An FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released in august launched what the agency calls a “ground up” review of the Emergency Alert System, and the NAB’s reply comments drive home a single theme: it welcomes improvement, but insists that any overhaul must preserve broadcast’s proven, local backbone.
In its filing, the NAB assembled statements from state emergency managers and federal officials underscoring how central broadcasters are to public warning. North Carolina Emergency Management noted that radio stations “play a vital role in public safety and EAS alert,” while testimony from FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System office described radio as the backbone of the Emergency Alert System itself.
The NAB contrasted that performance with the vulnerability of broadband-dependent platforms. During Hurricane Helene, more than 90% of North Carolina’s cell sites were knocked out, the group observed, and similar outages followed Hurricane Ida in several Louisiana parishes. When mobile networks fail, the filing argued, people lose access to texts, apps, and streaming just when they need information the most.
“Unlike broadcast viewers and listeners, mobile phone users usually have nowhere to turn when their cell service goes down,” the NAB wrote. Citing NPR, the association warned that “the Commission should not overlook the value and strength of the existing system. While new broadband technologies may eventually offer enhanced features, the Commission must be mindful of broadband’s limited usefulness during and after significant emergencies when power often is lost or broadband and wireless network outages are extensive.”
The NAB joined other commenters in urging the FCC to convene an expert advisory group before making major changes. It said such a panel should examine the technical feasibility, cost, security, and real-world performance of any new alerting proposals while safeguarding the reliability of current over-the-air infrastructure.
The filing highlighted a suggestion from Digital Alert Systems to lean on existing bodies, including FEMA’s IPAWS Subcommittee and the FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council, and to bring back the FCC’s National Advisory Committee. The NAB said these entities could help ensure that both public and private expertise shape any modernization of the Emergency Alert System.
Closing its comments, the NAB reiterated that broadcast alerting remains indispensable to national safety. “Broadcasters take pride in their unique role in EAS,” the association said, and look forward to working with the FCC and other stakeholders as the proposals in the notice are reviewed and refined.