[sbe-eas] EAS Encoder/Decoder Funding Question

[Aaron Read]

Don't know about TV, but on the radio side of things?  No, the FCC has
never done that.  I don't think the FCC has ever provided grant
funding for anything.  That's just not in their purview, I don't
think.

There used to be a grant program through NTIA at the US Dept of
Commerce for public radio and TV stations called PTFP; Public
Telecommunications Facilities Program.  It was killed in 2011 by a
spiteful Republican Congress.  PTFP would fund up to 70% of all sorts
of major infrastructure projects: studios, transmitters, etc.  I'm
sure some EAS boxes were part of that mix at some point.  But that's
about as close as it would get to what you're describing.

In 2021 CPB tried to get the Biden administration to put a revised
PTFP (now called PTIMP) into the budget.  It was basically PTFP but
managed by CPB instead of NTIA, which is good because NTIA was a bit
of a bureaucratic nightmare to deal with on those PTFP grants.  Hey,
it was free money so I'm not complaining.  But the paperwork was a
real pain in the ass, and you had to do it every year for 10 years
after the grant was approved.  Anyways, the Biden people declined and
nobody in Congress took up the mantle.

Personally I really like the idea that EAS is expensive and pointless.
It's a good deterrent to those with more stars in their eyes about
radio, than sense in their brains about how to run a business.

- Aaron


On Tue, Dec 20, 2022 at 5:35 PM Swisher, Chris <swisherc at missouri.edu> wrote:
>
> Long time listener, but first time caller here. I was asked a good question that I am reaching out for NCE and LP background, as I doubt that  commercial stations have ever benefitted. Has the FCC ever provided funding for EAS equipment purchase due to Federal mandates?
>
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> Chris Swisher
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> KOMU-TV
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-- 
------------------------------------------
Aaron Read
readaaron at friedbagels.com
www.friedbagels.com
"Engineering: it's like math but LOUDER!"