“This page is a digitally archived AccessInfo Announcement”
In a Public Notice released on July 17, 2019, the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) reminds Emergency Alert System (EAS) participants of their obligation to ensure that televised national-level EAS alerts are accessible to viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing and viewers who are blind or visually impaired.
The Public Notice includes a reminder about the upcoming nationwide EAS test on August 7, 2019, at 2:20 p.m. EDT, with a back-up date of August 21, 2019.
The Public Notice also encourages the public to provide feedback on EAS tests, including any accessibility problems with EAS tests, by reporting their observations to the Public Safety Support Center at https://www.fcc.gov/general/public-safety-support-center.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released a public service announcement about the August 7, 2019 EAS test with captions and in American Sign Language (ASL) at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB6pBe1l7m0&feature=youtu.be.
Links to Public Notice:
URL: https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-reminds-video-providers-issue-accessible-emergency-alerts
Word: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-19-648A1.docx
PDF: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-19-648A1.pdf
Text: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-19-648A1.txt
For more information, please contact Elizabeth Cuttner, Attorney Advisor, Policy and Licensing Division (PLD), Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB), at (202) 418-2145 or elizabeth.cuttner@fcc.gov, or Maureen Bizhko, Attorney Advisor, PLD, PSHSB, at (202) 418-0011 or maureen.bizhko@fcc.gov. Individuals who are fluent in ASL may call the ASL Consumer Support Line at (844) 432‐2275 (videophone). TTY users may call the FCC’s TTY number at (888) 835-5322.