As part of a thorough FCC effort to enhance emergency alerting, the FCC has launched an initiative aimed at helping the public receive Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) when cell towers are disabled during disasters. The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) has issued a Public Notice seeking partners that have a technology, method, or other solution for delivering alerts to mobile devices when such devices are not connected to functioning cell towers. The Bureau seeks to test the viability of delivering WEA through the use of complementary technologies, such as satellite service, that can help fill in wireless coverage gaps. The Bureau aims to begin testing in the second quarter of 2024.
The Bureau has asked interested parties to submit information detailing their solutions, including whether the proposed solution would work with mobile devices currently in use by consumers, how to solve potential problems with delivering geographically targeted alerts, and how testing should be conducted.
