[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 20, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 2317-2318]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00960]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 10

[PS Docket Nos. 15-91 and 15-94; DA 25-12; FR ID 326387]


Wireless Emergency Alerts and the Emergency Alert System

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of compliance date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
has approved a non-substantive change to the information collection 
associated with Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) rules adopted in a 
Report and Order issued by the Public Safety and Homeland Security 
Bureau (Multilingual WEA Implementation Report and Order). These rules 
describe how commercial mobile service providers who participate in WEA 
(Participating CMS Providers) must implement multilingual templates for 
the most commonly issued and most time-sensitive types of alerts in 
English, the next thirteen most commonly spoken languages in the United 
States, and American Sign Language (ASL). Specifically, Participating 
CMS Providers shall support the pre-scripted templates published in 90 
FR 57288 for eighteen emergency events. For English and the thirteen 
written languages, Participating CMS Providers must support the 
inclusion of four fillable elements that customize the pre-scripted 
alert templates: the name of the sending agency, the location 
pertaining to the alert message, the time when the emergency conditions 
described in the alert are expected to end, and an optional URL. When 
an alert originator sends a non-English template message, Participating 
CMS Providers must display the corresponding pre-scripted alert message 
in English after the non-English message.

DATES: Effective June 12, 2028. The amendments to 47 CFR 10.480 
(amendatory instruction 2) and 47 CFR 10.500(e) (amendatory instruction 
3), published at 90 FR 57288 on December 10, 2025, are effective on 
June 12, 2028.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua Gehret, Cybersecurity and 
Communications Reliability Division, Public Safety and Homeland 
Security Bureau, (202) 418-7816 or [email protected]. For the 
Paperwork Reduction Act information collection requirements contained 
in this document, contact Nicole Ongele, Office of Managing Director, 
Performance and Program Management, 202-418-2991 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that OMB approved 
the non-substantive change to the information collection requirements 
in 47 CFR 10.480 and 47 CFR 10.500(e) on January 12, 2026.
    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 in the 
following, 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. Please 
include OMB Control Number, 3060-1113, 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 
January 12, 2026 of changes to 47 CFR 10.480 and 47 CFR 10.500(e) that 
OMB determined are non-substantive changes to the previously approved 
collection.
    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 Number: 3060-1113.
    OMB Approval Date: January 12, 2026.
    OMB Expiration Date: August 31, 2027.
    Title: Election Whether to Participate in the Wireless Emergency 
Alerts.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 1,253 respondents; 5,176 
responses.
    Estimated Timer per Response: 0.50-12 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion and semi-annual reporting 
requirements.

[[Page 2318]]

    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 
152, 154, 301, 303, 307, 309, 403, and 606, of the Communications Act 
of 1934, as amended, and 1201, 1203, 1204, and 1206 of the Warning 
Alert and Response Network Acts.
    Total Annual Burden: 106,943 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $7,050,800.
    Needs and Uses: The modifications OMB approved provides 
implementation details for how WEA messages will be made available by 
Participating CMS providers in English and the 13 most commonly spoken 
languages in the U.S., as well as American Sign Language. This will 
make these alerts available for the first time to the millions of 
Americans who are not native English speakers and to our hearing 
impaired population.
    In the Multilingual WEA Implementation Order, 90 FR 57288, the 
Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau requires Participating CMS 
Providers to implement multilingual templates for the most commonly 
issued and most time-sensitive types of alerts in English, the next 
thirteen most commonly spoken languages in the United States, and 
American Sign Language (ASL). Specifically, Participating CMS Providers 
shall support the pre-scripted templates published in 90 FR 57288 for 
eighteen emergency events. For English and the thirteen written 
languages, Participating CMS Providers must support the inclusion of 
four fillable elements that customize the pre-scripted alert templates: 
the name of the sending agency, the location pertaining to the alert 
message, the time when the emergency conditions described in the alert 
are expected to end, and an optional URL. When an alert originator 
sends a non-English template message, Participating CMS Providers must 
display the corresponding pre-scripted alert message in English after 
the non-English message.

Federal Communications Commission.
Zenji Nakazawa,
Chief, Public Safety Homeland Security Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2026-00960 Filed 1-16-26; 8:45 am]
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