Yesterday, key government and communication industry leaders testified before the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on the effectiveness of our nation’s public alert system. Providing testimony were the following:
- Mr. Damon Penn-- Assistant Administrator, National Continuity Programs Directorate, FEMA
- Mr. James Arden Barnett, Jr. -- Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, FCC
- Ms. Suzanne Goucher -- President and CEO Maine Association of Broadcasters
- Mr. Chris Guttman-McCabe--Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, CTIA -- The Wireless Association
- Dr. William Check--Senior Vice President of Science and Technology, National Cable and Telecommunications Association.
The hearing was called in relation to H.R.2904, the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Modernization Act of 2011. The resolution, introduced by Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA), would establish a clear framework and timetable for FEMA’s modernization of its public alerts and warning system.
Testimony centered around three key areas: outcomes from the recently conducted national EAS test, the upcoming Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS), and general input on improving national public alerting capabilities.
National EAS Test
According to testimony, the national EAS test conducted in early November was overall considered to be a success. “The goal of the test was to diagnose the efficiency and reliability of a nationwide EAS alert, and identify areas in need of potential improvement, said Suzanne Goucher, President of the Maine Association of Broadcasters. “In my view, the test was a success. It was the first time an official ‘live-code’ national alert messages was purposely deployed end-to-end…under conditions simulating an actual emergency situation.”
Goucher went on to identify a few of the technical glitches that were uncovered, including a “looping” problem with the digital header that caused it to repeat every six seconds, a clock error on FEMA’s originating equipment, and scattered problems with the reception of the test through the Primary Entry Point (PEP) stations.
Damon Penn, Assistant Director of the NCP within FEMA said more quantifiable results from the national test will be available to the FCC and FEMA on December 27, 2011.
Commercial Mobile Alerting System (CMAS) / Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN)
CMAS (also known as PLAN) is an emerging system/program designed to send geographically targeted warning messages to citizens on their mobile devices in situations such as imminent threats, AMBER alerts, or emergency messages from the President.
Witnesses today generally spoke in favor of this forthcoming technology, supporting expectations that the official rollout deadline of early 2012 will be met. “By the end of the month, and with significant cooperation from the four Tier 1 cellular providers, the IPAWS (CMAS) is scheduled to become operational in New York City and Washington, D.C.,” said Penn. “Nationwide rollout of IPWAS CMAS will begin in April 2012.”
However, Goucher advised that from the broadcasters’ viewpoint, CMAS may not be the ultimate alerting solution. She points to Mobile Digital Television as a potentially viable alternative. “Unlike the still nascent Commercial Mobile Alert System, which provides only short text messages via cellphones, a mobile DTV EAS system would provide a far more comprehensive and informative experience, including video and photos, to citizens during times of emergency,” Goucher testified.
Improving Future National Alerting Capabilities
Witnesses offered a variety of thoughts on the future of national public alerting. Common testimony themes included: 1) multi-modal alerting and the need to distribute warnings through a variety of existing and emerging means, 2) alerting all citizens equitably (including people with disabilities and those with limited English proficiency), and 3) the need for local authorities to fully deploy and embrace available alerting capabilities—including the provision of funding and resources to carry this out. “It is critical that IPAWS continues to receive full funding through the authorization and budgetary process to achieve and maintain its public alerting missions,” said Goucher. “Substantial and ongoing care must be taken to ensure that potential alert originators at the state, county, and local levels are properly trained about when and how alerts should be originated,” stated Guttman-McCabe.
Best regards,
Lorin
