FCC Watch · Week of October 12, 2026
No FCC action on § 11.35(d) or software EAS in the week of October 5. Form One is due October 30, and SBE says check EAS firmware before the November 17 test.
By Mark Shannon ·
Nothing happened this week, and that is the news. The FCC issued no order, waiver, extension or enforcement action under § 11.35(d) in the week of October 5. No fine has been issued under the rule yet. The week's regulatory news for broadcasters was political advertising rates, the TV ownership cap and C-band clearing, none of which touch EAS.
Nothing new on the record since reply comments closed on September 29, and no sign of when the Commission will act. Last week's entry covers who said what.
There were no new firmware releases or security advisories from the major EAS, codec or transmitter makers this week, and no reported compromise of broadcast equipment.
One thing to do before the national test. The Society of Broadcast Engineers says a unit needs current firmware to receive it: 96.00 or higher on a Sage ENDEC, 54.00 or higher on a DASDEC. Those numbers are SBE's, so check your maker's current release before you rely on them. The kit's device steps show where to find the version on each unit, and the Sage ENDEC and DASDEC pages cover the password side. Updating firmware is also a good moment to confirm the factory password did not come back with it.
The quarterly issues/programs list for July–September was due in the public file. The rule says the tenth, but October 10 was a Saturday and October 12 was Columbus Day, so the deadline moved to October 13. If yours is not uploaded, here is what goes in it. A late list is better than a missing one.
| Date | What |
|---|---|
| October 20 | EEO audit responses, for the 400 stations selected |
| October 30 | ETRS Form One, every EAS Participant |
| November 17 | National EAS Test, 2:20 pm Eastern (backup date December 3) |
| November 19 | ETRS Form Two, by 2:20 pm Eastern |
Form One asks what EAS gear you run and what you monitor. Pull the firmware version while you have the unit's front panel open for it, and you will have done both jobs at once.
More weeks
The rules on this site change without warning — a deadline gets waived, a filing window opens, a Public Notice lands on a Friday. Leave an address and you get an email when something changes that affects a small station. Nothing else, and one click to leave.
The Program Chain Compliance Kit is the implementation version — the device-by-device reference, the network patterns for a one-rack station, and the worksheets that leave a paper trail behind the work.