NAB Wants Rulemaking on Emergency Alert Software; DAS and State Groups Concerned
NAB said in reply comments filed last week that the FCC should proceed with a rulemaking on software-based emergency alert systems over the objections of EAS equipment manufacturer Digital Alert Systems (see 2505050055). “The record consists of nearly unanimous support, with only one self-interested detractor,” NAB said, adding that the agency can explore DAS’ objections over the course of the rulemaking process. “NAB has full confidence that the Commission, with input from industry experts, will be able to identify and properly address such issues."
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DAS said in a reply filing that its objections aren't a “roadblock” to software EAS. “So-called ‘dissent’ should be viewed as an opportunity to strengthen the proposal.” DAS “is seeking guardrails, attempting to define requirements, and ensuring that modernization does not come at the expense of security, reliability, and regulatory clarity.”
The Broadcast Warning Working Group, which includes state alerting officials, seconded DAS’ concerns. NAB’s petition “appears to have been developed without consultation with the State Emergency Communications Committees (SECCs), State Broadcast Associations, or the broader broadcast engineering and the EAS Participant communities,” the group said. “These are the grass roots local and regional organizations that help implement and support EAS every day, and we would expect a change of this scale to be thoroughly reviewed and vetted with them first.”
Sage Alerting, a DAS competitor, said it supports the NAB petition, which pointed to Sage’s announcement last year that it would cease offering EAS equipment required by the FCC as a reason to allow software-based systems. EAS “is often the only remaining special case” that isn’t software-based in modern broadcasting facilities, Sage said. “At its heart, the NAB petition is an attempt to allow the industry to remove EAS as a special case -- allowing users and suppliers to craft solutions that align with modern realities.”