On July 19, 2011, the Wireless RERC filed comments in response to the FCC’s Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking In the Matter of Review of the Emergency Alert System [EB Docket No. 04-296]. As a result of EAS field trials conducted by the Wireless RERC, recommendations included the need for presentation of alerts in both audio and visual formats and retaining the eight second EAS audio attention signal. Comments also recommended the mandatory filing of state and local EAS plans to include information on how to address the needs of people with disabilities. A recent review of 108 state and local EAS plans revealed that only one state plan addressed the needs of people with disabilities; one local plan provided procedures for sending text, and one local plan provided a note on captioning. Read the full filing [PDF]
