EAS and WEA Tests Postponed; Now Scheduled for Oct. 3

In coordination with FEMA, the FCC has postponed the nationwide tests of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) to Wednesday, Oct. 3 due to ongoing response efforts to Hurricane Florence. The test was originally scheduled for this Thursday, Sept. 20.

On Oct. 3, the WEA test will begin at 2:18 p.m. EDT and the EAS will follow at 2:20 p.m. EDT. The test is intended to test the "operational readiness of the infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine whether improvements are needed."

As with the previous testing date, ETRS Form 2 will need to be completed by the end of the day on Oct. 3. Participants will then have to file a post-test ETRS Form 3 on or before Nov. 19. Form 3 requires participants to identify specific times at which they received and transmitted the test message, the source(s) from which they received the test (including which source it was received from first), the language in which the message was received and retransmitted, and any complications they experienced.

Keep an eye on CommLawBlog for more updates.