Nationwide EAS Test Hit by Audio Difficulties in Some Areas

The 2021 nationwide emergency alert system and wireless emergency alert tests appeared to go smoothly in some places but faced reception and transmission difficulties elsewhere, according to anecdotal evidence and early reports from EAS officials. Numerous stations that received their EAS feed from iHeart subsidiary Premiere Radio Networks broadcast a message without an audio alert, several State Emergency Communications Committee chairs told us. “It didn’t go very well,” said Kansas SECC Chair Roy Baum. Reception of the opt-in only WEA test appeared to be inconsistent, but it’s difficult to know if those who didn’t get the message had their phones correctly configured to do so, said Alaska SECC Chair Dennis Bookey.

An FCC spokesperson told us the agency will have federal and state agencies and local emergency managers weigh in on how the opt-in WEA test went. “Their input is vital to this effort,” the FCC emailed. “We will also examine performance information shared by wireless providers. Early reports on the broadcast test are due Thursday, and further post-test data is due Sept. 27. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which conducted the test with the FCC, didn't comment.

Major wireless providers declined to comment. Officials said it will take time to sort through the test data. Last month, the FCC asked AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon to provide performance information within two weeks of the test (see 2107200032).

National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations EAS Chair Suzanne Goucher said in an interview the stations in Maine appeared to transmit the broadcast alert cleanly, and Digital Alert Systems Vice President Ed Czarnecki said all six Washington, D.C., stations he monitored broadcast the alert, which he said “is a good sign” for the nationwide test. Most stations monitored by Communications Daily aired the alert between 2:21 p.m. and 2:23 p.m. Goucher told us the problems with Premiere came to light on a post-test conference call with SECC officials and the FCC. “Stations monitoring Premiere apparently got the tones but no audio,” in several states, Goucher said. Premiere didn’t comment. Issues weren't confined to stations that were fed by Premiere, Goucher said. Some states reported relay problems, and “lots of states” reported that the audio was low if picked up from a primary entry point station, she said.

Several national networks -- including Sirius XM, NPR and Premiere -- are available for stations to monitor to pick up legacy EAS alerts, said Idaho SECC Chair Dave Turnmire in an interview. They're often used by stations that had difficulty in being triggered by another broadcaster, he said.

The 2021 nationwide EAS test focused on the system's “daisy-chain” legacy alerting capability, mirroring the last nationwide test in 2019. As in 2019, Wednesday’s alert didn’t involve the internet-based Integrated Public Alert Warning System. The 2011 nationwide test also used the legacy system, and an audio error caused the emergency message to loop and create an echo that led some stations to not pass on the message. In 2019, volume levels in the message transmitted by some stations caused difficulties. EAS officials told us before the test that had been addressed. Alaska's Bookey said the 2021 EAS test didn’t suffer from the same sort of systemic problems as the 2011version.

Anecdotal evidence showed audio difficulties with some broadcast alerts Wednesday. Czarnecki noticed the volume begin to trail off at the end of the alert message on two stations, and Comm Daily observed a similar effect on Washington, D.C.'s WETA-TV and WIHT(FM). A tweeted video of WTOL Toledo’s alert shows the EAS tones playing over the visual crawl, but no audio message. A video of WKBW-TV Buffalo’s test includes the full audio message, but New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s speech playing on the station is audible beneath it. None of the broadcasters commented.

Early reports from EAS officials suggest the audio incidents were confined to specific regions. Most Idaho stations appear to have transmitted the alert clearly, or at least intelligibly, said Idaho's Turnmire in an interview. An intelligible message is considered a win for the test's legacy daisy chain system, said Bookey. He noted most Alaska stations appear to have transmitted an acceptable message.

“Since 2012, consumers have received over 61,000 WEA messages that warn and inform us about life threatening events and relevant emergency information,” CTIA said in a statement on the test. “We’re pleased to see FEMA and the FCC collaborate on using this new test capability on a nationwide basis, and we encourage alert originators to use the public safety test message capability to continue enhancing the effectiveness of how they use WEA.”