FCC Open Meeting Aug 7th

[RaleighGuy]

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below
on Thursday, August 07, 2025, which is scheduled to commence at 10:30 a.m., The meeting will be webcast at: www.fcc.gov/live

 

[YalekW]

I do NOT see any good coming from Item 5. What do they mean "effective and efficient" and "better able to serve the public's needs?"

 

[mwjones]

View attachment 188106
I do NOT see any good coming from Item 5. What do they mean "effective and efficient" and "better able to serve the public's needs?"

Here in Texas my cell phone goes off frequently for all sorts of color alerts (Amber, Blue, etc.) - and it was reported that some that perished in the July 4th Flooding may have ignored the Flood Warning alerts on their phones because of all those other non-life-threatening alerts that sound the EAS tone (and in Texas why should an Amber alert be sounded in Dallas or Houston for something in El Paso - 10+ hours away by car?).

To me, the phone should only sound an audible EAS alert if there is a life-threatening situation (Weather or otherwise). I don't care if the phone shows a popup for the color alerts, and maybe a different sound, but don't play the EAS tone for them.

 

[AK9R]

On my phone, I can turn off public safety messages, amber alerts, severe threats, and extreme threats. I can even turn off the entire wireless emergency alert feature.

I can also set my phone to repeat alerts once, every 2 minutes, or every 15 minutes in case I don't hear them the first time.

Maybe we just need to educate users on how to take best advantage of the alert systems that are available to them.

 

[mwjones]

On my phone, I can turn off public safety messages, amber alerts, severe threats, and extreme threats. I can even turn off the entire wireless emergency alert feature.

I can also set my phone to repeat alerts once, every 2 minutes, or every 15 minutes in case I don't hear them the first time.

Maybe we just need to educate users on how to take best advantage of the alert systems that are available to them.

I have similar settings on my Android device, while my work-issued iPhone has fewer options. The fact that each buries the settings in obscure places and the lack of user education is contributing factors. But, like they say, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks", getting public education on how to change their phones alerting settings is not an easy accomplishment.

In this case, the technology fix is to change the FCC rules on use of the EAS tones, which currently allows it's use for "PSAs" (See https://www.fcc.gov/enforcement/areas/misuse-eas-sound) and remove the PSAs allowance, limiting to a National, State or Local Area Emergency (and of course the authorized test thereof).

They could then require a unique (and less startling) alert tone for PSAs (Which should cover all the color alerts).

 

[YalekW]

This reminds me of the EAS community. Those teens or pre-teens and, some adults, who own encoders of their own, and all those hoards of weather radios. Those darn kids!!

 

[MTS2000des]

This reminds me of the EAS community. Those teens or pre-teens and, some adults, who own encoders of their own, and all those hoards of weather radios. Those darn kids!!

There is a term for that: weather whackers. Those who whack it to the weather.

I've disabled all alerts, I think the "Presidential Alert" is the only one greyed out on Android device (county phone is an Galaxy S23), my personal iPhone 16: everything is disabled. I get enough annoyances from our CAD, MSI NOC, and people who don't know how to be appropriate with SMS and group message SPAM.

 

[YalekW]

I just silence the tones with the slider. LOL.