Reminder: Nationwide EAS Test August 11
As a reminder, today (August 11) at 2:20 p.m. EDT, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS).
All EAS Participants are required to participate in the EAS test. EAS participants include radio and television stations (including LPFM, Class A, and LPTV stations), cable systems, direct broadcast satellites (DBS), and satellite digital audio radio service (SDARS).
Subject to the exemptions listed below, all EAS Participants should have already completed Form One and must also:
(1) submit “day-of-test” information by filing Form Two on or before August 12, 2021; and
(2) submit detailed post-test data by filing Form Three on or before September 27, 2021.
The following EAS Participants are exempt from filing in the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS): LPTV stations that operate as television broadcast translator stations, FM broadcast booster stations, and FM translator stations which entirely rebroadcast the programming of other local FM broadcast stations and broadcast stations that are satellites or repeaters of a hub station and rebroadcast 100% of the programming of that primary or hub station.
Broadcasters can file Forms Two and Three through the ETRS, found here, using their registered FCC Username and password. Filers that do not have an FCC Username can obtain one here. Filers that have forgotten the password associated with their FCC Username can reset it here.
Concurrently with the EAS test, FEMA, and the FCC will also conduct a test of Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA).
If you need assistance filing any forms in the ETRS system, please contact the Wiley attorney who regularly handles your FCC matters or one of the attorneys listed on this client alert.
