FCC, FEMA Schedule First Nationwide Test of the EAS System
The FCC and Federal Emergency Management Agency will conduct the first “top to bottom” nationwide test of the emergency alert system on Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. EST, both agencies said Thursday. The test is expected to last up to three and a half minutes. The government will base the national test on two EAS tests the government recently conducted in Alaska (CD Feb 3 p5).
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Radio and TV broadcasters, cable operators, satellite digital audio radio service providers, DBS providers and wireline video service providers all will be required to transmit the warning. The test will not involve wireless carriers, which are putting in place their own warning systems using text messages sent to cellphones and other wireless devices.
"While EAS has been around for many years, this is the first nationwide test,” said Jamie Barnett, chief of the FCC Public Safety Bureau, during a presentation at Thursday’s commission meeting. “A nationwide test is essential to ensuring that EAS functions as it’s intended during an emergency.” Barnett said the test is timed to come near the end of hurricane season, but before the onslaught of major winter storms. More nationwide tests will follow similar to local tests that have long been conducted to ensure the system continues to function as expected, he said.
"EAS remains a critical element in alerting the public,” said Damon Penn, assistant FEMA administrator. “We conducted two preliminary tests … in Alaska and we found that the system functions as advertised. We of course learned some technical lessons and we modified some procedures, but we have a basic understanding and a basic agreement that the system works as it has been advertised.” Without a nationwide test, FEMA won’t know for certain that the system will work seamlessly across the U.S., he said.
Commissioner Michael Copps said he’s pleased the national test has been scheduled. “It’s a national challenge but also a national opportunity to develop a system that we are going to increasingly rely on to deal with national crises and weather emergencies and man-made emergencies and Amber Alerts that save abducted children,” he said. Commissioner Robert McDowell has “heard frequently from broadcasters and public safety officials, etc., the need to do exactly what you're doing,” he said. “We're going to learn a lot and we're going to make a lot of … progress.”