At its January 30 meeting, the FCC will likely vote to approve an item that would lead to improvements in Wireless Emergency Alerts, primarily by requiring that alerts be delivered with more geographic precision — as close as is practical to a target area specified an alert originator. This is intended, in part, to reduce the potential for over-alerting and resultant subscriber opt-out of receiving alert messages. Among other things, the item would additionally require that WEA-capable mobile devices preserve alert messages for 24 hours after its received.
Steven J. Crowley, P.E.
Consulting Engineer