Click here for Adobe Acrobat version
Click here for Microsoft Word version
********************************************************
NOTICE
********************************************************
This document was converted from Microsoft Word.
Content from the original version of the document such as
headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers
will not show up in this text version.
All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the
original document will not show up in this text version.
Features of the original document layout such as
columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins
will not be preserved in the text version.
If you need the complete document, download the
Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat version.
*****************************************************************
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Amendment of Part 11 of the Commission's Rules ) EB
Docket No. 04-51
Regarding the Emergency Alert System ) RM 10619
)
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING
Adopted: March 4, 2004 Released: March 12,
2004
Comment Date: 30 days after Federal Register publication of
this Notice
Reply Comment Date: 45 days after Federal Register
publication of this Notice
By the Commission:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), we
propose to adopt revisions to the Part 11 rules governing
the Emergency Alert System (EAS)1 that will allow wireless
cable television systems to provide EAS alerts to their
subscribers in a more efficient and less burdensome manner.
This proposal, set forth in a petition for rulemaking filed
by the Wireless Cable Association International, Inc.
(WCA),2 requests changes to our rules to allow wireless
cable system operators to ``force tune'' subscriber
equipment to a system channel dedicated to EAS alerts and
messages in lieu of providing an EAS decoder for each and
every system channel.3
II. BACKGROUND
2. In 1997, the Commission adopted rules requiring
cable system operators to carry EAS messages on all program
channels of a cable system. By that same action and at the
request of WCA, the Commission included wireless cable
systems in this requirement.4 The EAS affords national,
state and local authorities the capability to provide
emergency communications and information to the general
public via broadcast stations, cable systems and wireless
cable systems. Participation in national EAS alerts is
mandatory for broadcast stations, cable systems and wireless
cable systems.5 These entities participate in state and
local area EAS plans on a voluntary basis. Cable systems
with 10,000 or more subscribers were required to install EAS
equipment by December 31, 1998. Cable systems with fewer
than 10,000 subscribers and wireless cable systems were
required to install EAS equipment by October 1, 2002. The
Enforcement Bureau, in response to waiver requests,
temporarily waived this deadline for qualifying wireless
cable systems pending the outcome of this proceeding.6
3. WCA filed its petition for rulemaking on October
31, 2002. The Commission staff issued a public notice
announcing the filing of WCA's petition on December 18,
2002.7 Comments were filed by the WCA and separately by REC
Networks (``REC''). The WCA comments provide clarification
of its original proposal. The REC comments endorse the WCA
proposal without making any new requests or suggesting
modification of the WCA proposal. WCA requests that digital
wireless cable systems, upon receipt of an EAS alert or
message, be allowed to use ``force tune'' technology to
switch subscribers from any programmed channel to a specific
system channel that will carry EAS messages. WCA represents
that modification of the rules to allow use of this
technology will provide EAS notices to subscribers while
relieving system operators of substantial financial burdens.
III. DISCUSSION
4. Our EAS rules are designed to ensure that
individual TV viewers, including viewers of wireless cable
TV systems, receive all EAS alerts, no matter what channel
the viewer may be watching. As these rules are currently
written, wireless cable providers serving more than 5,000
subscribers are required to install special equipment
sufficient to display the audio and video EAS message on
every channel in their systems.8 Systems serving fewer than
5,000 subscribers are required to display the audio and
video EAS message only on one channel, but must provide a
video interrupt and an audio alert on every channel.9 Under
the WCA proposal, a wireless cable operator would install
EAS equipment for one channel only at the headend of the
system. In the event of an EAS alert, the system would
automatically force each subscriber set-top box to tune to
the channel carrying the EAS alert. WCA argues that ``force
tuning'' would allow wireless cable providers to deliver EAS
alerts to all viewers in a more technologically and
economically efficient manner. As proposed, the rule
revision would provide the greatest economic benefit to
systems with over 5,000 subscribers by obviating the need
for special signal conversion for all channels, but also
would provide a benefit to those systems with fewer than
5,000 subscribers.
5. According to WCA, the financial impact of our
current rules is unnecessarily burdensome. EAS equipment
provides outputs designed to be inserted into analog
signals. For digital wireless cable systems the digital
channels are received via a multiplexed digital feed. To
insert EAS information into each channel requires
specialized equipment to separate the digital feeds into
individual program streams, convert each program stream to
analog format, insert the EAS video/audio into each program
stream, re-encode the program stream to digital format, and
recombine all of the streams into multiplexed feeds for
further transmission to subscribers. For a 128 channel
digital system, WCA represents that a reasonable cost
estimate for this process is $1,848,250.00. Under the
proposed software based ``force tune'' solution, the
video/audio output of the EAS equipment will be connected to
an encoder for a channel selected to carry EAS messages.
Upon EAS activation, the EAS equipment will send a trigger
signal to the system headend which then forwards the trigger
to the subscriber's set-top box as part of the control data
included in every multiplexed program stream transmitted by
the system. The software in the set-top box will recognize
the trigger and ``force tune'' the set-top box to the
selected EAS message channel. WCA represents that a
reasonable cost estimate for this alternative is $46,000.00
or about 2% of the cost of channel by channel
implementation.
6. We propose to revise our rules to allow all
wireless cable television systems to comply with our EAS
requirements by installing only one set of EAS equipment at
the headend of their systems. Under our proposed rule
revisions, these wireless cable television providers will be
able to ``force tune'' all channels in their systems to the
channel carrying an EAS alert. We seek comment on this
proposal. Our proposal responds to the WCA petition for
small wireless cable systems, which currently are required
to display audio and video EAS messages on one channel, and
video interrupt and audio alert on all other channels. We
seek comment on how our proposal would affect these systems.
We also propose to expand WCA's proposal to allow ``force
tuning'' for systems with more than 5,000 subscribers, which
currently are required to place EAS messages on all program
channels. We solicit comment on whether we should adopt
``force tuning'' for all wireless cable systems, or whether
``force tuning'' should be limited to systems of a certain
size and, if so, what size would be appropriate. We seek
comment on the pros and cons of ``force tuning,'' as
proposed by WCA and this NPRM, and whether there is another
approach which is a better alternative, technically and/or
financially, than the one proposed, or whether compliance
with the current requirements is most appropriate. We are
requesting information from system operators, industry
associations, equipment suppliers and all other interested
parties.
7. We also note that the Commission requires
certification of EAS equipment in accordance with the
procedures set forth in Subpart J of Part 2 of the
Commission's Rules.10 It appears that the WCA proposal is
software driven, that it requires the use of approved EAS
equipment at the headend, and that no changes to approved
equipment are required. For these reasons we do not propose
new authorization standards for equipment used to implement
the proposed ``force tune'' procedure. Rather, we propose
to require that the operators of systems using this ``force
tune'' technology develop procedures to ensure that the
process works and that subscriber equipment, such as set-top
boxes, does, in fact, tune to the EAS alert/message channel
when instructed to do so by the headend equipment. We seek
comment on our proposal not to require new equipment
authorization. We also request recommendations as to
procedures to be followed by operators to ensure that
required EAS notices are delivered to subscribers. Finally,
we invite comment on what effects the proposals and issues
addressed in this NPRM may have on consumer equipment.
IV. CONCLUSION
8. In this NPRM, we propose to adopt the revisions to
the EAS rules requested in the petition for rulemaking filed
by WCA. We seek comment on all of the issues and proposals
addressed in this NPRM and encourage full participation from
cable operators, wireless cable operators, equipment
manufacturers, state and local emergency management
personnel, and other interested parties.
V. PROCEDURAL MATTERS
9. Comments and Reply Comments. Pursuant to sections
1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's Rules, interested
parties may file comments on or before 30 days after
publication of this Notice in the Federal Register, and
reply comments on or before 45 days after publication of
this Notice in the Federal Register.11 All comments should
refer to EB Docket No. 04-51. Comments may be filed using
the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (``ECFS'')
or by filing paper copies.12 For additional information on
this proceeding, please contact the FCC Office of Homeland
Security at (202) 418-1199.
10. Comments filed through ECFS can be sent as an
electronic file via the Internet to http://www.fcc.gov/e-
file/ecfs.html. Generally, only one copy of an electronic
submission must be filed. In completing the transmittal
screen, commenters should include their full name, postal
service mailing address, and the applicable docket number,
which in this instance is EB Docket No. 04-51. Parties may
also submit an electronic comment by Internet e-mail. To
obtain filing instructions for e-mail comments, commenters
should send an e-mail to ecfshelp@fcc.gov, and should
include the following words in the body of the message,
``get form