Rule2022-12072
Emergency Alert System, Wireless Emergency Alerts; National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 6, 2022
Effective
June 6, 2022
Issuing agencies
Federal Communications Commission
Abstract
In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved information collections associated with certain rules adopted in the Report and Order. The Commission also announces that compliance with the rules is now required. The Commission also removes paragraphs advising that compliance was not required until OMB approval was obtained. This document is consistent with the NDAA21 Alerting Order and rules, which state the Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing a compliance date for the rule sections and revise the rules accordingly.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 108 (Monday, June 6, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 108 (Monday, June 6, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34212-34213]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12072]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 10
[PS Docket Nos. 15-94, 15-91; FCC 21-77; FR ID 89690]
Emergency Alert System, Wireless Emergency Alerts; National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule; announcement of compliance date.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) has approved information collections
associated with certain rules adopted in the Report and Order. The
Commission also announces that compliance with the rules is now
required. The Commission also removes paragraphs advising that
compliance was not required until OMB approval was obtained. This
document is consistent with the NDAA21 Alerting Order and rules, which
state the Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register
announcing a compliance date for the rule sections and revise the rules
accordingly.
DATES: This rule is effective June 6, 2022.
Compliance with 47 CFR 10.11(b), published at 86 FR 46783 on August
20, 2021, is required as of July 31, 2022.
Compliance with 47 CFR 10.520(d)(2), published at 86 FR 46783 on
August 20, 2021, is required as of June 6, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Fedeli, Attorney-Advisor, Public
Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, Policy and Licensing Division at
(202) 418-1514 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#197a716b706a6d7669717c6b377f7c7d7c7570597f7a7a377e766f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c2a1aab0abb1b6adb2aaa7b0eca4a7a6a7aeab82a4a1a1eca5adb4">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a synopsis of the Commission's
Report and Order (NDAA21 Alerting Order), FCC 21-77, in PS Dockets 15-
91 and 15-94, released on June 17, 2021, published at 86 FR 46783 on
August 20, 2021.
This document announces that OMB approved the information
collection requirements contained in 47 CFR 10.11(b) and 10.520(d)(2).
The Commission publishes this document as an announcement of the
compliance date of the rules. If you have any comments on the burden
estimates listed below, or how the Commission can improve the
collections and reduce any burdens caused thereby, please contact
Nicole Ongele, Federal Communications Commission, 45 L Street NE,
Washington, DC 20554, regarding OMB Control Numbers 3060-1302. Please
include the relevant OMB Control Number in your correspondence. The
Commission will also accept your comments via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#82d2d0c3c2e4e1e1ace5edf4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="85d5d7c4c5e3e6e6abe2eaf3">[email protected]</span></a>.
To request materials in accessible formats for people with
disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format),
send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2d4b4e4e181d196d4b4e4e034a425b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3c5a5f5f090c087c5a5f5f125b534a">[email protected]</span></a> or call the Consumer and Governmental
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice).
Synopsis
As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3507), the FCC is notifying the public that it received OMB approval on
April 14, 2022, for the information collection requirements contained
in the Commission's rules at 47 CFR 10.11(b) and 10.520(d)(2).
Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a
collection of information unless it displays a current, valid OMB
Control Number.
No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply
with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number.
The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents
are as follows:
OMB Control Numbers: 3060-1302.
OMB Approval Date: April 14, 2022.
OMB Expiration Date: April 30, 2025.
Title: Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) Handset Displays and False
Alert Reporting.
Form Number: N/A.
Type of Review: New collection.
[[Page 34213]]
Respondents: Businesses or other for-profits; State, Local, Tribal,
or Federal Government.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 23,277 respondents; 167
responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour-150 hours.
Frequency of Response: On occasion and one-time reporting
requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Mandatory and Voluntary. Statutory authority
for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 152,
154(i), 154(o), 301, 303(r), 303(v), 307, 309, 335, 403, 544(g), 606,
613, 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204 and 1206.
Total Annual Burden: 22,815 hours.
Total Annual Cost: No cost.
Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No Impact(s).
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no assurance of
confidentiality associated with this collection of information.
Needs and Uses: This is a notification of OMB approval of a new
information collection for two new regulations under the Commission's
part 10 Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) rules. No other information
collections contained in the Commission's regulations will be impacted
by the new rules described herein.
The WEA system is a mechanism under which Commercial Mobile Service
(CMS) providers may elect to transmit emergency alerts to the public.
The Commission created WEA (previously known as the Commercial Mobile
Service Alert System) as required by Congress in the Warning Alert and
Response Network (WARN) Act and to satisfy the Commission's mandate to
promote the safety of life and property through the use of wire and
radio communication.
On January 1, 2021, Congress passed the William M. (Mac) Thornberry
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA21).
Section 9201 of the NDAA21 required the Commission to complete a
rulemaking and adopt rules within 180 days to make certain changes to
its WEA regulations (as well as to its separate Emergency Alert System
(EAS) regulations governing broadcast, cable television, and direct
satellite media emergency alerts).
With respect to the WEA rule changes, Section 9201 directed the
Commission to ensure that the mobile devices of CMS providers that have
elected to participate in WEA cannot opt out of receiving WEA alerts
from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator.
Section 9201 also directed the Commission to enable reporting by the
FEMA Administrator and State, Tribal, local, and territorial
governments of false WEA alerts. On June 21, 2021, the Commission
released its NDAA21 Alerting Order, adopting the WEA and EAS changes
directed by Congress in the NDAA21. The EAS changes are the subject of
a different notice to be published separately.
The NDAA21 Alerting Order implemented Congresses' new directives
for WEA, in part, with two new regulations that impose new burdens on
respondents: the handset display update, and false alert reporting.
Handset Display Update
In the NDAA21 Alerting Order, the Commission combined the current
non-optional class of WEA ``Presidential Alerts'' with FEMA
Administrator Alerts into a newly renamed alert class named ``National
Alerts.'' Participating CMS providers that have chosen to display the
phrase ``Presidential Alert'' on their handsets are required to either
discontinue the handset's use of that phrase or change those displays
to read ``National Alert'' by July 31, 2022. Network infrastructure
that is technically incapable of meeting this requirement, such as
legacy devices or networks that cannot be updated to support header
display changes, are exempt from this requirement. The handset display
changes are necessary to avoid confusion when wireless subscribers
receive a non-optional emergency alert from the FEMA Administrator
instead of the President.
The handset display update regulation is codified at 47 CFR
10.11(b).
False Alert Reporting
Also in the NDAA21 Alerting Order, the Commission adopted a rule
permitting the FEMA Administrator or a State, local, Tribal, or
territorial government to voluntarily report WEA false alerts to the
FCC Operations Center at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f0b6b3b3bfa0a3b0969393de979f86"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bff9fcfcf0efecffd9dcdc91d8d0c9">[email protected]</span></a>, informing the Commission of
the event and any relevant details. This rule creates a voluntary
mechanism for a collection of information so that the Commission can
monitor these false alert events which can undermine public confidence
in the reliability of emergency alerting and WEA. Email reporting was
adopted as a minimally-burdensome way for government entities to report
false alerts.
The WEA false alert reporting regulation is codified at 47 CFR
10.520(d)(2).
List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 10
Communications common carriers, Radio.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 10 as follows:
PART 10--WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERTS
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1. The authority citation for part 10 continues to read:
Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i) and (o), 201, 303(r), 403, and
606, 1202(a), (b), (c), (f), 1203, 1204, and 1206.
Sec. 10.11 [Amended]
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2. Section 10.11 is amended by removing paragraph (c).
Sec. 10.520 [Amended]
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3. Section 10.520 is amended by removing paragraph (d)(3).
[FR Doc. 2022-12072 Filed 6-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
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