FCC Issues 2023 Nationwide EAS Test Report

On June 27, 2024, the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau issued a report on the outcome of the 2023 Nationwide EAS Test.  There was significant improvement in the reception and retransmission rates of the test due to use of the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), which was more reliable than over-the-air methods.  More test participants reported equipment configuration issues and equipment failures than in previous tests.  About 23% of EAS equipment units were either using outdated software or equipment no longer supported by software updates. Five of the six poorest-performing geographic regions were territories of the United States.

The Bureau’s report recommends that the Commission adopt rules to improve the operational readiness of EAS Participants, as well as to ensure that EAS Participants are installing software updates in a timely manner and have plans for replacing equipment that is no longer supported by the manufacturer. In addition, the Bureau recommended actions that EAS Participants should take to improve the reliability and reach of the EAS.

A National EAS Test for this year has not yet been announced, but stay tuned, as those announcements usually come mid-to-late-summer.