WASHINGTON—The new handbook is here! The new handbook is here!
Forgive a classic Steve Martin reference, but the new EAS Operating Handbook is here. (Earlier we told you it was coming and shared with you a Q&A with Gary Timm, who was involved in its creation.)
The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau now has released the latest version and reminded EAS participants to set aside their old ones. A copy of the current handbook must be located at normal duty positions or EAS equipment locations when an operator is required to be on duty and be immediately available to staff responsible for administering EAS tests.
The Handbook supersedes any other EAS Handbooks, and must be in place in time for the 2016 nationwide EAS test in late September.
“The Handbook’s new format was designed by industry and alerting stakeholder members of the Commission’s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC),” the bureau wrote. “This format allows each EAS Participant to enter data specific to their own configuration, tailoring the operational steps outlined in the manual for local relevance.”
(EAS Participants are U.S. radio broadcast stations, including AM, FM and low-power FM stations; digital audio broadcasting stations, including digital AM, FM and low-power FM stations; Class A television and low-power TV stations; television broadcast stations, including digital Class A and digital low-power TV stations; cable systems; wireline video systems; wireless cable systems; direct broadcast satellite service providers; and digital audio radio service providers.)
Download a copy by clicking on the cover image and scroll down to the appropriate section.
This story first appeared on TVT's sister publication Radio World.
