sillyputty
Banned
- 3,634
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- Joined
- Aug 31, 2011
My cousin works for comcast and just told me...
Lets just say that the government is getting close to instituting a nation-wide information system in case some seriousness goes down.
Let the conspiracies begin...
...
But in all seriousness this is just the same test that happens late night on TV or Radio when they test the little emergency screens, but this time its coordinated all over the country.
Reports I read said they won't touch internet or cell phone, but in an emergency they WILL.
http://www.fcc.gov/encycl...t-system-nationwide-test
[h1]Emergency Alert System Nationwide Test[/h1]
Click to enter the Nationwide EAS Test Reporting System
Click to download the Nationwide EAS Test Handbook
Questions or Comments about the Nationwide EAS Test?
EAS Participant Resources
At the Federal Communications Commission's June 9, 2011 Agenda meeting, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Chief Jamie Barnett, joined by representatives from FEMA and the National Weather Service, announced that the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) would take place at 2:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time) on November 9, 2011. The purpose of the test is to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a public alert mechanism. EAS Participants currently participate in state-level monthly tests and local-level weekly tests, but no top-down review of the entire system has ever been undertaken. The Commission, along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will use the results of this nationwide test to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a public alert mechanism, and will work together with EAS stakeholders to make improvements to the system as appropriate.
[h3]Public Service Announcements[/h3]
What is the EAS?
Main Article: Emergency Alert System (EAS)
The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a media communications-based alerting system that is designed to transmit emergency alerts and warnings to the American public at the national, state and local levels. The EAS has been in existence since 1994, and its precursor, the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), began in 1963. Television and radio broadcasters, satellite radio and satellite television providers, as well as cable television and wireline video providers all participate in the system (collectively, EAS Participants). EAS Participants broadcast thousands of alerts and warnings to the American public each year regarding weather threats, child abductions, and many other types of emergencies. As such, the EAS will continue to function as one key component of a national alert and warning system that will provide alerts over multiple communications platforms, including mobile communications devices.
How does the EAS work?
An EAS alert is based on an audio protocol defined in the FCC’s rules. In the EAS, an alert originator at the local, state, or national level inputs an EAS alert into the system using specific encoding equipment. Specially designated stations then broadcast this alert to the public in their listening areas. Other EAS Participants (television and other radio broadcasters, cable and wireline video service providers, radio and television satellite service providers, and others) monitor the specially-designated stations for EAS alerts. When these other EAS Participants receive the EAS alert, they, in turn, broadcast it to the public in their listening areas. This group of EAS Participants may be monitored by other EAS Participants too far away to receive the EAS message from the first group of transmitting broadcasters. This next group of EAS Participants, in turn, broadcasts the alert to the public in the vicinity of their stations, as well as to any other stations that may be monitoring them.
When is the EAS used? When would a national EAS alert be sent?
The EAS alerting architecture is frequently used by state and local emergency managers to send alerts to the public about emergencies and weather events. While the requirements for carrying a national-level EAS alert differ in some respects from state and local alerts, the national EAS test will test the underlying architecture that also supports state and local alerting. Ensuring that the EAS architecture functions properly will benefit emergency alerting at all levels of government.
The EAS provides the ability to send messages regionally or nationally, though it has never been activated at these levels. But a major disaster like an earthquake or tsunami could necessitate the use of the EAS on a regional or national basis to send life-saving information to the public. We cannot anticipate which communications infrastructure will withstand a particular disaster, but the EAS is one of the tools we have to send alerts, warnings, and information to the American people. The national EAS test will help us improve its capabilities should it ever be needed at the regional or national level in an actual emergency.
Why do we need a nationwide test of the EAS?
Pursuant to the FCC’s rules, local and state components of the EAS are tested on a weekly and monthly basis, respectively. Although the EAS has been in existence for over 15 years, there has never been an end-to-end, nationwide test of the system, and we need to know that the system will work as intended should public safety officials ever need to send an alert or warning to a large region of the United States. Only a top-down, simultaneous test of all components of the EAS can provide an appropriate diagnosis of system-wide performance.
How will the nationwide EAS test be conducted?
The nationwide EAS test will be conducted jointly by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through its Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS), the three federal agencies that have EAS management responsibilities. FEMA is the arm of the DHS primarily responsible for developing national alert and warning functions. The FCC is an independent agency that grants licenses to or otherwise oversees EAS Participants. FCC rules regulate the transmission of EAS alerts. The NWS is a key player in the dissemination of local warnings via the EAS. The great majority of EAS alerts are NWS weather-related alerts.
On November 9, at 2 PM EST, FEMA will transmit the EAS code for national level emergencies to Primary Entry Point (PEP) stations in the national level of the EAS. The PEP stations will then rebroadcast the alert to the general public in their broadcast vicinity, as well as to the next level of EAS Participants monitoring them. This should continue through all levels of the system, until the national alert has been distributed throughout the entire country.
Pursuant to the FCC’s rules, all EAS Participants must report back to the FCC on the results of this test, including whether, and from whom, they received the alert message and whether they rebroadcast it. FEMA and the FCC will study these results to determine if there are problems with the system and, if so, how best to remedy them. We anticipate that a nationwide test will be conducted periodically to ensure that the EAS is, and remains, functional.
FEMA and the FCC have already twice tested the EAS national code on a more limited basis, in the state of Alaska. The lessons learned from the Alaska tests will inform how the agencies conduct the nationwide test.
What will people hear and see during the test?
Although the Nationwide EAS Test may resemble the periodic, monthly EAS tests that most Americans are already familiar with, there will be some differences in what viewers will see and hear, which is one reason for conducting a nationwide EAS test. Although the activation will include an audio message indicating that this is a test, a visual message indicating that “this is a test
Lets just say that the government is getting close to instituting a nation-wide information system in case some seriousness goes down.
Let the conspiracies begin...
But in all seriousness this is just the same test that happens late night on TV or Radio when they test the little emergency screens, but this time its coordinated all over the country.
Reports I read said they won't touch internet or cell phone, but in an emergency they WILL.
http://www.fcc.gov/encycl...t-system-nationwide-test
[h1]Emergency Alert System Nationwide Test[/h1]
Click to enter the Nationwide EAS Test Reporting System
Click to download the Nationwide EAS Test Handbook
Questions or Comments about the Nationwide EAS Test?
EAS Participant Resources
At the Federal Communications Commission's June 9, 2011 Agenda meeting, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Chief Jamie Barnett, joined by representatives from FEMA and the National Weather Service, announced that the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) would take place at 2:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time) on November 9, 2011. The purpose of the test is to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a public alert mechanism. EAS Participants currently participate in state-level monthly tests and local-level weekly tests, but no top-down review of the entire system has ever been undertaken. The Commission, along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will use the results of this nationwide test to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a public alert mechanism, and will work together with EAS stakeholders to make improvements to the system as appropriate.
[h3]Public Service Announcements[/h3]
Video Public Service Announcements (PSAs)- English - Open Captioned:
15-Second .MOV | 15-Second .MPG - English - Closed Captioned:
15-Second .MOV | 15-Second .MPG - Spanish - Open Captioned:
15-Second .MOV | 15-Second .MPG - Spanish - Closed Captioned:
15-Second .MOV | 15-Second .MPG - American Sign Language - Open Captioned:
52-Second .MOV
- English - Open Captioned:
Radio Public Service Announcements (PSAs)- English: 15-Second MP3
- Spanish: 15-Second MP3
Public Notice Reminding Media Outlets and EAS Participants That Broadcast of EAS Tones and Attention Signals is Prohibited Except During Authorized EAS Activations, Including Tests: Word | Acrobat | Plain Text
Public Notice Announcing the First EAS Nationwide Test: Word | Acrobat
FCC Third Report and Order, Part 11 Rules Governing the Emergency Alert System (Amended Feburary 2011): Word | Acrobat
PSHSB Chief Jamie Barnett's Comments on the Need for a Nationwide Test:Blog Post
Nationwide EAS Test Frequently Asked Questions (as below): Word | Acrobat
What is the EAS?
Main Article: Emergency Alert System (EAS)
The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a media communications-based alerting system that is designed to transmit emergency alerts and warnings to the American public at the national, state and local levels. The EAS has been in existence since 1994, and its precursor, the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), began in 1963. Television and radio broadcasters, satellite radio and satellite television providers, as well as cable television and wireline video providers all participate in the system (collectively, EAS Participants). EAS Participants broadcast thousands of alerts and warnings to the American public each year regarding weather threats, child abductions, and many other types of emergencies. As such, the EAS will continue to function as one key component of a national alert and warning system that will provide alerts over multiple communications platforms, including mobile communications devices.
How does the EAS work?
An EAS alert is based on an audio protocol defined in the FCC’s rules. In the EAS, an alert originator at the local, state, or national level inputs an EAS alert into the system using specific encoding equipment. Specially designated stations then broadcast this alert to the public in their listening areas. Other EAS Participants (television and other radio broadcasters, cable and wireline video service providers, radio and television satellite service providers, and others) monitor the specially-designated stations for EAS alerts. When these other EAS Participants receive the EAS alert, they, in turn, broadcast it to the public in their listening areas. This group of EAS Participants may be monitored by other EAS Participants too far away to receive the EAS message from the first group of transmitting broadcasters. This next group of EAS Participants, in turn, broadcasts the alert to the public in the vicinity of their stations, as well as to any other stations that may be monitoring them.
When is the EAS used? When would a national EAS alert be sent?
The EAS alerting architecture is frequently used by state and local emergency managers to send alerts to the public about emergencies and weather events. While the requirements for carrying a national-level EAS alert differ in some respects from state and local alerts, the national EAS test will test the underlying architecture that also supports state and local alerting. Ensuring that the EAS architecture functions properly will benefit emergency alerting at all levels of government.
The EAS provides the ability to send messages regionally or nationally, though it has never been activated at these levels. But a major disaster like an earthquake or tsunami could necessitate the use of the EAS on a regional or national basis to send life-saving information to the public. We cannot anticipate which communications infrastructure will withstand a particular disaster, but the EAS is one of the tools we have to send alerts, warnings, and information to the American people. The national EAS test will help us improve its capabilities should it ever be needed at the regional or national level in an actual emergency.
Why do we need a nationwide test of the EAS?
Pursuant to the FCC’s rules, local and state components of the EAS are tested on a weekly and monthly basis, respectively. Although the EAS has been in existence for over 15 years, there has never been an end-to-end, nationwide test of the system, and we need to know that the system will work as intended should public safety officials ever need to send an alert or warning to a large region of the United States. Only a top-down, simultaneous test of all components of the EAS can provide an appropriate diagnosis of system-wide performance.
How will the nationwide EAS test be conducted?
The nationwide EAS test will be conducted jointly by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through its Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS), the three federal agencies that have EAS management responsibilities. FEMA is the arm of the DHS primarily responsible for developing national alert and warning functions. The FCC is an independent agency that grants licenses to or otherwise oversees EAS Participants. FCC rules regulate the transmission of EAS alerts. The NWS is a key player in the dissemination of local warnings via the EAS. The great majority of EAS alerts are NWS weather-related alerts.
On November 9, at 2 PM EST, FEMA will transmit the EAS code for national level emergencies to Primary Entry Point (PEP) stations in the national level of the EAS. The PEP stations will then rebroadcast the alert to the general public in their broadcast vicinity, as well as to the next level of EAS Participants monitoring them. This should continue through all levels of the system, until the national alert has been distributed throughout the entire country.
Pursuant to the FCC’s rules, all EAS Participants must report back to the FCC on the results of this test, including whether, and from whom, they received the alert message and whether they rebroadcast it. FEMA and the FCC will study these results to determine if there are problems with the system and, if so, how best to remedy them. We anticipate that a nationwide test will be conducted periodically to ensure that the EAS is, and remains, functional.
FEMA and the FCC have already twice tested the EAS national code on a more limited basis, in the state of Alaska. The lessons learned from the Alaska tests will inform how the agencies conduct the nationwide test.
What will people hear and see during the test?
Although the Nationwide EAS Test may resemble the periodic, monthly EAS tests that most Americans are already familiar with, there will be some differences in what viewers will see and hear, which is one reason for conducting a nationwide EAS test. Although the activation will include an audio message indicating that this is a test, a visual message indicating that “this is a test
