Emergency Alerting: Agencies Need to Address Pending Applications and Monitor Industry Progress on System Improvements

The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Modernization Act, enacted in 2016, required the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in consultation and coordination with Federal Communications Commission, to enhance and test the capabilities of IPAWS and increase its adoption among state and local public safety agencies. GAO was asked to review the federal response to recent natural disasters. This report examines, among other things: (1) trends in the use of IPAWS and (2) actions that FEMA and FCC have taken to modernize IPAWS and increase its adoption.

GAO found that FEMA has begun to modernize alerting capabilities with help from the FCC. However, some state and local public safety agencies cannot access the system and others have low confidence in using it. Also, without goals and performance measures for improvements made to wireless emergency alerts, the FCC can’t ensure the system is working as intended.

GAO is making three recommendations:

1. The Chairman of FCC should develop specific, measurable goals and performance measures for its efforts to monitor the performance of new Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) capabilities, such as enhanced geo-targeting and expanded alert message length.
2. The Director of the IPAWS program should document how it plans to address key actions needed to educate alerting authorities in their use of IPAWS and implement a mechanism that will allow FEMA to regularly and systematically obtain and analyze feedback on alerting authorities' educational needs
3. The Director of the IPAWS program should establish procedures to prioritize pending IPAWS applications and to follow up with applicants to address these applications