National tests Emergency Alert System

1 national tests

1.1 national test results

1.1.1 results of november 9, 2011 test
1.1.2 results of september 28, 2016 test
1.1.3 results of september 27, 2017 test

national tests

the first test of eas @ national level occurred on november 9, 2011. test culmination of planning, rulemaking , public service announcements. starting in report fcc in 2009 on preparedness of fcc major public emergencies concerns raised regarding frequency , scope of eas testing . led 2 preliminary tests in state of alaska; 1 occurred during january 2010.

the second national eas test happened on september 28, 2016 @ 2:20 pm edt (11:20 pdt) part of national preparedness month. prior test, fema tested regional eas systems november 17, 2014, recent on march 24, 2016. purpose of these tests ensure results of 2011 test (see below) not occur again.

a third national eas test occurred on september 27, 2017 @ 2:20 pm edt (11:20 pdt) until 2:50 pm edt (11:50 pdt) national periodic test (npt) event code.

national test results
results of november 9, 2011 test

screen announcing nationwide test of eas, november 9, 2011, generated eas decoder @ cable operator headends, listing test generated within district of columbia rather locally.

on november 9, 2011, after national test attempted, stations began calling in saying of receivers not able relay test or did not test @ all; directv users reported hearing lady gaga s paparazzi throughout test. due directv using off-air channel deliver same header message, playing paparazzi @ time header broadcast.

on april 12, 2013, fcc released results of november 9, 2011 test.

according fcc, 18% of stations failed either receive or retransmit alert. message, according some, lacked alert code allow president speak. due feedback loop in pep system, test heard several times in background, , eom (end of message) code sent twice, violating eas rules. test cut down 30 seconds rather proposed 3 minutes.

although there several reported issues, fcc stated test demonstrated national eas architecture sound. of these problems included:

bad audio quality

a malfunction @ national primary level inserted second level of header tones audio portion of message, created large-delay reverb effect , noisy background levels, increased in intensity each time ean message passed on. since then, fema has reconfigured equipment correctly.


lack of primary entry point in areas, leaving areas without direct connection fema

at time of test, there no established primary entry point in portland, oregon. oregon eas state plan instructed stations west of cascades (including portland) monitor public radio station kopb-fm, receive alert npr squawk channel. audio quality of alert kopb-fm received via npr squawk channel exceptionally poor, , monitoring stations equipment did not recognize alert @ or broadcast first few seconds of alert. fcc has since expanded pep coverage west of cascades (including portland).


use of alternatives pep-based ean distribution

the fcc found stations chose use alternatives pep-based daisy-chain mode of propagation, , of these alternatives may not able receive ean in times of emergency. fcc has advised these stations request approval fcc these alternative ways of receiving ean.


inability of participants receive/transmit ean

some eas participants stated that, although heard ean monitoring stations, not able rebroadcast audience. fcc found cause of operator error, or participant s equipment programmed incorrectly.


short test length

the fcc found eas equipment manufacturers designed equipment not rebroadcast eans shorter 75 seconds due misinterpretation of fcc regulations. eas participant suggested 30 second duration of test insufficient allow engineers manually override equipment when automatic equipment functions failed.


the use of emergency action notification process (which had never been used before) , washington, d.c. location code believed have caused confusion viewers, there lack of public awareness of how national test delivered.

the first-ever nationwide eas test success in demonstrated national eas perform designed, if activated. @ same time, test showed several areas needed improvement.

results of september 28, 2016 test

results of test released fcc on april 21, 2017, remarking demonstrated internet-based distribution of alerts via ipaws has modernized eas , improved quality, effectiveness, , accessibility of eas alerts . however, half of participants did not use ipaws receive message, failed receive or retransmit alerts due erroneous equipment configuration, equipment readiness , upkeep issues, , confusion regarding eas rules , technical requirements , , participation among low-power broadcasters low. rather delivering ean, 2016 test delivered new designation, national periodic test (npt), , explicit location code designating entire country, in order reduce viewer confusion , technical problems (thus making test message closer-resemble other mandatory tests).

results of september 27, 2017 test