
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) has finally released a report on the November, 2011 national test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS), entitled, “Strengthening the EAS: Lessons Learned from the Nationwide EAS Test”. While the report doesn’t reveal any great revelations on the test results that weren’t already generally known, the more important content is the action that PSHSB recommends the Commission take to improve the EAS. Continue reading »
As mentioned here on AWARE, changes were made in the past few months in the way abducted-child AMBER Alerts are delivered to cell phones and other mobile devices. The previous Wireless AMBER Alert Program SMS-based alerts were replaced by the new Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system. With 700,000 people having been subscribed to the previous program, a huge awareness campaign is needed to advise the public of the switch to WEA. At least one state has taken a very proactive approach on its outreach. Continue reading »
Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released Order DA 13-280, stating that the Commission is revising its Part 10 rules by changing the name Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) to Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). These are the wireless alert system technical rules governing the participating cellular wireless carriers, which the FCC calls Commercial Mobile Service Providers (CMSPs). This change is effective upon publication in the Federal Register. Continue reading »
FEMA recently held a webinar giving the latest details on its Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), as well as tips for local alert originators on acquiring and using IPAWS alert origination systems. The session also offered an update on the forthcoming alert originator test lab detailed in December here on AWARE. Continue reading »
As noted last October here on AWARE, one of the priorities of incoming FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) Chief David Turetsky was to investigate the communications outages that occurred during the June 2012 derecho event. The FCC has now released a PSHSB report on the impacts of the storm and recommendations for improvements to the nation’s communications systems. Continue reading »


