The Commission is requesting approval of non-substantive changes associated with multilingual Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) in collection OMB Control No. 3060-1113. OMB previously approved FCC rules that require commercial mobile service providers participating in WEA to support the pre-installation and display of templates of common alert messages on WEA-capable devices in the 13 most commonly spoken languages, as well as English and American Sign Language (ASL). On January 8, 2025, the FCCâs Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau adopted a Report and Order that further implemented these requirements by identifying the specific templates that these CMS providers must implement, requiring the written templates to be fillable with specific information provided by alert originators, and requiring non-English templates displayed on WEA-capable devices to be followed by the display of corresponding English fillable templates.
This collection will (a) provide Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) in the 13 most spoken languages other than English in the U.S.; (b) renew CMS providers' election regarding whether or not to participate in WEA: (c) require that WEA messages include location-aware maps; and (d) establish an FCC-maintained WEA database of participating providers and the areas they serve.
The rules adopted by the Commission, modifying this collection resulted in a program change. There are no changes in the total number of respondents. However, there are increases in the total annual responses by +164, increases in the total annual burden hours by +78,123 and Participating CMS Providers will incur a one-time total annual cost of $7,050,800 to implement the WEA systems contained in the Third R&O.
No adjustments are being reported.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.