FCC Grants Waiver for WEA Test in DC, Surrounding Area

Commercial mobile service providers may join an April 5 wireless emergency alert test by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) Emergency Managers Committee, said an FCC Public Safety Bureau order Friday granting limited waiver. The test will take place in 20 jurisdictions within the National Capital Region, “simulating the manner in which the MWCOG would conduct a coordinated WEA in the case of an actual emergency,” the bureau said in docket 15-91. Test alerts will be sent by 12 of the jurisdictions, it said. The bureau conditioned the waiver on MWCOG doing appropriate outreach beforehand so as not to confuse the public. Test participants are the District of Columbia and surrounding jurisdictions in Maryland and Virginia.