On August 8, 2025, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Notice) in Docket 25-50 to reexamine the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system to “explore whether fundamental changes could make these lifesaving systems more effective, efficient, and better able to serve the public’s needs.” According to the Commission, it “seeks comment on what goals these alerting systems should aim to achieve, whether these systems are currently effective at achieving these goals, and what steps [it] should take to modernize these systems to improve their usefulness and better leverage modern technology while minimizing burdens on stakeholders.”
The Emergency Alert System comprises several components, including the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and EAS and WEA, which are administered by the Commission…IPAWS is an IP-based system that aggregates alerts received from alerting authorities and distributes those alerts to EAS, WEA, and other alert distribution platforms, which in turn deliver the alerts to the public. EAS messages are distributed either (i) through a broadcast-based, hierarchical distribution system in which an alert originator encodes (or arranges to have encoded) a message in the EAS Protocol; or (ii) over the Internet from IPAWS, which FEMA makes available to EAS Participants so that they can receive state and local area emergency alerts with superior audiovisual characteristics. (Notice at paras. 2-3.).
WEA is a tool that enables alerting authorities to send alerts and warnings to mobile devices that are capable of receiving a WEA and that are connected to the network of a Commercial Mobile Service (CMS) provider that has elected to participate in WEA (Participating CMS Provider). The Warning Alert and Response Network (WARN) Act establishes WEA as a voluntary system. CMS providers that elect to participate in WEA must do so in compliance with the FCC’s technical standards, protocols, procedures, and other technical requirements. Participating CMS Providers receive WEA messages. Id. from IPAWS, which they relay to the public, generally using cell broadcast technology. (Id. At 4).
In the Notice, the agency seeks industry comments on the following issues:
Objectives of the Alerting Systems – The Commission believes that the goals for EAS and WEA should include (1) alerting systems that provide authorities with the ability to rapidly notify the public of emergencies that may put the public at risk; (2) alerting systems that are capable of delivering instructions that facilitate the protection of life and property; and (3) alerting systems that provide a mechanism for government officials to provide additional authoritative communications with the public before, during, and after an emergency. Are there additional goals for the alert systems?
The Role of Alerting Authorities – Which authorities should be permitted to file alerts to maximize the effectiveness of the alerting systems? Currently, government entities, including agencies at the federal, state, Tribal, territorial, or local level, are allowed to send alerts. Should this continue? Should non-government entities be allowed to send alerts?
Transmission Capabilities of Alerting Systems – Should the nation’s alerting systems be designed with the purpose of guaranteeing delivery of each alert to the intended audience, regardless of the conditions on the ground? Or should these alerting systems instead be designed to require only a “best effort” attempt at delivery and rely on a likelihood that the audience will receive at least one alert from several other possible sources?
The Commission believes that “not only is it reasonable to expect that alerts will be successfully delivered to all targeted members of the public during blue-sky conditions, but that alerting systems should also incorporate resilience to common causes of disruption to communications, such as power outages and physical damage to infrastructure.”
It also asserts that it is necessary for alerting systems to be capable of delivering alerts to specific populations that are targeted by alerting authorities, without delivering the alert to populations that are not targeted.
Finally, the FCC believes that the alerting systems should be secure from cyberattacks from our country’s adversaries.
Information Conveyed to the Public – What information is necessary for the alerting systems to be effective? Currently wireless providers messages in the WEA system must include the type of hazard event, the geographic area affected, a recommended protective action, the expiration time of the alert, and the identity of the sending agency. Is this information adequate?
How the Public Receives Alerts – Currently the public can receive emergency alerts from various sources like mobile devices, radio and television broadcasts, cable services, wireline video services, and road signs. As more people migrate to new technologies should alerts should also be sent to personal computers, tablets without commercial mobile service, wearable technology, gaming consoles, smart speakers, streaming services, and social media?
The industry is invited to comment on all these issues. Comments are due 30 days after the Notice appears in the Federal Register. Reply comments are due 15 days later.