[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 108 (Monday, June 6, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34212-34213]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12072]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 10

[PS Docket Nos. 15-94, 15-91; FCC 21-77; FR ID 89690]


Emergency Alert System, Wireless Emergency Alerts; National 
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of compliance date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) has approved information collections 
associated with certain rules adopted in the Report and Order. The 
Commission also announces that compliance with the rules is now 
required. The Commission also removes paragraphs advising that 
compliance was not required until OMB approval was obtained. This 
document is consistent with the NDAA21 Alerting Order and rules, which 
state the Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register 
announcing a compliance date for the rule sections and revise the rules 
accordingly.

DATES: This rule is effective June 6, 2022.
    Compliance with 47 CFR 10.11(b), published at 86 FR 46783 on August 
20, 2021, is required as of July 31, 2022.
    Compliance with 47 CFR 10.520(d)(2), published at 86 FR 46783 on 
August 20, 2021, is required as of June 6, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Fedeli, Attorney-Advisor, Public 
Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, Policy and Licensing Division at 
(202) 418-1514 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a synopsis of the Commission's 
Report and Order (NDAA21 Alerting Order), FCC 21-77, in PS Dockets 15-
91 and 15-94, released on June 17, 2021, published at 86 FR 46783 on 
August 20, 2021.
    This document announces that OMB approved the information 
collection requirements contained in 47 CFR 10.11(b) and 10.520(d)(2).
    The Commission publishes this document as an announcement of the 
compliance date of the rules. If you have any comments on the burden 
estimates listed below, or how the Commission can improve the 
collections and reduce any burdens caused thereby, please contact 
Nicole Ongele, Federal Communications Commission, 45 L Street NE, 
Washington, DC 20554, regarding OMB Control Numbers 3060-1302. Please 
include the relevant OMB Control Number in your correspondence. The 
Commission will also accept your comments via email at [email protected].
    To request materials in accessible formats for people with 
disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), 
send an email to [email protected] or call the Consumer and Governmental 
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice).

Synopsis

    As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3507), the FCC is notifying the public that it received OMB approval on 
April 14, 2022, for the information collection requirements contained 
in the Commission's rules at 47 CFR 10.11(b) and 10.520(d)(2).
    Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a 
collection of information unless it displays a current, valid OMB 
Control Number.
    No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply 
with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number.
    The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
    The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents 
are as follows:
    OMB Control Numbers: 3060-1302.
    OMB Approval Date: April 14, 2022.
    OMB Expiration Date: April 30, 2025.
    Title: Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) Handset Displays and False 
Alert Reporting.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: New collection.

[[Page 34213]]

    Respondents: Businesses or other for-profits; State, Local, Tribal, 
or Federal Government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 23,277 respondents; 167 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour-150 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion and one-time reporting 
requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory and Voluntary. Statutory authority 
for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 
154(i), 154(o), 301, 303(r), 303(v), 307, 309, 335, 403, 544(g), 606, 
613, 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204 and 1206.
    Total Annual Burden: 22,815 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No Impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no assurance of 
confidentiality associated with this collection of information.
    Needs and Uses: This is a notification of OMB approval of a new 
information collection for two new regulations under the Commission's 
part 10 Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) rules. No other information 
collections contained in the Commission's regulations will be impacted 
by the new rules described herein.
    The WEA system is a mechanism under which Commercial Mobile Service 
(CMS) providers may elect to transmit emergency alerts to the public. 
The Commission created WEA (previously known as the Commercial Mobile 
Service Alert System) as required by Congress in the Warning Alert and 
Response Network (WARN) Act and to satisfy the Commission's mandate to 
promote the safety of life and property through the use of wire and 
radio communication.
    On January 1, 2021, Congress passed the William M. (Mac) Thornberry 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA21). 
Section 9201 of the NDAA21 required the Commission to complete a 
rulemaking and adopt rules within 180 days to make certain changes to 
its WEA regulations (as well as to its separate Emergency Alert System 
(EAS) regulations governing broadcast, cable television, and direct 
satellite media emergency alerts).
    With respect to the WEA rule changes, Section 9201 directed the 
Commission to ensure that the mobile devices of CMS providers that have 
elected to participate in WEA cannot opt out of receiving WEA alerts 
from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator. 
Section 9201 also directed the Commission to enable reporting by the 
FEMA Administrator and State, Tribal, local, and territorial 
governments of false WEA alerts. On June 21, 2021, the Commission 
released its NDAA21 Alerting Order, adopting the WEA and EAS changes 
directed by Congress in the NDAA21. The EAS changes are the subject of 
a different notice to be published separately.
    The NDAA21 Alerting Order implemented Congresses' new directives 
for WEA, in part, with two new regulations that impose new burdens on 
respondents: the handset display update, and false alert reporting.

Handset Display Update

    In the NDAA21 Alerting Order, the Commission combined the current 
non-optional class of WEA ``Presidential Alerts'' with FEMA 
Administrator Alerts into a newly renamed alert class named ``National 
Alerts.'' Participating CMS providers that have chosen to display the 
phrase ``Presidential Alert'' on their handsets are required to either 
discontinue the handset's use of that phrase or change those displays 
to read ``National Alert'' by July 31, 2022. Network infrastructure 
that is technically incapable of meeting this requirement, such as 
legacy devices or networks that cannot be updated to support header 
display changes, are exempt from this requirement. The handset display 
changes are necessary to avoid confusion when wireless subscribers 
receive a non-optional emergency alert from the FEMA Administrator 
instead of the President.
    The handset display update regulation is codified at 47 CFR 
10.11(b).

False Alert Reporting

    Also in the NDAA21 Alerting Order, the Commission adopted a rule 
permitting the FEMA Administrator or a State, local, Tribal, or 
territorial government to voluntarily report WEA false alerts to the 
FCC Operations Center at [email protected], informing the Commission of 
the event and any relevant details. This rule creates a voluntary 
mechanism for a collection of information so that the Commission can 
monitor these false alert events which can undermine public confidence 
in the reliability of emergency alerting and WEA. Email reporting was 
adopted as a minimally-burdensome way for government entities to report 
false alerts.
    The WEA false alert reporting regulation is codified at 47 CFR 
10.520(d)(2).

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 10

    Communications common carriers, Radio.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 10 as follows:

PART 10--WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERTS

0
1. The authority citation for part 10 continues to read:

    Authority:  47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i) and (o), 201, 303(r), 403, and 
606, 1202(a), (b), (c), (f), 1203, 1204, and 1206.


Sec.  10.11   [Amended]

0
2. Section 10.11 is amended by removing paragraph (c).


Sec.  10.520   [Amended]

0
3. Section 10.520 is amended by removing paragraph (d)(3).

[FR Doc. 2022-12072 Filed 6-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P