The FCC sought comment on an American Cable Association petition (CD April 24...

the January emergency alert system order on Common Alerting Protocol, a new format using the Internet in which all EAS participants, which include all cable systems and radio and TV stations, must be able to get alerts in by June 30. “Nowhere” does the order say “a wireline broadband connection is necessary to comply with the Commission’s requirement,” an FCC public notice released late last week said. “We seek comment whether any presumption in favor of granting a waiver based on lack of physical access to broadband should be limited to an EAS Participant’s lack of physical access to a wireline broadband connection, as ACA requests.” The agency wants to know if it should consider costs of getting broadband in reviewing waiver requests, as the association asked. “If so, how should the Commission weigh such cost in this assessment?” the notice said (http://xrl.us/bm9p2f). “Should such an assessment be dependent on the financial condition of the petitioner? If so, what standard should we use for assessing whether a waiver is warranted based on financial condition? How much and what kind of information about a petitioner’s financial condition should be submitted in support of a waiver request? Should information as to where the waiver applicant is in its EAS equipment replacement cycle be a factor in the Commission’s analysis?” Comments on the notice, which posed other questions on the ACA request, are due, in docket 04-296, 15 days after the item’s publication in the Federal Register, replies 10 days later.