1 / 12

EAS National Test

EAS National Test. State and Local Government Webinar October 5, 2011 Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau Federal Communications Commission. FCC EAS Initiatives. Enhance EAS reliability (National EAS Test)

mbandy
Download Presentation

EAS National Test

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. EAS National Test State and Local Government Webinar October 5, 2011 Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau Federal Communications Commission

  2. FCC EAS Initiatives • Enhance EAS reliability (National EAS Test) • Ensure that the American public receives emergency alerts wherever they are, and whatever technology they use (CAP rulemaking) • Analyze future Broadband-based alerting architectures (Broadband Alerting NOI)

  3. Enhance EAS Reliability • The broadcast-based EAS is, and will remain for the foreseeable future, the backbone of the public alerting system. • The National system has never been tested • Commission is seeking to improve present-day EAS through National-level Testing

  4. EAS Architecture Three levels of authorized alert initiating officials Alert message cascades via multiple paths Mayor, Local EOC, NWS Off-Air Monitoring PEP = Primary Entry Point LP = Local Primary

  5. National Testing of EAS • Four primary elements • promulgation of national testing rules and procedures • coordination with our partners, • pre-test outreach, and • post-test analysis

  6. Elements of Test • Test is scheduled for Thursday, November 9, 2011 at 2:00 PM EST • Test will consist of the delivery by FEMA to Primary Entry Point (PEP) stations of a coded EAS message • First test will use the EAS Emergency Action Notification (EAN) code • This is the code that would be used in the event of a national emergency • Radio, television and cable providers will monitor the National and State and Local Primary sources as required in each state’s EAS Plan • The national test will be conducted annually. • National test shall replace the required weekly and monthly tests for the week and month in which it occurs. • The test will last approximately three minutes

  7. Elements of Test (cont.) • The Commission and FEMA are collaborating on “day of” procedures • EAS Participants must provide the Bureau with specific test-related diagnostic information with 45 days of the test. • Test data will be given confidential treatment. • Commission is developing a voluntary electronic reporting system that will allow EAS Participants to file identifying information prior to the test, initial response the day of the test, and detailed response within the 45 day window • Regarding enforcement, the Commission will balance the overall policy goals of: • Ensuring the reliability of the EAS – which requires cooperation of EAS Participants; and • Enforcement discretion with regard to EAS rules violations uncovered in the course of the first national test. • Future Tests – A national test will likely be conducted annually

  8. Technical Issue Regarding Audio and Visual Parity • In order to accurately test the system, FEMA will be using a live test code, the Emergency Action Notification (EAN) • For broadcast, cable and satellite television, the audio portion of the test will clearly indicate that it is a test. • However, the text crawl generated by this code will be the same as what would be generated in an actual alert, and would say something like “This is an Emergency Action Notification for the United States.” • In order to ensure that the test (a) not cause public confusion and (b) can be accessible for the hearing impaired, we are working with video providers to see how they can provide a separate visual to indicate that this is a test. • We understand that broadcast television studios can generate text through their Chyrons and have been working with NAB to distribute approved text.

  9. Sample Test Slide Copy THIS IS ONLY A TEST TEST THERE IS NO ACTUAL EMERGECY THIS IS A TEST OF THE EMERGECY ALERT SYSTEM

  10. Role of Local Government • Work with local broadcasters and cable service providers to ensure their participation. • Work with State Emergency Communications Committee, the entity that coordinates each state’s EAS participation • Work with state emergency operations personnel • Work with the FCC, FEMA and state and local government to inform the public about the test. • FCC EAS National Test website: http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/emergency-alert-system-nationwide-test • FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief EAS Test blog: http://www.fcc.gov/blog/first-nationwide-test-eas. • FEMA EAS Test website: http://www.fema.gov/emergency/ipaws/eas_info.shtm • FEMA EAS Test blog: http://blog.fema.gov/2011/06/announcing-first-nationwide-eas-test.html

  11. Thank You Gregory M. Cooke Associate Chief, Policy and Licensing Division Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau Federal Communications Commission (202) 418-2351 (office) (202) 391-6383 (mobile) gregory.cooke@fcc.gov

  12. Questions?

More Related