June 29, 1995

     COMMISSION REAFFIRMS USE OF SHORTENED EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM
             TWO-TONE ATTENTION SIGNAL BEGINNING JULY 1, 1995


On November 10, 1995, the Commission adopted a Report and Order
replacing the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) with the Emergency
Alert System (EAS).  Part of the phase-out of the EBS included a
shortening of the existing EBS two-tone Attention Signal.

The Report and Order requires that all EBS two-tone decoders
certified for use at broadcast stations be modified by July 1,
1995, so that they are activated after receipt of three to four
seconds of two-tone signal.  Effective July 1, 1995, broadcast
stations may transmit from their EBS encoders a two-tone signal
as short as eight seconds or as long as 25 seconds.

The Commission has received questions about the hundreds of
consumer grade EBS decoders (many of these are not FCC-certified)
used in homes, hospitals, etc., that require receipt of more than
eight seconds of two-tone signal.  Most of these decoders are
used in the tornado belt and near nuclear power plants.  We
encourage broadcast stations to continue to transmit the longer
two-tone signal when they know that these consumer grade decoders
are in their coverage area and tuned to their broadcast
frequency.  As before, the Commission encourages all broadcasters
to transmit the two-tone signal prior to disseminating all
emergency messages.

This summer, the Commission is planning to release a new EAS
Operating Handbook and Operator Instruction cards.  These
documents will include procedures for operating the old EBS
equipment and the new EAS equipment with appropriate test script
examples.  In the meantime, broadcasters should continue using
the EBS Checklist.

For further information, please contact the EAS Staff in the FCC
Compliance and Information Bureau at (202) 418-1220.


                                  - FCC -