In an Order released today by the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, the FCC has granted in part, the request made by REC Networks and the National Association of Broadcasters to extend the compliance date to support the new CAP Polling and revised EAS descriptors from December 12, 2023 through March 11, 2024.
In the historic joint-REC/NAB request, REC/NAB requested a 90 day extension stating that Sage Alerting Systems has been experiencing delays in the release of their Rev96 firmware release, which will bring all Sage units into compliance with the FCC's 2022 Report and Order in PS Docket 15-94. REC/NAB stated in the request that a consderable number of EAS participants will not be able to implement the firmware changes before the December 12 date. At the time when REC/NAB filed this request, Sage had no firm date on delivery of the update. REC/NAB stated that this is an issue that is beyond the control of the EAS participants.
In repsonse, the FCC stated that they were persuaded that Sage's delay in delivering the necessary update is beyond the control of EAS participants to meet the compliance deadline. The FCC also recognizes statements made by REC/NAB that Sage has a significant market share of both low-power and full-service broadcast stations. The FCC recognizes that for some stations, it may take more time to get a qualified person to perform the upgrade and that is further complicated by the upcoming holiday season.
This extension applies ONLY to those EAS participants using Sage equipment. It does not extend to Digital Alert Systems (Monroe, DASDEC), nor to Gorman-Redlich or Trilithic equipment. Stations operating with that equipment are expected to comply by December 12, 2023.
