EAS National Testing and CORES (Together)

It seems like only yesterday that the FCC finished their last National Test of the Emergency Alert System (but it was last year). A few days ago, in a notice that was easy to miss, the FCC announced that all broadcasters must create an FCC Username within the FCC’s Commission Registration System (CORES) in order to access the FCC’s 2017 EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS). If a station doesn’t have an FCC Username associated with its FRN, then it will be unable to participate in the required national test (hint – it appears there will be a national test later this year, but no date yet).

In the notice, the FCC announces that sometime in July, it will issue a public notice announcing the availability of Form One of the ETRS, and the date by which EAS participants (i.e., all broadcast stations) will be required to have updated their Form One information in ETRS. You guessed it — to access ETRS, you’ll need to get that FCC Username (see above). The notice does give precise instructions on how to get a username, but we caution that it is not simple. Let us know if you require any assistance.