate of small businesses to which 

these rules may apply does not exclude 

any radio station from the definition of 

a small business on these bases, thus 

our estimate of small businesses may 

therefore be over-inclusive. Also, as 

noted above, an additional element of 

the definition of ‘‘small business’’ is that 

the entity must be independently owned 

and operated. The Commission notes 

that it is difficult at times to assess these 

criteria in the context of media entities 

and the estimates of small businesses to 

which they apply may be over-inclusive 

to this extent. 

FM Translator Stations and LowPower FM Stations. FM translators and 

Low Power FM Stations are classified in 

the category of Radio Stations and are 

assigned the same NAICS Code as 

licensees of radio stations. This U.S. 

industry, Radio Stations, comprises 

establishments primarily engaged in 

broadcasting aural programs by radio to 

the public. Programming may originate 

in their own studio, from an affiliated 

network, or from external sources. The 

SBA has established a small business 

size standard which consists of all radio 

stations whose annual receipts are $38.5 

million dollars or less. U.S. Census 

Bureau data for 2012 indicate that 2,849 

radio station firms operated during that 

year. Of that number, 2,806 operated 

with annual receipts of less than $25 

million per year, 17 with annual 

receipts between $25 million and 

$49,999,999 million and 26 with annual 

receipts of $50 million or more. 

Therefore, based on the SBA’s size 

standard we conclude that the majority 

of FM Translator Stations and Low 

Power FM Stations are small. 

We note again, however, that in 

assessing whether a business concern 

qualifies as ‘‘small’’ under the above 

definition, business (control) affiliations 

must be included. Because we do not 

include or aggregate revenues from 

affiliated companies in determining 

whether an entity meets the applicable 

revenue threshold, our estimate of the 

number of small radio broadcast stations 

affected is likely overstated. In addition, 

as noted above, one element of the 

definition of ‘‘small business’’ is that an 

entity would not be dominant in its 

field of operation. We are unable at this 

time to define or quantify the criteria 

that would establish whether a specific 

radio broadcast station is dominant in 

its field of operation. Accordingly, our 

estimate of small radio stations 

potentially affected by the rule revisions 

discussed in the NPRM includes those 

that could be dominant in their field of 

operation. For this reason, such estimate 

likely is over-inclusive. 

Television Broadcasting. This 

Economic Census category ‘‘comprises 

establishments primarily engaged in 

broadcasting images together with 

sound.’’ These establishments operate 

television broadcast studios and 

facilities for the programming and 

transmission of programs to the public. 

These establishments also produce or 

transmit visual programming to 

affiliated broadcast television stations, 

which in turn broadcast the programs to 

the public on a predetermined schedule. 

Programming may originate in their own 

studio, from an affiliated network, or 

from external sources. The SBA has 

created the following small business 

size standard for such businesses: Those 

having $41.5 million or less in annual 

receipts. The 2012 Economic Census 

reports that 751 firms in this category 

operated in that year. Of that number, 

656 had annual receipts of $25,000,000 

or less, and 25 had annual receipts 

between $25,000,000 and $49,999,999. 

Based on this data we therefore estimate 

that the majority of commercial 

television broadcasters are small entities 

under the applicable SBA size standard. 

The Commission has estimated the 

number of licensed commercial 

television stations to be 1,368. 

According to Commission staff review 

of the BIA Kelsey Inc. Media Access Pro 

Television Database (BIA) on November 

16, 2017, 1,258 stations (or about 91 

percent) had revenues of $38.5 million 

or less, and therefore these licensees 

qualified as small entities under the 

SBA definition. In addition, the 

Commission has estimated the number 

of licensed noncommercial educational 

television stations to be 390. 

Notwithstanding, the Commission does 

not compile and otherwise does not 

have access to information on the 

revenue of NCE stations that would 

permit it to determine how many such 

stations would qualify as small entities. 

There are also 2,246 low power 

television stations, including Class A 

stations (LPTV), and 3,543 TV translator 

stations. Given the nature of these 

services, we will presume that all of 

these entities qualify as small entities 

under the above SBA small business 

size standard. 

We note, however, that in assessing 

whether a business concern qualifies as 

‘‘small’’ under the above definition, 

business (control) affiliations must be 

included. Our estimate, therefore, likely 

overstates the number of small entities 

that might be affected by our action, 

because the revenue figure on which it 

is based does not include or aggregate 

revenues from affiliated companies. In 

addition, another element of the 

definition of ‘‘small business’’ requires 

that an entity not be dominant in its 

field of operation. We are unable at this 

time to define or quantify the criteria 

that would establish whether a specific 

television broadcast station is dominant 

in its field of operation. Accordingly, 

the estimate of small businesses to 

which rules may apply does not exclude 

any television station from the 

definition of a small business on this 

basis and is therefore possibly overinclusive. Also, as noted above, an 

additional element of the definition of 

‘‘small business’’ is that the entity must 

be independently owned and operated. 

The Commission notes that it is difficult 


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at times to assess these criteria in the 

context of media entities and its 

estimates of small businesses to which 

they apply may be over-inclusive to this 

extent. 

Cable and Other Subscription 

Programming. The U.S. Census Bureau 

defines this industry as establishments 

primarily engaged in operating studios 

and facilities for the broadcasting of 

programs on a subscription or fee basis. 

The broadcast programming is typically 

narrowcast in nature (e.g., limited 

format, such as news, sports, education, 

or youth-oriented). These 

establishments produce programming in 

their own facilities or acquire 

programming from external sources. The 

programming material is usually 

delivered to a third party, such as cable 

systems or direct-to-home satellite 

systems, for transmission to viewers. 

The SBA size standard for this industry 

establishes as small, any company in 

this category which receives annual 

receipts of $41.5 million or less. 

According to 2012 U.S. Census Bureau 

data, 367 firms operated for the entire 

year. Of that number, 319 operated with 

annual receipts of less than $25 million 

a year and 48 firms operated with 

annual receipts of $25 million or more. 

Based on this data, the Commission 

estimates that the majority of firms 

operating in this industry are small. 

Cable System Operators (Rate 

Regulation Standard). The Commission 

has developed its own small business 

size standards for the purpose of cable 

rate regulation. Under the Commission’s 

rules, a ‘‘small cable company’’ is one 

serving 400,000 or fewer subscribers 

nationwide. Industry data indicate that 

there are 4,600 active cable systems in 

the United States. Of this total, all but 

five cable operators nationwide are 

small under the 400,000-subscriber size 

standard. In addition, under the 

Commission’s rate regulation rules, a 

‘‘small system’’ is a cable system serving 

15,000 or fewer subscribers. 

Commission records show 4,600 cable 

systems nationwide. Of this total, 3,900 

cable systems have fewer than 15,000 

subscribers, and 700 systems have 

15,000 or more subscribers, based on the 

same records. Thus, under this standard 

as well, we estimate that most cable 

systems are small entities. 

Cable System Operators (Telecom Act 

Standard). The Communications Act of 

1934, as amended, also contains a size 

standard for small cable system 

operators, which is ‘‘a cable operator 

that, directly or through an affiliate, 

serves in the aggregate fewer than one 

percent of all subscribers in the United 

States and is not affiliated with any 

entity or entities whose gross annual 

revenues in the aggregate exceed 

$250,000,000.’’ As of 2019, there were 

approximately 48,646,056 basic cable 

video subscribers in the United States. 

Accordingly, an operator serving fewer 

than 486,460 subscribers shall be 

deemed a small operator if its annual 

revenues, when combined with the total 

annual revenues of all its affiliates, do 

not exceed $250 million in the 

aggregate. Based on available data, we 

find that all but nine incumbent cable 

operators are small entities under this 

size standard. We note that the 

Commission neither requests nor 

collects information on whether cable 

system operators are affiliated with 

entities whose gross annual revenues 

exceed $250 million. Although it seems 

certain that some of these cable system 

operators are affiliated with entities 

whose gross annual revenues exceed 

$250 million, we are unable at this time 

to estimate with greater precision the 

number of cable system operators that 

would qualify as small cable operators 

under the definition in the 

Communications Act. 

Satellite Telecommunications. This 

category comprises firms ‘‘primarily 

engaged in providing 

telecommunications services to other 

establishments in the 

telecommunications and broadcasting 

industries by forwarding and receiving 

communications signals via a system of 

satellites or reselling satellite 

telecommunications.’’ Satellite 

telecommunications service providers 

include satellite and earth station 

operators. The category has a small 

business size standard of $35 million or 

less in average annual receipts, under 

SBA rules. For this category, U.S. 

Census Bureau data for 2012 show that 

there was a total of 333 firms that 

operated for the entire year. Of this 

total, 299 firms had annual receipts of 

less than $25 million. Consequently, we 

estimate that the majority of satellite 

telecommunications providers are small 

entities. 

All Other Telecommunications. The 

‘‘All Other Telecommunications’’ 

category is comprised of establishments 

that are primarily engaged in providing 

specialized telecommunications 

services, such as satellite tracking, 

communications telemetry, and radar 

station operation. This industry also 

includes establishments primarily 

engaged in providing satellite terminal 

stations and associated facilities 

connected with one or more terrestrial 

systems and capable of transmitting 

telecommunications to, and receiving 

telecommunications from, satellite 

systems. Establishments providing 

internet services or voice over internet 

protocol (VoIP) services via clientsupplied telecommunications 

connections are also included in this 

industry. The SBA has developed a 

small business size standard for ‘‘All 

Other Telecommunications,’’ which 

consists of all such firms with gross 

annual receipts of $32.5 million or less. 

For this category, U.S. Census data for 

2012 show that there were 1,442 firms 

that operated for the entire year. Of 

these firms, a total of 1,400 had gross 

annual receipts of less than $25 million. 

Thus, the Commission estimates that the 

majority of ‘‘All Other 

Telecommunications’’ firms potentially 

affected by our action can be considered 

small. 

Broadband Radio Service and 

Educational Broadband Service. 

Broadband Radio Service systems, 

previously referred to as Multipoint 

Distribution Service (MDS) and 

Multichannel Multipoint Distribution 

Service (MMDS) systems, and ‘‘wireless 

cable,’’ transmit video programming to 

subscribers and provide two-way high 

speed data operations using the 

microwave frequencies of the 

Broadband Radio Service (BRS) and 

Educational Broadband Service (EBS) 

(previously referred to as the 

Instructional Television Fixed Service 

(ITFS)). 

BRS—In connection with the 1996 

BRS auction, the Commission 

established a small business size 

standard as an entity that had annual 

average gross revenues of no more than 

$40 million in the previous three 

calendar years. The BRS auctions 

resulted in 67 successful bidders 

obtaining licensing opportunities for 

493 Basic Trading Areas (BTAs). Of the 

67 auction winners, 61 met the 

definition of a small business. BRS also 

includes licensees of stations authorized 

prior to the auction. At this time, we 

estimate that of the 61 small business 

BRS auction winners, 48 remain small 

business licensees. In addition to the 48 

small businesses that hold BTA 

authorizations, there are approximately 

86 incumbent BRS licensees that are 

considered small entities (18 incumbent 

BRS licensees do not meet the small 

business size standard). After adding the 

number of small business auction 

licensees to the number of incumbent 

licensees not already counted, there are 

currently approximately 133 BRS 

licensees that are defined as small 

businesses under either the SBA or the 

Commission’s rules. 

In 2009, the Commission conducted 

Auction 86, the sale of 78 licenses in the 

BRS areas. The Commission offered 

three levels of bidding credits: (i) A 

bidder with attributed average annual 


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gross revenues that exceed $15 million 

and do not exceed $40 million for the 

preceding three years (small business) 

received a 15 percent discount on its 

winning bid; (ii) a bidder with 

attributed average annual gross revenues 

that exceed $3 million and do not 

exceed $15 million for the preceding 

three years (very small business) 

received a 25 percent discount on its 

winning bid; and (iii) a bidder with 

attributed average annual gross revenues 

that do not exceed $3 million for the 

preceding three years (entrepreneur) 

received a 35 percent discount on its 

winning bid. Auction 86 concluded in 

2009 with the sale of 61 licenses. Of the 

ten winning bidders, two bidders that 

claimed small business status won 4 

licenses; one bidder that claimed very 

small business status won three 

licenses; and two bidders that claimed 

entrepreneur status won six licenses. 

EBS—Educational Broadband Service 

has been included within the broad 

economic census category and SBA size 

standard for Wired Telecommunications 

Carriers since 2007. Wired 

Telecommunications Carriers are 

comprised of establishments primarily 

engaged in operating and/or providing 

access to transmission facilities and 

infrastructure that they own and/or 

lease for the transmission of voice, data, 

text, sound, and video using wired 

telecommunications networks. 

Transmission facilities may be based on 

a single technology or a combination of 

technologies.’’ The SBA’s small 

business size standard for this category 

is all such firms having 1,500 or fewer 

employees. U.S. Census Bureau data for 

2012 show that there were 3,117 firms 

that operated that year. Of this total, 

3,083 operated with fewer than 1,000 

employees. Thus, under this size 

standard, the majority of firms in this 

industry can be considered small. In 

addition to U.S. Census Bureau data, 

March 2019 there are 1,300 licensees 

holding over 2,190 active EBS licenses. 

The Commission estimates that of these 

2,190 licenses, the majority are held by 

non-profit educational institutions and 

school districts, which are by statute 

defined as small businesses. 

Direct Broadcast Satellite (‘‘DBS’’) 

Service. DBS service is a nationally 

distributed subscription service that 

delivers video and audio programming 

via satellite to a small parabolic ‘‘dish’’ 

antenna at the subscriber’s location. 

DBS is included in the category of 

‘‘Wired Telecommunications Carriers.’’ 

The Wired Telecommunications 

Carriers industry comprises 

establishments primarily engaged in 

operating and/or providing access to 

transmission facilities and infrastructure 

that they own and/or lease for the 

transmission of voice, data, text, sound, 

and video using wired 

telecommunications networks. 

Transmission facilities may be based on 

a single technology or combination of 

technologies. Establishments in this 

industry use the wired 

telecommunications network facilities 

that they operate to provide a variety of 

services, such as wired telephony 

services, including VoIP services, wired 

(cable) audio and video programming 

distribution; and wired broadband 

internet services. By exception, 

establishments providing satellite 

television distribution services using 

facilities and infrastructure that they 

operate are included in this industry. 

The SBA size standard considers a 

wireline business is small if it has fewer 

than 1,500 employees. U.S. Census 

Bureau data for 2012 indicates that 

3,117 wireline companies were 

operational during that year. Of that 

number, 3,083 operated with fewer than 

1,000 employees. Based on that data, we 

conclude that the majority of wireline 

firms are small under the applicable 

SBA standard. Currently, however, only 

two entities provide DBS service, which 

requires a great deal of capital for 

operation: DIRECTV (owned by AT&T) 

and DISH Network. DIRECTV and DISH 

Network each report annual revenues 

that are in excess of the threshold for a 

small business. Accordingly, we must 

conclude that internally developed FCC 

data are persuasive that, in general, DBS 

service is provided only by large firms. 

Wireless Telecommunications 

Carriers (except Satellite). This industry 

comprises establishments engaged in 

operating and maintaining switching 

and transmission facilities to provide 

communications via the airwaves. 

Establishments in this industry have 

spectrum licenses and provide services 

using that spectrum, such as cellular 

services, paging services, wireless 

internet access, and wireless video 

services. The appropriate size standard 

under SBA rules is that such a business 

is small if it has 1,500 or fewer 

employees. For this industry, U.S. 

Census Bureau data for 2012 show that 

there were 967 firms that operated for 

the entire year. Of this total, 955 firms 

had employment of 999 or fewer 

employees, and 12 firms had 

employment of 1,000 employees or 

more. Thus under this category and the 

associated size standard, the 

Commission estimates that the majority 

of wireless telecommunications carriers 

(except satellite) are small entities. 

Wireless Communications Services. 

This service can be used for fixed, 

mobile, radiolocation, and digital audio 

broadcasting satellite uses. The 

Commission defined ‘‘small business’’ 

for the wireless communications 

services (WCS) auction as an entity with 

average gross revenues of $40 million 

for each of the three preceding years, 

and a ‘‘very small business’’ as an entity 

with average gross revenues of $15 

million for each of the three preceding 

years. The SBA has approved these 

small business size standards. In the 

Commission’s auction for geographic 

area licenses in the WCS there were 

seven winning bidders that qualified as 

‘‘very small business’’ entities, and one 

that qualified as a ‘‘small business’’ 

entity. 

Radio and Television Broadcasting 

and Wireless Communications 

Equipment Manufacturing. This 

industry comprises establishments 

primarily engaged in manufacturing 

radio and television broadcast and 

wireless communications equipment. 

Examples of products made by these 

establishments are: Transmitting and 

receiving antennas, cable television 

equipment, GPS equipment, pagers, 

cellular phones, mobile 

communications equipment, and radio 

and television studio and broadcasting 

equipment. The SBA has established a 

small business size standard for this 

industry of 1,250 employees or less. 

U.S. Census Bureau data for 2012 shows 

that 841 establishments operated in this 

industry in that year. Of that number, 

828 establishments operated with fewer 

than 1,000 employees, 7 establishments 

operated with between 1,000 and 2,499 

employees, and 6 establishments 

operated with 2,500 or more employees. 

Based on this data, we conclude that a 

majority of manufacturers in this 

industry are small. 

D. Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements for Small Entities 

The proposed changes for which 

comment is sought in the NPRM, if 

adopted, would impose new or 

modified reporting, recordkeeping or 

other compliance obligations on certain 

small, as well as other, entities required 

to distribute EAS alerts to the public 

(i.e., ‘‘EAS Participants’’), and that 

manufacture EAS equipment. At this 

time the Commission is not currently in 

a position to determine whether, if 

adopted, the proposed changes will 

require small entities to hire attorneys, 

engineers, consultants, or other 

professionals to comply and cannot 

quantify the cost of compliance with the 

potential rule changes and compliance 

obligations raised for comment in the 

NPRM. In our request for comments on 

the proposals, we have requested 


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information on the cost of implementing 

the proposed changes as well as 

potential alternatives to the proposals, 

particularly less costly alternatives that 

should be considered. 

The Commission’s proposal to replace 

the EAS event code terminology for the 

NPT event code from ‘‘National Periodic 

Test’’ to ‘‘Nationwide Test of the 

Emergency Alert System,’’ to require 

using prepared script for the visual 

message for the legacy-based nationwide 

EAS test alert, and to require EAS 

Participants, when they receive a state 

or local legacy EAS alert, to poll the 

IPAWS CAP EAS server to confirm 

whether there is a CAP version of that 

alert and use that CAP version will 

likely require EAS equipment 

manufacturers to develop software 

updates to implement such changes in 

deployed EAS equipment and EAS 

equipment in production. EAS 

Participants would also be required to 

acquire and install such software 

updates in their EAS devices. Any EAS 

device models currently in deployment 

incapable of being updated to reflect 

these proposed changes likely would 

have to be replaced. Updating or 

replacing deployed devices to reflect 

these proposed changes would be at the 

expense of EAS Participants. 

To help the Commission more fully 

evaluate the cost of compliance if we 

were to adopt the proposed changes, in 

the NPRM we request comments on the 

cost implications to implement these 

proposals and ask whether there are 

more efficient and less burdensome 

alternatives that might achieve the same 

results, including alternatives specific to 

smaller entities. We expect the 

information we receive in comments 

including cost and benefit analyses, to 

help the Commission identify and 

evaluate relevant matters for small 

entities, including compliance costs and 

other burdens that may result if the 

proposed recommendations in the 

NPRM were adopted. 

E. Steps Taken To Minimize the 

Significant Economic Impact on Small 

Entities, and Significant Alternatives 

Considered 

The RFA requires an agency to 

describe any significant, specifically 

small business alternatives that it has 

considered in reaching its proposed 

approach, which may include the 

following four alternatives (among 

others): ‘‘(1) the establishment of 

differing compliance or reporting 

requirements or timetables that take into 

account the resources available to small 

entities; (2) the clarification, 

consolidation, or simplification of 

compliance or reporting requirements 

under the rule for such small entities; 

(3) the use of performance, rather than 

design, standards; and (4) and 

exemption from coverage of the rule, or 

any part thereof, for such small 

entities.’’ 

In the NPRM, the Commission raised 

for consideration the alternatives 

discussed below, which could minimize 

any significant economic impact on 

small entities, if the EAS proposed rules 

changes are adopted. The proposed 

nationwide test event code change is 

limited in scope and only changes the 

terminology/text seen by the public. The 

proposal does not change the system 

event code for the nationwide EAS tests. 

The system event code will remain 

‘‘NPT,’’ which the Commission believes 

should minimize the installation 

burdens borne by EAS Participants. 

Similarly, the proposed use of scripted 

text requirement is also limited in 

scope. Rather than proposing this 

requirement for both for legacy-based 

EAS alerts and CAP alerts, we have only 

proposed the requirement for legacybased EAS alerts. The Commission 

recognizes that implementation of the 

proposed changes associated with the 

nationwide EAS test alert will require 

small entities and other EAS 

Participants to make changes to EAS 

enabled devices and take additional 

steps to effectuate. With this in mind, 

we inquire about the implications for 

EAS and other equipment, for other EAS 

and related Commission rules, and for 

technical and operation plans and 

protocols relating to implementation of 

the proposed changes to EAS alerts and 

seek comment on these matters. In 

addition, we seek information on the 

costs that would be incurred and by 

whom, in implementing the proposed 

changes, on what, if any ancillary costs 

would be associated with modifying 

equipment, and whether the costs of 

implementing the proposal be would be 

outweighed by any benefit of making 

the visual alert crawl more informative 

to hearing impaired individuals. 

Having data on the various issues the 

Commission has raised and requested 

comment on in the NPRM relating to the 

technical feasibility, costs, benefits and 

the potential impact of implementing 

the proposed EAS rule changes, 

including alternatives specific to 

smaller entities, will assist with the 

Commission’s evaluation of the 

economic impact on small entities, and 

help to determine if the proposed rule 

changes are adopted, how to minimize 

any significant economic for small 

entities and identify any potential 

alternatives not already considered. The 

Commission expects to more fully 

consider the economic impact and 

alternatives for small entities following 

the review of comments and reply 

comments filed in response to the 

NPRM. Moreover, the Commission’s 

evaluation of the comments will shape 

the final alternatives it considers, the 

final conclusions it reaches, and the 

actions it ultimately takes in this 

proceeding to minimize any significant 

economic impact that may occur on 

small entities, if any of the proposed 

rule changes are adopted. 

F. Federal Rules That May Duplicate, 

Overlap, or Conflict With the Proposed 

Rules 

None. 

Initial Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 Analysis 

The NPRM may contain potential new 

or revised information collection 

requirements. Therefore, we seek 

comment on potential new or revised 

information collections subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. If the 

Commission adopts any new or revised 

information collection requirements, the 

Commission will publish a notice in the 

Federal Register inviting the general 

public and the Office of Management 

and Budget to comment on the 

information collection requirements, as 

required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13. In 

addition, pursuant to the Small 

Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, 

Public Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(4), we seek specific comment on 

how we might further reduce the 

information collection burden for small 

business concerns with fewer than 25 

employees. 

Comments and Reply Comments 

Pursuant to §§ 1.415 and 1.419 of the 

Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 1.415, 

1.419, interested parties may file 

comments and reply comments on or 

before the dates indicated in the DATES

section above. Comments may be filed 

using the Commission’s Electronic 

Comment Filing System (ECFS). See 

Electronic Filing of Documents in 

Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121 

(1998), https://transition.fcc.gov/ 

Bureaus/OGC/Orders/1998/ 

fcc98056.pdf. 

Ex Parte Rules 

The NPRM portion of this proceeding 

shall be treated as ‘‘permit-but-disclose’’ 

proceedings in accordance with the 

Commission’s ex parte rules. Persons 

making ex parte presentations must file 

a copy of any written presentation or a 

memorandum summarizing any oral 

presentation within two business days 

after the presentation (unless a different 


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deadline applicable to the Sunshine 

period applies). Persons making oral ex 

parte presentations are reminded that 

memoranda summarizing the 

presentation must: (1) List all persons 

attending or otherwise participating in 

the meeting at which the ex parte 

presentation was made; and (2) 

summarize all data presented and 

arguments made during the 

presentation. If the presentation 

consisted in whole or in part of the 

presentation of data or arguments 

already reflected in the presenter’s 

written comments, memoranda, or other 

filings in the proceeding, the presenter 

may provide citations to such data or 

arguments in his or her prior comments, 

memoranda, or other filings (specifying 

the relevant page and/or paragraph 

numbers where such data or arguments 

can be found) in lieu of summarizing 

them in the memorandum. Documents 

shown or given to Commission staff 

during ex parte meetings are deemed to 

be written ex parte presentations and 

must be filed consistent with rule 

1.1206(b). In proceedings governed by 

rule 1.49(f) or for which the 

Commission has made available a 

method of electronic filing, written ex 

parte presentations and memoranda 

summarizing oral ex parte 

presentations, and all attachments 

thereto, must be filed through the 

electronic comment filing system 

available for that proceeding, and must 

be filed in their native format (e.g., .doc, 

.xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants 

in this proceeding should familiarize 

themselves with the Commission’s ex 

parte rules. The NOI portion of this 

proceeding is exempt from the ex parte 

rules. See, e.g., 47 CFR 1204(b)(1). 

Incorporation by Reference 

The material referenced in the 

regulatory text was approved for 

incorporation by reference on April 23, 

2012, and the NPRM seeks comment on 

whether changes to those stamdards 

might be necessary in light of changes 

proposed. 

Ordering Clauses 

Accordingly, it is ordered, pursuant to 

sections 1, 2, 4(i), 4(o), 301, 303(r), 

303(v), 307, 309, 335, 403, 624(g), 706, 

and 713 of the Communications Act of 

1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 

154(i), 154(o), 301, 303(r), 303(v), 307, 

309, 335, 403, 544(g), 606, and 613 and 

Section 202 of the Twenty-First Century 

Communications and Video 

Accessibility Act of 2010, as amended 

(also codified at 47 U.S.C. 613), that this 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and 

Notice of Inquiry in PS Docket Nos. 15– 

94 are hereby adopted and are effective 

upon publication in the Federal 

Register. 

It is further ordered that the 

Commission’s Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference 

Information Center, shall send a copy of 

this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 

including the Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis, to the Chief 

Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

Business Administration. 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 11 

Incorporation by reference, Radio, 

Television. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Katura Jackson, 

Federal Register Liaison Officer, Office of the 

Secretary. 

Proposed Rules 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR 

part 11 as follows: 

PART 11—EMERGENCY ALERT 

SYSTEM (EAS) 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 11 is 

revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i), 

154(o), 301, 303(r), 303(v), 307, 309, 335, 403, 

544(g), 606, and 613, and Pub. L. 116–283, 

134 Stat. 3388, § 9201. 

■ 2. Amend § 11.31 by revising 

paragraph (e) to read as follows: 

§ 11.31 EAS protocol. 

* * * * * 

(e) The following Event (EEE) codes 

are presently authorized: 

TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (e) 

Nature of activation Event codes 

National Codes (Required): 

Emergency Action 

Notification (National only).

EAN. 

National Information 

Center.

NIC 

Nationwide Test of 

the Emergency 

Alert System.

NPT. 

Required Monthly 

Test.

RMT. 

Required Weekly Test RWT. 

State and Local 

Codes (Optional): 

Administrative Message.ADR. 

Avalanche Warning ... AVW. 

Avalanche Watch ...... AVA. 

Blizzard Warning ....... BZW. 

Blue Alert .................. BLU. 

Child Abduction 

Emergency.

CAE. 

Civil Danger Warning CDW. 

TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (e)— 

Continued 

Nature of activation Event codes 

Civil Emergency Message.CEM. 

Coastal Flood Warning.CFW. 

Coastal Flood Watch CFA. 

Dust Storm Warning DSW. 

Earthquake Warning EQW. 

Evacuation Immediate EVI. 

Extreme Wind Warning.EWW. 

Fire Warning ............. FRW. 

Flash Flood Warning FFW. 

Flash Flood Watch .... FFA. 

Flash Flood Statement.FFS. 

Flood Warning ........... FLW. 

Flood Watch .............. FLA. 

Flood Statement ........ FLS. 

Hazardous Materials 

Warning.

HMW. 

High Wind Warning ... HWW. 

High Wind Watch ...... HWA. 

Hurricane Warning .... HUW. 

Hurricane Watch ....... HUA. 

Hurricane Statement HLS. 

Law Enforcement 

Warning.

LEW. 

Local Area Emergency.LAE. 

Network Message 

Notification.

NMN. 

911 Telephone Outage Emergency.TOE. 

Nuclear Power Plant 

Warning.

NUW. 

Practice/Demo Warning.DMO. 

Radiological Hazard 

Warning.

RHW. 

Severe Thunderstorm 

Warning.

SVR. 

Severe Thunderstorm 

Watch.

SVA. 

Severe Weather 

Statement.

SVS. 

Shelter in Place 

Warning.

SPW 

Special Marine Warning.SMW. 

Special Weather 

Statement.

SPS. 

Storm Surge Watch .. SSA. 

Storm Surge Warning SSW. 

Tornado Warning ...... TOR. 

Tornado Watch ......... TOA. 

Tropical Storm Warning.TRW. 

Tropical Storm Watch TRA. 

Tsunami Warning ...... TSW. 

Tsunami Watch ......... TSA. 

Volcano Warning ....... VOW. 

Winter Storm Warning WSW. 

Winter Storm Watch .. WSA. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 11.51 by revising 

paragraphs (d), (g)(3), (h)(3), (j)(2), (m) 

introductory text, and (m)(2) to read as 

follows: 


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§ 11.51 EAS code and Attention Signal 

Transmission requirements. 

* * * * * 

(d)(1) Analog and digital television 

broadcast stations shall transmit a visual 

message containing the Originator, 

Event, Location and the valid time 

period of an EAS message, except that 

for national test alerts (EAS messages 

using the NPT Event code) received in 

the EAS Protocol format (as opposed to 

the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) 

format), with the ‘‘All U.S.’’ location 

code specified at § 11.31(f), the required 

visual message shall state the following: 

‘‘This is a nationwide test of the 

Emergency Alert System issued by the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

covering the United States from [time] 

until [time]. This is only a test. No 

action is required by the public.’’ 

Note 1 to paragraph (d)(1): The ‘‘from 

[time] until [time]’’ portion of the message 

shall be determined from the alert’s release 

date/time (JJJHHMM) and valid time period 

(+TTTT) header codes specified at § 11.31(c). 

(2) Visual messages derived from 

CAP-formatted EAS messages shall 

contain the Originator, Event, Location 

and the valid time period of the message 

and shall be constructed in accordance 

with § 3.6 of the ‘‘ECIG 

Recommendations for a CAP EAS 

Implementation Guide, Version 1.0’’ 

(May 17, 2010). 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * 

(3)(i) Shall transmit a visual EAS 

message on at least one channel. The 

visual message shall contain the 

Originator, Event, Location, and the 

valid time period of the EAS message, 

except that for national test alerts (EAS 

messages using the NPT Event code) 

received in the EAS Protocol format (as 

opposed to the CAP format), with the 

‘‘All U.S.’’ location code specified at 

§ 11.31(f), the required visual message 

shall state the following: ‘‘This is a 

nationwide test of the Emergency Alert 

System issued by the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency 

covering the United States from [time] 

until [time]. This is only a test. No 

action is required by the public.’’ 

Note: 2 to paragraph (g)(3)(i): The ‘‘from 

[time] until [time]’’ portion of the message 

shall be determined from the alert’s release 

date/time (JJJHHMM) and valid time period 

(+TTTT) header codes specified at § 11.31(c). 

(ii) Visual messages derived from 

CAP-formatted EAS messages shall 

contain the Originator, Event, Location 

and the valid time period of the message 

and shall be constructed in accordance 

with section 3.6 of the ‘‘ECIG 

Recommendations for a CAP EAS 

Implementation Guide, Version 1.0’’ 

(May 17, 2010). 

* * * * * 

(h) * * * 

(3)(i) Shall transmit the EAS visual 

message on all downstream channels. 

The visual message shall contain the 

Originator, Event, Location, and the 

valid time period of the EAS message, 

except that for national test alerts (EAS 

messages using the NPT Event code) 

received in the EAS Protocol format (as 

opposed to the CAP format), with the 

‘‘All U.S.’’ location code specified at 

§ 11.31(f), the required visual message 

shall state the following: ‘‘This is a 

nationwide test of the Emergency Alert 

System issued by the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency 

covering the United States from [time] 

until [time]. This is only a test. No 

action is required by the public.’’ 

Note 3 to paragraph (h)(3)(i): The ‘‘from 

[time] until [time]’’ portion of the message 

shall be determined from the alert’s release 

date/time (JJJHHMM) and valid time period 

(+TTTT) header codes specified at § 11.31(c). 

(ii) Visual messages derived from 

CAP-formatted EAS messages shall 

contain the Originator, Event, Location 

and the valid time period of the message 

and shall be constructed in accordance 

with § 3.6 of the ‘‘ECIG 

Recommendations for a CAP EAS 

Implementation Guide, Version 1.0’’ 

(May 17, 2010). 

* * * * * 

(j) * * * 

(2)(i) The visual message shall contain 

the Originator, Event, Location, and the 

valid time period of the EAS message, 

except that for national test alerts (EAS 

messages using the NPT Event code) 

received in the EAS Protocol format (as 

opposed to the CAP format), with the 

‘‘All U.S.’’ location code specified at 

§ 11.31(f), the required visual message 

shall state the following: ‘‘This is a 

nationwide test of the Emergency Alert 

System issued by the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency 

covering the United States from [time] 

until [time]. This is only a test. No 

action is required by the public.’’ 

Note 4 to paragraph (j)(2)(i): The ‘‘from 

[time] until [time]’’ portion of the message 

shall be determined from the alert’s release 

date/time (JJJHHMM) and valid time period 

(+TTTT) header codes specified at § 11.31(c). 

(ii) Visual messages derived from 

CAP-formatted EAS messages shall 

contain the Originator, Event, Location 

and the valid time period of the message 

and shall be constructed in accordance 

with § 3.6 of the ‘‘ECIG 

Recommendations for a CAP EAS 

Implementation Guide, Version 1.0’’ 

(May 17, 2010). 

* * * * * 

(m) EAS Participants are required to 

transmit all received EAS messages in 

which the header code contains the 

Event codes for Emergency Action 

Notification (EAN), Nationwide Test of 

the Emergency Alert System (NPT), and 

Required Monthly Test (RMT), and 

when the accompanying location codes 

include their State or State/county. 

These EAS messages shall be 

retransmitted unchanged except for the 

LLLLLLLL-code which identifies the 

EAS Participant retransmitting the 

message. See § 11.31(c). If an EAS 

source originates an EAS message with 

the Event codes in this paragraph, it 

must include the location codes for the 

State and counties in its service area 

(except for national event codes using 

the ‘‘All U.S.’’ location code, which 

includes all States and counties). When 

transmitting the required weekly test, 

EAS Participants shall use the event 

code RWT. The location codes are the 

State and county for the broadcast 

station city of license or system 

community or city. Other location codes 

may be included upon approval of 

station or system management. EAS 

messages may be transmitted 

automatically or manually. 

* * * * * 

(2) Manual interrupt of programming 

and transmission of EAS messages may 

be used. EAS messages with the EAN 

Event code, or the NPT Event code in 

the case of a national test of the EAS, 

must be transmitted immediately; 

Monthly EAS test messages must be 

transmitted within 60 minutes. All 

actions must be logged and include the 

minimum information required for EAS 

video messages. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Amend § 11.52 by revising 

paragraph (d)(2), adding paragraph 

(d)(5), and revising paragraphs (e) 

introductory text and (e)(2) to read as 

follows: 

§ 11.52 EAS code and Attention Signal 

Monitoring requirements. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(2) With respect to monitoring EAS 

messages formatted in accordance with 

the specifications set forth in 

§ 11.56(a)(2), EAS Participants’ EAS 

equipment must interface with the 

Federal Emergency Management 

Agency’s Integrated Public Alert and 

Warning System (IPAWS) EAS Atom 

Feed to enable the distribution of 

Common Alert Protocol (CAP)-formatted 


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alert messages from the IPAWS system 

to EAS Participants’ EAS equipment. 

* * * * * 

(5) Immediately upon receipt of a 

State or Local EAS message that has 

been formatted in the EAS Protocol, 

EAS Participants must poll the IPAWS 

EAS Atom Feed to determine whether a 

CAP-formatted version of that received 

EAS Protocol-formatted alert is 

available, and if a CAP version of the 

alert is available, acquire and process 

that CAP version instead of the EAS 

Protocol-formatted version, as specified 

in § 11.55(c). 

* * * * * 

(e) EAS Participants are required to 

interrupt normal programming either 

automatically or manually when they 

receive an EAS message in which the 

header code contains the Event codes 

for Emergency Action Notification 

(EAN), Nationwide Test of the 

Emergency Alert System (NPT), or the 

Required Monthly Test (RMT) for their 

State or State/county location. 

* * * * * 

(2) Manual interrupt of programming 

and transmission of EAS messages may 

be used. EAS messages with the EAN 

Event code, or the NPT Event code in 

the case of a national test of the EAS, 

must be transmitted immediately; 

Monthly EAS test messages must be 

transmitted within 60 minutes. All 

actions must be logged and recorded as 

specified in §§ 11.35(a) and 11.54(a)(3). 

Decoders must be programmed for the 

EAN, NPT, RMT and RWT Event header 

codes with the appropriate 

accompanying location codes. 

■ 5. Amend § 11.55 by revising 

paragraph (c) introductory text to read 

as follows: 

§ 11.55 EAS operation during a State or 

Local Area emergency. 

* * * * * 

(c) Immediately upon receipt of a 

State or Local Area EAS message that 

has been formatted in the EAS Protocol, 

EAS Participants must poll the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency’s 

Integrated Public Alert and Warning 

System (IPAWS) EAS Atom Feed to 

determine whether a Common Alerting 

Protocol (CAP)-formatted version of that 

received EAS Protocol-formatted alert is 

available, and if a CAP version of the 

alert is available, acquire and process 

that CAP version instead of the EAS 

Protocol-formatted version. Following 

this step, whether processing the alert 

formatted in the EAS Protocol or CAP, 

EAS Participants participating in the 

State or Local Area EAS must do the 

following: 

* * * * * 

■ 6. Amend § 11.61 by revising 

paragraph (a)(3)(i) to read as follows: 

§ 11.61 Tests of EAS procedures. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(i)(A) All EAS Participants shall 

participate in national tests as 

scheduled by the Commission in 

consultation with the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency 

(FEMA). Such tests will use the NPT 

event code and may be initiated in the 

EAS Protocol format and/or the 

Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) 

format. If an EAS Participant receives a 

national test alert (an EAS message 

using the NPT Event code) in the EAS 

Protocol format (as opposed to the CAP 

format), with the ‘‘All U.S.’’ location 

code specified at § 11.31(f), and is 

required to transmit a visual message, 

such visual message shall state the 

following: ‘‘This is a nationwide test of 

the Emergency Alert System issued by 

the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency covering the United States from 

[time] until [time]. This is only a test. 

No action is required by the public.’’ 

Note 1 to paragraph (a)(3)(i)(A): The ‘‘from 

[time] until [time]’’ portion of the message 

shall be determined from the alert’s release 

date/time (JJJHHMM) and valid time period 

(+TTTT) header codes specified at § 11.31(c). 

(B) Visual messages derived from 

CAP-formatted national test alerts shall 

contain the Originator, Event, Location 

and the valid time period of the message 

and shall be constructed in accordance 

with § 3.6 of the ‘‘ECIG 

Recommendations for a CAP EAS 

Implementation Guide, Version 1.0’’ 

(May 17, 2010). 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2022–00146 Filed 2–8–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 


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