[EAS] FCC seeks participants for WEA geotargeting test

[Ed Czarnecki]

Sean -   Well ... the complication is contemplating deadlines and enforcement on a system that is still "voluntary" on the part of mobile phone operators.  And even more "voluntary" than EAS.

>From the CMSP perspective, the creeping regulation of WEA is a concern (which is why the mobile industry is perhaps so reluctant to share operational data).  History has shown that once your volunteering, things tend to grow form there.  WEA relies on CMSPs to opt into the system (even partially) ... but once opted in, CMSPs can't easily move to opt-OUT if regulation becomes too onerous (in terms of capability of timeline).

The irony is that WEA came to be almost by accident.  The original Warning, Alert, and Response Network Act (WARN Act) was about funding Public TV for a capability to relay CAP based EAS messages over satellite and DTV (public TV guys on the list may remember the "DEAS" with APTS).  The bill went into committee as a broadcast funding bill, and through the magic of lobbying, in a few short days it came out as a recommendation for a commercial mobile alerting system (with a clause left in place for public TV).  I was there when the bill was written and introduced, and when we found out it had been altered, and at the FCC when we figured out where public TV fit with the amended bill.

Edward Czarnecki | Senior Director - Strategy & Government Affairs | ext. 122
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-----Original Message-----
From: EAS <eas-bounces at radiolists.net> On Behalf Of Sean Donelan
Cc: sbe-eas at sbe.org

On Wed, 12 Jun 2019, Ed Czarnecki wrote:
> On the other hand, it does provide an opportunity to further discuss 
> the impact of deadlines drawn up by administrative order, rather than 
> technical committee.

It depends on the type of enforcement.

If the deadlines are aspirational, with no enforcement...

If the deadlines are operational, with strict enforcement...

If the deadlines are coordinational, with implicit enforcement...

As an long-time engineer I found most regulatory deadlines very frustrating. After short detail at a regulatory agency, I now understand how deadlines are necessary and can be useful (and also can be abused).

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