The Federal Communications Commission requires wireless providers participating in Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) to support the below video alert message templates for American Sign Language. These templates may be pre-installed on WEA-capable mobile devices or downloaded to the device when triggered by the user’s selection of the option to receive WEAs in ASL. Where an alerting authority chooses to send a multilingual Alert Message, the WEA-capable mobile device must be able to extract and display the video template if the subscriber has opted into receiving ASL alerts. When a multilingual alert is sent and the subscriber has opted into receiving ASL alerts, the ASL video template is required to appear first and must be followed by the fillable English version of the alert.
Wireless providers participating in WEA are required to comply with these requirements by June 12, 2028.
Read on at https://www.fcc.gov/WirelessEmergencyAlert-Templates-ASL
DAD Note: 2028 is the due date and it is not known when each phone provider will comply with the order as it can be tomorrow! We do not have to do anything at this time until the multi-language feature is enabled. Delaware uses Smart 911 which is connected to WEA also and is great for letting 911 dispatchers know of any special notes during emergencies. For now, keep an eye on this!
