"This page is a digitally archived AccessInfo Announcement"
Comments due: April 8, 2024
Reply Comments due: May 6, 2024
On February 15, 2024, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to simplify the process for alert originators to send multilingual emergency alerts over television and radio using the Emergency Alert System (EAS). The EAS Multilingual Alerting NPRM proposes to create template alert scripts that would be pre-translated into the 13 most commonly spoken non-English languages in the United States, and seeks comment on the feasibility of developing and implementing American Sign Language (ASL) video alerts.
On March 8, 2024, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing that the comment due dates were established by publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register. Interested parties may file comments by accessing the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings. All filings must reference PS Docket No. 15-94. People with disabilities who need assistance to file comments online may request assistance by email to FCC504@fcc.gov.
Link to the February 15, 2024 EAS Multilingual Alerting NPRM:
URL: https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-proposes-solution-expand-multilingual-emergency-alerts-0
Link to the March 8, 2024 Public Notice:
URL: https://www.fcc.gov/document/comment-dates-announced-eas-multilingual-alerting-nprm
For general information about the accessibility of EAS, visit: https://www.fcc.gov/eas-faq-accessibility. For specific questions about this NPRM, contact David Munson, Attorney Advisor, Cybersecurity and Communications Reliability Division (CCRD), Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB), at David.Munson@fcc.gov or (202) 418-2921, or George Donato, Associate Division Chief, CCRD, PSHSB, at George.Donato@fcc.gov or (202) 418-0729. Individuals who use videophones and are fluent in ASL may call the FCC’s ASL Consumer Support Line at (844) 432-2275 (videophone).