Reminder: EAS Participants Must Update ETRS Form One By Today, July 3, 2019
As a reminder, the deadline for Emergency Alert System (EAS) Participants to renew their Form One submitted through the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) is July 3, 2019.
An EAS Participant is any entity required to comply with the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Emergency Alert System rules. This includes radio and television stations, low power television stations, low power FM stations, Class D non-commercial educational FM stations, and cable systems. A separate Form One must be filed for each EAS Participant. This means that if an entity is the licensee of multiple stations, it must file a separate Form One for each. A Form One must also be filed for stations that are silent.
The following EAS Participants are exempt from renewing the Form One: TV translator stations, FM booster stations and FM translator stations that “entirely rebroadcast the programming of another local FM broadcast station[],” and broadcast stations that are satellites or repeaters of a hub station and “rebroadcast 100 percent of the programming” of that primary or hub station.
Broadcasters can file ETRS Form One through the ETRS system, found here. To access Form One, filers must use their FCC Username and password. If you do not have an FCC Username, you can obtain one here. If you have forgotten the password associated with your FCC Username, you can reset it here.
To prepare an updated Form One:
- Click on “Submit Form One” in the top menu bar.
- Test Cycle: select the 2019 Test Cycle.
- Complete the FCC Registration Number (FRN) field.
- EAS Participant Type: select the appropriate type. The remaining fields will adapt to the selection made from this menu.
- If a broadcaster, fill in the facility ID of the EAS Participant, hit enter. The remaining fields will pre-populate based on the information in the FCC’s records for that facility.
- If a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD), complete the PSID field. The remaining fields will also pre-populate.
- Confirm the pre-populated fields are accurate.
- Click “Submit Form One.”
The nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System is currently scheduled for August 7, 2019, at 2:20 p.m. EDT.
On or before 11:59 p.m. EDT, August 7, 2019, EAS Participants must file the “day of test” information sought by ETRS Form Two.
On or before September 23, 2019, EAS Participants must file the detailed post-test data sought by ETRS Form Three.
If you need any assistance filing any forms in the ETRS system, please contact the Wiley Rein attorney who regularly handles your FCC matters or one of the attorneys listed on this client alert.
