FEMA to Serve as Gateway for Emergency Alerts to Cellphones
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said Friday it will serve as the unified aggregator and message gateway when wireless carriers send subscribers emergency alert system warnings. The move clears up a major question on the alert program (CD Feb 22 p1). FEMA will verify that alerts are from authorized senders, then transmit them to carriers.
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Addressing another concern on emergency alerts, FEMA also said Friday that it will give its position on adopting the Common Alert Protocol (CAP) in 30 to 60 days. FEMA’s delay in deciding on CAP drew significant attention at a May 19 summit at the FCC (CD May 20 p1).
In February, FEMA warned the FCC that despite its power over emergency alerts from the president, it doesn’t have authority over warnings by state and local authorities. FEMA asked the FCC to delay choosing a federal agency to oversee alerts to cellphones.
“We have both the necessary authorities and technical solutions to assume the responsibility as the federal cellular Alert Aggregator,” Maj. Gen. (Ret) Martha Rainville, assistant director of FEMA’s National Continuity Programs Directorate, said in a statement. “We will work with [Department of Homeland Security] Science and Technology scientists to finalize the technical solutions and with the Federal Communications Commission as we make the Alert Aggregator operational.”
FEMA will “interface with, but not interfere with, existing state and local alerting systems,” it said. States must identify who has the authority to send alerts for their specific jurisdictions, it added. Technical issues still must be addressed, Rainville said.
Commissioner Michael Copps, who earlier called problems identifying a federal gatekeeper “disheartening,” hailed the FEMA decision in a Friday statement. “I'm pleased that FEMA has reconsidered its position on this important public safety matter,” Copps said. “The real winners today are the American people, whose personal safety will be enhanced by receiving emergency alerts via their mobile phones as well as their televisions and radios.”
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said the announcement was critical for the program to move forward as planned. “With the American public increasingly relying on wireless communications in everyday life, it is essential that we support and advance new ways to share critical, time- sensitive information with them in times of crisis,” he said.