Reworking EAS: 26 Questions
[September 2025] The publication of the FCC’s proposed NPRM opens the comment period for ways to improve the EAS. Of course, ideas range from turning it into a software app to killing it off completely. Yet, no matter where you start, there are issues, some having been shown to create problems over the years, as well as some that need to be addressed if we want to make the system more useful.
No matter from which direction you approach the matter, knowing the right questions should help lead us to the right answers. Ed Czarnecki looks at the matter this way – identifying important questions that might lead us to the right solutions. If you have viable answers, let the FCC know. The Docket is 25-224. You can file a comment – detailed or informal.
Radio has always been the backbone of emergency alerting, keeping communities informed when other networks go dark.
Now, as the FCC rethinks the nation’s alerting systems, broadcasters face big questions: Is EAS still fit for purpose? How should it evolve to meet today’s challenges? And what new responsibilities or costs might fall on stations?
The FCC NPRM on Modernization of the Nation’s Alerting Systems contains well over 100 questions for alert originators, EAS Participants, mobile carriers, and the general public. Here is our take on the questions and issues radio operators need to watch.
Objectives of the Nation’s Alerting Systems
• Do the Commissions stated goals (rapid public notification, actionable protective instructions, authoritative follow-up) reflect the right objectives for broadcast-based EAS?
• Should the objectives of alerting systems focus only on technical delivery capabilities, or also on achieving safety outcomes (e.g., ensuring people take protective action after receiving a radio alert)?
Role of Alerting Authorities
• Are current EAS alerts originated by federal, state, Tribal, territorial, or local agencies effectively supporting broadcasters in serving their communities?
• Are there types of emergencies that radio-based EAS is not well designed to handle today? If so, what changes would improve its usefulness?
• Would giving local officials greater ability to send alerts increase public trust in radio-delivered alerts, or lead to duplication/alert fatigue?
• Should non-government entities (e.g., utilities) be allowed to initiate alerts that would air on radio, and what oversight would be required?
Transmission Capabilities
• Should broadcast EAS guarantee delivery of alerts to the intended audience, or remain on a best effort basis?
• Does voluntary participation by stations in carrying state and local alerts undermine system effectiveness, and should participation requirements change?
• Does the original EAS resiliency model independent, power-backed radio broadcast transmission during infrastructure outages remain essential today?
• Should EAS remain independently resilient, or should it primarily serve as redundancy for WEA (and vice versa)?
• Could interoperability between radio-based EAS and other platforms (e.g., mobile devices receiving EAS audio if wireless networks are down) improve redundancy?
Information Conveyed to the Public
• Should radio-delivered EAS alerts be required to always include certain key elements (hazard type, location, protective action, expiration time, originator)?
• What steps can be taken to improve clarity, consistency, and accuracy of audio alert messages?
• Are additional multilingual requirements needed to ensure radio listeners receive alerts in the languages they understand?
• How can broadcasters balance audio-only delivery with expectations for richer information (e.g., references to graphics, video, or web links not available to radio audiences)?
Public Reception of Alerts
- Is radio still an effective tool for alert originators if consumers increasingly rely on other platforms?
- What changes could strengthen radios role as a trusted, universal last line of alert distribution when other communications channels fail?
- Should radio stations be required to support enhanced accessibility features (e.g., text-to-speech standardization for crawls or automated announcements, audio description formats for people with disabilities)?
- How can radio alerts be better formatted to reduce listener confusion or fatigue?
Other Issues
- Are there legacy EAS features on radio that no longer provide value and could be eliminated?
- What should broadcast radio EAS be capable of achieving over the next 510 years?
- What are the costs and burdens on small and rural radio stations of potential EAS modernization requirements, and how can they be minimized?
- How can training, outreach, and coordination with radio broadcasters improve the overall effectiveness of the alerting system?
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Ed Czarnecki is the VP – Government and International for Digital Alert Systems. He is also a member of the FCC’s Communications, Security, and Reliability Council, FEMA’s IPAWS National Advisory Council Subcommittee, and numerous broadcast and cable standards groups. You can contact him at: ed.czarnecki@digitalalertsystems.com
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