The FCC has released an Order granting a limited waiver of the Commission’s Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) rules to permit Commercial Mobile Service (CMS) Providers to participate in an end-to-end test to be conducted by the City and County of Denver’s Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (Denver). A waiver is necessary because the Commission’s rules prohibit entities from using the WEA Attention Signal except during actual emergencies, authorized tests, and certain public service announcements. Specifically, Denver requested a waiver to allow Participating CMS Providers to participate in a WEA test that will involve the public. This test is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. MDT on Wednesday, September 5, 2018, with a back-up date and time of 11:00 a.m. MDT on Thursday, September 13, 2018. Denver proposes to use the WEA text portion of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) to broadcast the following message to cell phones within the geographical boundaries of the City and County of Denver: “This is a test of the Wireless Emergency Alert System for Denver, CO. This is only a test.” The Order also requires Denver to conduct any test and post-test analysis in a manner that preserves customers’ expectation of privacy, and Denver is encouraged by the Commission to report test results by filing them with the FCC’s Public Safety Support Center.
