So far, no funding for station CAP updates, FCC official says

Lisa Fowlkes, deputy chief of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, addressed the upcoming station Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) update at last week's Radio Show convention in D.C. Broadcasters must update to CAP within six months as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) -- which could cost stations up to $2,000 per full-power transmitter. "Absent authority from Congress, the FCC has no authority to provide any type of funding, including credits from annual regulatory fees, for broadcasters to purchase new equipment, if that is necessary," Fowlkes said during the discussion moderated by a reporter from Radio World.