Major Carriers Warn Many Subscribers’ Cellphones May Not Get Alerts
Major wireless carriers said in letters to the FCC they plan to offer subscribers alerts via cellphone and other wireless devices starting in December 2010, when the Commercial Mobile Alert System launches. But carriers may not be able to guarantee service to all customers in all markets by that date, they warned. Sprint Nextel noted a problem alerting millions using its unique iDEN network. Many smaller carriers have advised the FCC they don’t plan to provide alerts (CD Sept 3 p5). Letters declaring whether carriers will participate in the alert system were due at the FCC Monday.
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Electing to offer alerts are AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, Alltel, Leap Wireless and MetroPCS among others. Nearly all hedged on whether all customers in all regions will be able to get alerts in 2010. Carriers see alerts as a competitive edge, industry officials said. Those not offering alerts must warn of that in signs posted at their stores and kiosks.
“I hope the FCC will listen to what they are saying,” said a wireless industry attorney. “If the major carriers will have trouble, the FCC should take that at face value and certainly do what it can to facilitate progress in this area if they want it to succeed. My sense is that the carriers are trying, but it’s certainly very, very difficult for smaller carriers. You also like to see the major carriers make the first effort and the smaller carriers learn from their experience.”
Many small carriers are opting out for fear of compliance costs and insufficient information, lawyer Richard Rubino, who made filings for numerous small carriers, said Tuesday. “There’s not necessarily enough information out there that entities can determine what this is going to cost them,” he said. “They can’t make a decision as to whether it’s feasible … If you opt out you can always change your mind.”
“It is the fear of inestimable costs that has discouraged most small carriers from electing to opt in,” said lawyer David Nace, who represents small carriers. “There is concern that if a carrier opts in now and finds it necessary due to costs or other reasons to opt out later, subscribers must be given an opportunity to terminate service contracts … I expect more carriers will opt in as the process goes forward and they have a better understanding of the costs to participate.”
Participation in the program, created by the WARN Act, is voluntary, but carriers electing not to participate must give customers “clear and conspicuous notice.” Carriers have 10 months from August to ensure that their networks and gateway interface work with FEMA’s gateway, with 10 more months allowed after that to implement the system and begin transmitting alerts, an FCC spokesman said.
Sprint doesn’t know when it will be able to deploy the service for iDEN customers, still using the legacy Nextel network, it said. “iDEN presents some unique issues in that the industry is not developing a standard for it, so we need to do that on our own,” a spokeswoman said. “Given this unique challenge with regard to iDEN, we're evaluating our options.” Sprint’s Q2 report tallied 14.6 million customers using the iDEN network.
Technology standards being written only cover CDMA and GSM networks, Sprint noted. “Sprint Nextel cannot estimate how much time will be needed to develop and test any iDEN- specific standards,” the company said. “Nor can it determine whether it will be able to deploy the necessary technology to enable emergency alerts over its iDEN network in a cost- effective manner.”
Sprint will deploy a system giving CDMA customers access to alerts as quickly as possible. “Sprint Nextel cannot state with any certainty that it will have fully deployed the emergency alert technology in all of its service areas when emergency alert technology becomes publicly available,” the carrier said. “Rather, network considerations may require that Sprint Nextel deploy such technology on a ‘rolling basis’ which could extend beyond the available date.”
An AT&T filing said that carrier is participating only “in part” due to factors outside its control that may impede timely deployment. AT&T’s ability to meet the FCC timetable depends on prompt FEMA implementation of the Federal Alert Gateway, it said. “AT&T will require six months of testing prior to commercial availability of the CMAS in order to ensure the integration of the Federal Alert Gateway and AT&T’s … Gateway,” the carrier said. “To the extent the Federal Alert Gateway fails the interoperability testing, AT&T will be unable to offer CMAS service over its network.”
“As the Commission has recognized, any election to participate is necessarily contingent on the successful design, testing, and deployment of the CMAS,” T-Mobile said. Alltel said it would offer alerts to subscribers “as broadly as possible” but may not be able to “provide alerts to all customers in all markets, or over the full spectrum of handsets in use by its subscribers over its network.”
Leap Wireless has reservations, it said: “Because of the substantial technical issues still awaiting resolution and the cost and difficulty of widespread handset and replacement, [Leap] cannot at this early stage guarantee that all customers handsets will support emergency alerts from the first day that the CMAS goes live.”