The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) has released a Public Notice advising Commercial Mobile Service providers (CMS Providers) participating in Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) of their obligations, beginning Wednesday, May 1, 2019, to support certain functionalities. Specifically, CMS Providers participating in WEA are now required to support: (1) longer WEA messages (up to 360 characters) for 4G LTE and future networks; (2) a new class of alerts (Public Safety Messages) to convey recommended actions for saving lives or property; (3) Spanish-language alert messages; (4) presentation of WEA messages on the mobile device as soon as they are received; and (5) State/Local WEA Tests, with the ability for consumers to opt in to receive such tests. More details about the new WEA functionality can be found here.
