[inaudible conversations] good morning. Welcome to the open meeting of the federal communications commission. Madam federal communications commission. Madam secretary we please announce our agenda for this morning . Thank you mr. Chairman. Morning to you and good morning commissioners prefer todays meeting you will hear six items for your consideration. First you will receive a preliminary. Reporter the Public Safety and Homeland Security bureau on its investigation into the false Emergency Alert that occurred in hawaii on january 13, 2018. Second you will consider a second report and order on recon to enhance wireless Emergency Alerts including the geographic accuracy. Third you will consider an order jesting the remaining issues raised by parties implementing the connect america phase two option nina three in which Service Providers will get support of up to 1. 98 billion to often voice and Broadband Service in unserved high cost areas. For the will consider a Public Notice establishing procedures for the connect america funds auction will which will award up to 1. 98 billion over 10 years to Service Providers that commit to offer voice and Broadband Services to six locations in underserved areas. This order to establish an office of economics and analytics. Sixth he will consider a notice of proposed rulemaking proposing to eliminate the requirement of rockettes licensees and permittees to routinely submit paper copies of contracts and other documents as specified in section 73. 6. 3613 of the commissions rules and seventh you will consider an important action. This is your agenda for today. Please note item 7 on the agenda is listed in a january 23, the 2018 notice entitled amendment of parts 27, 54, 73, 74 and 76 of the commissions rule to delete rules made obsolete by the Digital Transition adopted by the commission and deleted from todays agenda. On your agenda today is a preliminary report presented by the Public Safety and Homeland Security bureau and lisa fowlkes fowlkes. Thank you madam secretary. Ms. Fowlkes if you are ready the floor is yours. At morning mr. Chairman commissioners. Earlier this month on the morning of january 13, people throughout hawaii were alerted on their televisions, radios and wireless phones of an eminent Ballistic Missile attack. The warning unleashed widespread panic and fear. The alert was issued by the state of hawaii to the Emergency Alert system and the wireless Emergency Alert system that the warning was a false alert. Compounding this problem it took 38 minutes for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to issue a corrected alert. As chairman pai stated this alert was unacceptable. He immediately directed the Public Safety and Homeland Security bureau to investigate the incident with the goal of understanding how it happened and how to help prevent such an incident from happening again. Americas Emergency Alert system provides timely and lifesaving information to the public and we must assure the these systems remain effective. This includes maintaining the publics confidence so when an Emergency Alert is issued the public heaves its call. Today the bureau presents a preliminary report on its investigation. Joining me here today are nikki mcginest Deputy Bureau chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security bureau, james wiley in the indications and Reliability Division. These talented folks along with the rest of the bureaus alerting team has produced an incredible amount of excellent work on this investigation. The wireless Emergency Alert item that will be considered shirley and my recent testimony before the Senate Commerce committee. All within a very, very, very short timeframe. To nikki, james and the rest of the alerting team as well as others within the bureau who have helped with projects in recent weeks, thank you. You have my pride and appreciation and im grateful that you are a part of the Public Safety and Homeland Security euros family. I would also like to recognize ryan a field agent with the Enforcement Bureau who assisted james and justin when they were on the ground in hawaii as part of this investigation. James will present the report. Thank you. Good morning chairman pai and commissioners as chief fowlkes seven generally pitching the way Management Agency initiated a false ballistic alert which delivers alerts to consumers mobile devices as well as the Emergency Alert system which delivers alerts through television and radio. In investigating the false alert the bureau to date has interviewed representatives of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency in person in honolulu and received a demonstration of how are the Origination Software initiated the alert. In addition we have interviewed representatives of wireless providers that offer service to hawaii the president of the hawaii Broadcasters Association and the Hawaii State Emergency Communications Committee alert Origination Software vendors including the alerting software to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency other state and local emergency as takeovers. So far we have been pleased with the level of cooperation we have received including from the leadership of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency. Unfortunately the individuals who translated the false alerts have refused to speak with us however late last week the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency provided us with information from a written statement made by this individual shortly after the incident which helps us to improve our understanding of events that led to the false alert. By way of background and to provide context to what happened on january 13 hawaii has been actively testing its alert and warning capabilities over the past year. The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and Ballistic Missile defense aims to simulate a real event. It begins with a mock mock call for morning officer who simulates a call from United StatesPacific Command and it ends with the transmission of a text message to fema. Under the hawaii Emergency Management agencies established drill procedures that text message should be sent only to famous integrative alerted Warning System. Should never actually be transmitted to consumer phones radios or televisions. By november 27 of last year that why Emergency Management agency had memorialized at check list of procedures. The refined over months of test. Irv pratt to send feedback and Lessons Learned. And the agency was regularly running the Ballistic Missile defense trail is a no notice trailed meaning it was commencing drills without prior notice to the warning officers who initiate the alerts. In order to better simulate actual emergency conditions. The final version of the checklist guided the agency through its defense drill on january 13 which was created january 5. I will now walk at will now walk you through it timeline of events as we currently understand them that led to the initiation of the false alert. An Early Morning hours of january 13, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agencys midnight shift conducted a Ballistic Missile defense drill. The supervisor then i shift decided to run and no notice version of the drill during the transition. The midnight shift supervisor specifically decided to drill at shift change in order to help train the day shift officers were Ballistic Missile defense in there at a time when id be challenging to properly respond. At 8 00 a. M. Hawaii standard time the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency conducted an early schedule at shift change. The supervisor of the day shift enter the agency the supervisor of the midnight shift orally communicated the intention to conduct a Ballistic Missile preparedness drill but there was a miscommunication. The incoming day shift supervisor that the midnight shift supervisor intended to conduct a drill for the midnight shift to warning officers only were ending their shift knob for the day shift officers who were beginning their shift. As a result the day shift supervisor was not in the proper location to supervise the morning officers when the defense drill was initiated. At 8 05 a. M. The midnight shift supervisor initiated the drill by placing a call to the day shift the warning officers morning up is ours. The supervisor played a recorded message over the phone. The recording began by saying exercise, exercise, exercise which is consistent with the beginning of the script for the drill. After that the recording did not follow the Hawaii Emergency Management AgencyStandard Operating Procedures for this drill. Instead the recording included language script for use in an alert emergency event and a Ballistic Missile alert. It thus included the sentence this is not a drill. The recording ended by saying again exercise, exercise, exercise. Three warning officers and Agencies Center received this message simulated a call from u. S. Pacific command. According to a written statement from the day shift warning officer issued the alert is related to the bureau by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency that they shift morning officer heard this is not a drill but did not hear exercise, exercise, exercise but according to a written statement the day shift morning officer believed the missile threat was real. 8 07 a. M. This officer transmitted a life incoming Ballistic Missile alert to the state of hawaii. The day shift morning officers use software to send a letter. Specifically they selected the template through life alert through a menu containing live contest alert templates. The alert Origination Software then prompted the warning officer to confirm whether they wanted to send a message to the prompt red are you sure you want to send this alert . The officers who heard the recording reported they knew the erroneous message did not indicate a real missile threat that was supposed to indicate the beginning of an exercise. Specifically they heard the words exercise, exercise, exercise. The day shift morning officer reported to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency after the event their belief that this was a real emergency so they couldnt guess to transmit the alert. Because they have not been able to interview the morning officer who translated the alert we are not in a position to reevaluate the ability of the assertion that they believe there was a missile threat intentionally sent the live alert believing that it was a drill and accidentally sending out the live alert that it is worth noting they accurately recalled after the event that the announcement did say this is not a drill. At 8 08 a. M. The warning officer who transmitted the alert sound of the wireless Emergency Alert signal. Distinct auto tones that announced a wireless providing the first indication to those at the watch center that an actual alert had been transmitted to the public. At 8 09 a. M. State adjutant general joe look and director of the Hawaii Emergency Agency notified the governor the agency a transmitted a false alert. At 8 10 a. M. The director that why Emergency Management agencies can indicate to the United StatesPacific Command that there was no Missile Launch confirming that the command already knew. The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency that Hawaii Emergency Management Agency used its alert Origination Software to cancel retransmission of the false alert. The cancellation is an instruction to downstream Emergency Alert system and wireless Emergency Alert system equipment to see retransmission notably a cancellation message that does not generate an all clear message. It also does not recall messages that have been transmitted and displayed on televisions in the u. S. From ap 8 13 a. M. To 826 and that why Emergency ManagementAgency Outreach to hawaiis county agency and radio and tv stations to inform them that the alarm was false. The agencys phone lines also became congested with incoming calls from the public asking about the nature of the alerts that they had just received. Some calls to the agency did not get through. The agency also led by the staff of the false alert so they could help respond. At 8 20 a. M. The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency posted on facebook and twitter accounts that there was no missile threat to hawaii. At 8 24 a. M. Hawaii governor david e. Gates noticed there were some missile threat to the governor stated he was unable to do this earlier because he did not know his twitter password. At 8 27 a. M. The agency staff met to discuss options for sending a corrective second message using the Emergency Alert system and the wireless Emergency Alert system. The agency determined a correction of this false alert best met the criteria of the civil alert message to initiate alerts over the Emergency Alert system. Eddie 30 00 a. M. The agency called fema and on a second attempt to reach fema reached a fema per gram Management Office employee. After 45 seconds all on the call agreed that the corrections met the criteria for use of the Civil Emergency message. At 8 31 a. M. The deputy chief of the Hawaii Emergency Management AgencyCommunications Branch logged into the alert origination suffering created correction messages for the wireless Emergency Alert system. At 8 45 a. M. , 38 minutes after the also alert the Agency Issued a correction Emergency Alerting system. Based on our investigation to date the bureau believes the combination of human error and inadequate safeguards contributed to this false alert. With respect to human error due to miscommunication between midnight shift supervisor and the day shift supervisor the drill was run without efficient supervision. Speaking with the bureau other Emergency Management agency stressed the importance of copper drill supervision and conducting a drill without proper supervision would not be tolerated. Further the midnight shift supervisor initiated the drill by playing a recording that deviated from the script of the agencies establish drill procedure that included the phrase, this is not a drill. Finally the warning officer at the alert origination terminal apparently failed to recognize that this was an exercise even though the other warning officers on duty understood that this was not a real emergency. With respect to inadequate safeguards and most importantly there were no procedures in place to prevent a Single Person from mistakenly sending a missile alert to the state of hawaii. While such an alert address the matter of the utmost gravity there was no requirement of praise for warning officer to doublecheck with our colleagues or get signoff fro