FCC Partners with Federal, State and Local Agencies to Assess Wireless Emergency Alerts.
The FCC announced that it is entering into partnerships with 11 federal, state, and local agencies to assess the delivery of Wireless Emergency Alerts in areas across the country during a planned nationwide test on August 11, 2021. “While the FCC has long required Emergency Alert System participants to report how nationwide EAS tests fared on their television and radio systems, this is the first time we will gather meaningful data about the performance of a nationwide Wireless Emergency Alert test,” Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel stated. “We are grateful for the participation of our many government partners in this unprecedented survey, which will help the FCC gain additional insights into how we can work together to continue strengthening this life-saving system.” Participants will be located in urban, suburban, and rural settings.
FEMA, in coordination with the FCC, will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts beginning at 2:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 11th. For the Wireless Emergency Alert portion, a test message will be directed only to consumer cell phones where the subscriber has opted in to receive test messages. The FCC intends to publish findings from both the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alert tests after a thorough analysis of the data.